Warden’s Will Review (Steam)
Warden’s Will Review, Warden’s Will is a fast-paced movement shooter roguelite, playable solo or in up-to 3-player co-op. Choose your Warden, master unique movements and abilities, and overpower hordes of robots in intense battles. Fly, dash, smash, and turn bullet-hell into bullet-heaven! The multiverse is trapped in a relentless time loop, and only a Warden can break it. The Warden’s Will is not to just survive, the Warden’s Will is to dominate! Brace for chaos. Unleash destruction. Dominate the corruption.
Warden’s Will Review Pros:
- Awesome cel-shaded graphics.
- 1.25GB download size.
- Steam achievements.
- Controller support.
- Graphics settings – window mode, resolution, UI scale, auto set quality, quality presets, anti-aliasing, shading quality, textures, View distance, textures, effects, post-processing, v-sync, frame rate limit for on battery, menu, background, and overall.
- Colorblind support.
- Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, remap controls, enable auto-aim camera, camera stickiness, and deadzone sliders.
- Opening amazing Saturday morning cartoon-style intro.
- Two ways to play – online and offline.
- Action shooter roguelike gameplay.
- Tutorial pop-ups in places when needed.
- Third-person perspective.
- A fully 3D game world with 360-degree camera control.
- The opening area is an empty sandbox with a load of items, weapons, etc so you can mess around and try out everything.
- You play as a warden and there are many warden choices each offering unique movement and combat skills.
- Every weapon has two types of attacks.
- The game moves at a smooth fast pace.
- I love the art style and movement of the characters and even the game world.
- A multiplayer beacon for sending and joining invites.
- The game has you needing to find three transmitters and uploading data to them to find the breach which allows you to move on.
- When at a transmitter you have to fight off and take out enemies to acquire data.
- Crystals – shoot them to gain a timed buff with blue giving shields, green restoring health, red increasing damage, and yellow giving max energy for a time.
- Find and open chests.
- Damage numbers pop off as you hit enemies.
- Massive open areas to explore.
- Abilities are attached to a button and have cooldowns, luckily the hid is easy to read and minimal.
- All firing weapons use energy and will need a car as holding the fire button down will cause them to overheat and jam for a short time.
- An end-of-run breakdown showing kills, damage taken, time, enemies killed, etc.
- Every run is randomized from the locations to the enemies and objectives placement.
- Bright vibrant colors everywhere.
- Earn unique currency to permanently unlock new weapons, augment, abilities, and wardens.
- You can pause the game in a single-player.
- The game comes alive in multiplayer.
- Excellent enemy designs and attacks.
- Once you get to the stage where you have the better wardens and guns the game is really good but man does it take a long time.
Warden’s Will Review Cons:
- Couldn’t see any way to join or open up my lobby to random.
- The music does not suit the game, it’s way too chilled and basic, from the sleepy tunes of the sandbox to the more mellow songs in the game.
- The movement takes some getting used to, the dodging isn’t as smooth as you would like.
- I found it to be a harrowing opening hour or so as I tried to learn the weapons, take in the world, and do well in combat.
- It feels like a game that gets a lot better over time but it has a long in ramp.
- Enemy density is up and down with it being low numbers and making the world feel empty with too many enemies and you can’t breathe.
- The shooting doesn’t feel that good.
- Had so many runs where I just didn’t feel like I got rewarded for my time.
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Warden’s Will:
Developer: ELYZIO
Publisher: ELYZIO
Store Links –
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8/10
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6/10
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7/10
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7/10
Summary
Warden’s Will impresses with its awesome cel-shaded graphics and a manageable 1.25GB download size. The game supports Steam achievements and controllers, offering extensive graphics settings, including window mode, resolution, UI scale, and various quality presets. It also includes colorblind support and customizable controller settings, such as invert axis, sensitivity sliders, and remap controls. The game opens with an amazing Saturday morning cartoon-style intro and offers both online and offline play modes. The action shooter roguelike gameplay is complemented by tutorial pop-ups when needed, a third-person perspective, and a fully 3D game world with 360-degree camera control.
The opening area is an empty sandbox filled with items and weapons, allowing players to experiment. Players take on the role of a warden, with various choices offering unique movement and combat skills. Each weapon has two types of attacks, and the game moves at a smooth, fast pace. The art style and character movement are particularly praiseworthy. A multiplayer beacon facilitates sending and joining invites. The objective is to find three transmitters and upload data to them to locate the breach, which allows progression. At each transmitter, players must fend off enemies to acquire data. Crystals provide timed buffs, such as shields, health restoration, increased damage, and maximum energy. Players can also find and open chests, with damage numbers popping off as enemies are hit. The game features massive open areas to explore, with abilities attached to buttons and cooldowns, and a minimal, easy-to-read HUD.
All firing weapons use energy and can overheat and jam if the fire button is held down too long. An end-of-run breakdown shows kills, damage taken, time, and enemies killed. Each run is randomized, with varying locations, enemies, and objectives. The game is visually vibrant, with bright colors everywhere. Players earn unique currency to permanently unlock new weapons, augments, abilities, and wardens. The game can be paused in single-player mode and truly comes alive in multiplayer. Enemy designs and attacks are excellent, but the game takes a long time to reach its full potential with better wardens and guns. Unfortunately, there is no way to join or open up a lobby to random players.
On the downside, the music does not suit the game, being too chilled and basic. The movement takes some getting used to, with dodging not as smooth as desired. The opening hour can be harrowing as players learn the weapons, world, and combat. The game improves over time but has a long ramp-up. Enemy density fluctuates, sometimes making the world feel empty or overcrowded. The shooting mechanics could be better, and many runs feel unrewarding.
In summary, Warden’s Will offers a visually stunning and fast-paced roguelike experience with extensive customization options and a vibrant multiplayer mode. However, it requires patience to fully appreciate its potential, and some aspects, such as music and movement, could be improved. Despite these drawbacks, the game provides a unique and engaging experience for those willing to invest the time. It is a game that could have benefitted from a short stint in the Early access arena so I remain hopeful future updates will keep building.