Warlander Preview (Steam Early Access)

by Jim Smale · Published January 23, 2023 · Updated January 26, 2023

For our Warlander Preview, we attempt to harness the almighty powers of god-like Warriors, Clerics, and Mages, with a unique style that mashes a Medieval-inspired setting, Fantastical items and abilities…and…EVEN POWERFUL ROBOTS! Master siege weapons and cataclysmic spells to control the battlefield and destroy the enemy’s core!

Warlander Preview Pros:

Decent graphics.
3.81GB Download size.
Full controller support.
Daily login bonus.
Cross play – on/off.
Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, swap buttons around, left-hand support, and deadzone sliders.
Graphics settings – monitor, display mode, resolution, v-sync, frame rate limit, graphics settings, LOD, anisotropic filtering, shadow distance limit, FXAA, SSAO, Vignette, dynamic resolution, HDR/SDR, SDR brightness slider, and HDR brightness slider.
Can rebind controls for the mouse and keyboard.
Opening tutorial.
Character creator – choose a class (warrior/cleric/mage), face, hair, skin tone, hair color, armor color, paint, Emblem, and voice and randomize for the lazy.
Loadout settings – equipment, weapon one, weapon two, and talents.
Emotes play a huge part as depending on the time and placement of the match determine which emote loadout you have to use.
CP is customisation points; how many you get depends on your title.
Decks is a collection of up to five characters.
Beginner quests are available to help you learn the game and also get rewards.
The gameplay is a mix of base building and MOBAs.
Your goal is to get to and destroy the enemy’s core in their castle before they destroy yours.
The combat has dodging, blocking, countering, melee, ranged, and magic.
You can revive fallen teammates.
Warp between players.
Take points in the map (towers) by standing by them.
Build defenses and offensive structures.
They are simplified easy-to-learn controls.
Player profile card you customize with unlocked options – character, pose background, frame, army color, stamps, and title.
Earn VP (Valor points) in the game to level up and get access to stronger characters.
Full friends list integration.
3 game modes – 2 army battles, 5 army battles, and training.
Boosters for rewards, the rarity of loot, and EXP can be bought from the in-game shop with in-game money.
Handy pinging system.
It Plays and runs really well.
Has a Team Fortress-like feel to it.
Very accessible.
Loot has rarity levels.
The battle pass style system works with free and premium tiers.
Third-person perspective.
Medieval times setting.
Hack and slash combat.
When waiting in matchmaking, you can freely run around the training area and practice.
Minimap and giant map to bring up.
Damage numbers pop off as you deal and take damage.
You can loft the shield above your head as you climb a ladder.

Warlander Preview Cons:

A very long EULA that feels longer due to the controller scroll speed.
Cannot rebind controls for the controller.
No bot support.
Had a lot of trouble getting games.
A lot to take in initially.
The control stick is used like a mouse for the menus and is less than ideal, especially when in a rush.
Long initial load times as it does all the assets.

Warlander:

Official website.

Developer: Toylogic

Publisher: Plaion

Store Links –

Steam

Summary

Warlander is a medieval game that combines the gameplay of a MOBA, the depth and planning of a 4X game, and the base building of a tower defense. It sounds like a lot and the truth is it is a lot but the game makes it all a breeze to load and play. Within like 20 minutes of playing the tutorial you know everything there is to know. The combat is brilliant as it looks basic but it has many layers like combos, magic, and abilities. What I love is how much they lean into the setting from building battlements to battering rams and pouring oil on people to setting traps and taking towers. The building is simply going to hold the button down and make rather than anything too technical or lengthy like materials etc. Balancing seems OK from the handful of games I played, big ballistic weapons and rams only have one use then they have to be rebuilt to help stop spamming. You can quickly swap between characters and this is what threw me the most as the menus are not built well for controller use as it’s all cursor-based. I could easily keep up with combat but building that was a bit of a chore. I only saw two map names but like I said as we got early beta access, getting matches was not always ideal and landed up in long waits. Make no mistake about it though, I have a good feeling about Warlander.