Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin hands-on preview — Capture, Hold, and Conquer

We are spoiled for choice in the world of Warhammer, but not all of those choices are good. For every riveting adventure in the Warhammer universe, there are half a dozen that feel more like shovelware. I recently got the first hands-on opportunity with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin and I’m happy to report that it’s shaping up to be one of the good ones.

A return to RTS, Realms of Ruin takes place in, as you’d guess, the Age of Sigmar. The forces of Chaos have enslaved, destroyed, or suppressed everyone who opposes them, bringing about The End Times. As part of a last ditch campaign against the forces of evil, we see mankind rally once again. Their group, dubbed The Stormcast Eternals, face impossible odds — guess we’ll see if they can live up to their name.

For our hands-on time, we got to play through a single campaign mission, and then a trio of multiplayer matches. Let’s start with the former. An early mission, this one pits the Stormcast Eternals against the greenskin orruk Kruleboyz that have overtaken this area. Utilizing portals called Realmgates, they’ve spread their influence, and you’ll need to retake these gates to reverse the damage.

In terms of mechanics, this feels familiar enough to be easy to pickup and play, but has enough unique to set it apart. Part Dawn of War, part Company of Heroes, the realtime strategy elements are what you’d expect. Using the troops we were assigned at the beginning of the mission I took position after position, seizing and securing Realmgates until I finally had enough resources to begin to call in additional troops. Here’s where it feels like Company of Heroes as you’ll be picking from a trilogy of attackers, defenders, and ranged troops. A paper/rock/scissors system becomes immediately clear, but that doesn’t tell the story.

Calling on a multi-tier tech tree, I can enhance my troops in various ways that completely change the way they attack, defend, and rally. Gathering enough resources I could then upgrade my central hub, unlocking a second, and eventual third tier of troops, including a dragon rider that can rain fire from the skies.

Each tier of troops changes the game, but from the brief time we spent, not in a way that unbalanced it. I fielded as many top tier troops as I could muster during one multiplayer session only to see them evaporate under a cloud of properly-kitted cheaper units with overwhelming numbers.

As you take various points on the map, you’ll also have the enemy trying to push back and retake them. This applies to multiplayer especially, but each hub has two upgrades you can stack onto the point. Four options present themselves, including turning them into defensive chokepoints, faster resource gathering, and more. In these moments I was reminded of Dawn of War or a MOBA. In multiplayer there was an ebb and flow as each side takes, loses, and retakes these points in a constant struggle to capture and hold. In the mode we played each side had 750 tickets, and holding more points caused the other side’s tickets to deplete faster. It’s a simple system that takes two or three matches to get the hang of, but once you do it’s truly a war.

There was one element that caught me off guard with Realms of Ruin. If you’ve played the recently released Diablo IV, then you know that the team used incredibly high detail assets, allowing them to be used for in-engine cutscenes. The Frontier team did something similar here, meaning each unit is brought to life when you zoom in. From the buckles on their armor to the way their hair moves when they swing a sword, a great deal of care and attention was put into the art on Realms of Ruin – something I appreciate very much as it helps me feel some level of attachment for the troops and heroes I send into battle, instead of seeing them as simple fodder for the grinder.

The true measure of an RTS happens in the skirmish. I was surprised just how much the troop makeup makes a difference. Big stompy orruks with artillery emplacements lashed to their back wreaked incredible damage on the battlefield, but a handful of cheap archers could match them with volume with a simple upgrade. Breaking the lines of those archers with the most basic of soldier types can be accomplished with their charge ability. Each troop has a few powers they can utilize that can change the flow of battle – something we saw time and again during our multiplayer missions.

I came away from my time with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin genuinely impressed with what Frontier Development has done to differentiate this just enough to make this stand out from the other RTS titles on the market. Sure, it borrows elements from each, but it also has the pieces unique to the Warhammer universe that bring it to life. I left my hands-on time wanting to see where the story goes, and how these units and heroes will evolve over the course of the campaign. Emperor knows we need more good Warhammer titles, and Realms of Ruin is shaping up to fit in that category nicely.

The great news is that you don’t have to take my word for it – you’ll be able to try it for yourself shortly courtesy of an open beta event that takes place from July 7th to July 10th.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin releases on PC in 2023.