Apes Warfare

It doesn't really bring anything to the table that other Advance Wars-like games haven't already done, and it lacks some features that nearly all of them have. There's an equivalent to CO powers, but no passive buffs/debuffs. Units have the same expected rock-paper-scissors matchups. Terrain is pretty much 1:1 the same. I also found the oversaturated color palette to be very hard on the eyes. When projects like Advance Wars by Web and Tinywars exist for free, a game like Apes Warfare needs to do more than the bare minimum.

The game is very fun an "wars-like" (pretty much Advance Wars but with nice QOL features and new units). The only problem I have with this game (and why I had to refund it) was visibility and clarity of what's happening on the battlefield. Units that have finished their movement become darker to show that they're done, but when this happens, it's very difficult to see the unit if it's on water, and units that have been moved can look very similar to enemy units. It's very challenging for me to distinguish colors, and I'm not even colorblind. Oh yes, they don't have colorblind mode. Come on guys, if you're using red and blue teams, you need colorblind mode! I wish I could like this game. If they make it more readable in the future, I'll buy it without hesitation!

Having scarcely followed Apes Warfare's development from afar since Mang's video covering the alpha build—and having missed the early access window due to time constraints—I went in fairly blind. My expectations were shaped mostly by Mangs latest stream and some conversations with one of the polite developers. From what I gathered, the community heavily influenced the game's development. Feedback from both Advance Wars veterans and casual players helped shape its overall balance. Given that the game was created by a fairly small team with a tight budget, it's important to scale ones expectations accordingly as it don't have as much content as an mainline Advance Wars entry. I was encouraged to play on the dev branch to enjoy some fixes before the first post-launch patch went public. Over the course of a week I played through the entire campaign and have to say: it's really good! The game is quite pedagogical, offering a few "boot camp" missions before letting you loose on standard levels to master what you've learned. I even had my nieces who had never played a strategy game before give it a try. They had a ton of fun and loved the visuals! [b] The good: [/b] - It plays like Advance Wars but successfully carves out its own identity. The new units and mechanics are cool, and the gameplay is super fun! - The game is super accessible for kids. There is no swearing, the themes aren't too dark, and the dialogue is approachable for younger audiences jumping into their first strategy game, while remaining engaging for older players. - The performance is buttery smooth. Combined with the groovy music, the vibe feels perfectly polished, so the core gameplay loop is great! - The character art is lovely, featuring a cartoony, paper-doll aesthetic that perfectly captures the "board game night miniature wargame" feel. The "super powers" are essentially apes and humans interfering with the battle as they grow frustrated—a silly touch that fits the cartoony style perfectly. - The multiplayer maps are excellent. Two additional maps were added to the dev branch while I was writing this review. Apparently most were made by some AWBW veterans [b] The less good: [/b] - There are quite a few bugs in the launch version, though it sounds like the team is working hard to fix them. - While mines and naval mines are a ton of fun, submarines should ideally be able to warn players when near submerged threats. This would allow both the player and the AI to know when it's a good idea to deploy sonar. - There aren't too many war room maps yet. Currently, there is just a handful, with most being multiplayer levels with a hot-seat option. Considering Advance Wars' War Room was massive thanks to carrying over maps from Famicom Wars and Super Famicom Wars, one needs to manage expectations here. - Similar to the war room, there aren't many dedicated multiplayer maps yet. However, they did add two more while I was writing this, which is a positive sign. Regardless of its flaws, I strongly suggest picking up the game if you like Advance Wars or want to introduce a friend or family member to the genre! We are all trained to "wait for a steam sale", but considering the game's post-launch updates are directly funded through sales—as they lack a publisher to cover those costs... It's probably a good idea to "vote with your wallet" to help ensure the game continue receiving fun content updates and keep the multiplayer scene active—especially considering how humble the developers are and how receptive they are to player feedback. That kind of engagement is rare these days...

If the developers continue working on this and listen to the community's suggestions, we could see a modern successor to Advance Wars. From a technical perspective, there's nothing to complain about; the game just needs development, introducing new ideas, and refining existing ones. I'm posting review after a short playthrough to support the developer. I hope it becomes for Advanced Wars what Olden Era is for HOMM Good luck!

Apes Warfare is a fun and goofy turn-based strategy game which (obviously) takes major inspiration from Advance Wars. It adds new and exciting mechanics into the mix and surprises with fast past gameplay. The game, story, characters and dialogue don't take themselves too seriously, which is fine. The emphasis lies on the gameplay. The latter is solid. Right now, Apes Warfare comes with some bugs and odd decisions. The fog of war mechanic doesn't seem to have a big impact on the AI, and the AI overal takes many, many unfavorable engagements (like infantry attacking tanks). Fixing these shouldn't be too much of a problem though. Some of the CO's animations look a bit like a unpolished gif, which can be annoying, but can also easily be ignored (especially when you consider the silly story). For the price of not even 15 bucks, Apes Warfare is a great deal, especially for newcommers to games like these. Veterans will have to grind their teeths a bit till they unlock other game modes and harder levels.

great game

Not advance wars, return to monkey Following the classic fomular almost 1 to 1 with a few new intresting units in play makes it worthwhile on the plus side of things we got new units, new terrain types and soild campaign to really get started on the negative side, CO´s all have exact same powers and no day to day abbilty, carriers unable to carry units & lack of an "info button" i want to know about terrain and units without going into the guide.

Fans of the Civilization series’ combat system will likely find this game very satisfying. That said, the pacing can feel a bit slow, which is a bit disappointing. Still, it’s something that can be improved with future updates, so the game definitely has a bright future.