 Welcome my friends. Today, it is time to talk about one of the few games I actually got to play during the last Steam Next Fest. I know I'm as disappointed as you are that I will not be able to bring you my customary three to five reviews. Instead, I will probably be able to bring you one and a half, two mostly. Well, let's get into it. It's walk-on my age of sigma, realms of ruin. The hero-driven real-time strategy or RTS genre left an indelible mark on me as an early age. Worldcraft 3 opened a whole new world. I fell in love with its universe and story and gameplay and I had my first experience with the powerful sense of community a video game can create in the best possible ways. I awaited its reforged edition with the impatience of an abstinent drunk saving himself for the spiked Christmas eggnog. Reforged, released a universal scorn and proved itself the most cynical of cash grabs. Like many other former fans, that was one of the definitive moments that saw me disillusioned with Blizzard. It also saw my itch for this genre of RTS buried beneath a whole lot of disappointment. If you know that feeling, let me know. And remember to subscribe for more of these tetetet conversations. All this is to say, it's been years since I even thought of the death of hero-driven RTS games out there. Then along comes this latest October 2023 Steam Next Fest and what do I do but stumble upon warhammer age of sigma, realms of ruin. The full game is coming out on November 17th. The demo I played had the first three full missions of the campaign and it is the most fun I've had with an RTS in ages. Heroes like Sigrun and Eden make such a massive difference even without activating their abilities. During combat, heroic units like the Stormdrake guards have devastating abilities which make enemy numbers into only so much shish kebab. Perhaps the most apt comparison to make here is with the now veritable dawn of war 2. Like it, realms of ruin concentrates on smaller scale action that sees you make tactical choice with every unit in your army's makeup. How could it be otherwise, when you only have 6, 8, 12 slots to make your unit? Buildings are constructed across specifically designated zones of control, bastions where you choose between prioritizing health, vision or additional resource generation. Resources don't only come into the construction of buildings, production of units and the purchase of unit upgrades. They're also necessary to the activation of your unit's powerful abilities. Command is one such resource. Realmstone is another. The former activates abilities that involve military discipline, such as the ability of low-blooded units to retreat to a place of safety. Realmstone meanwhile jumps starts feats of magic that your units and heroes are capable of. All those powerful abilities that can turn a losing battle around require this second resource. The use of both strikes a very cool balance between narrative and mechanics. Judging from the three missions in the demo, the campaign will be both long and varied. The first mission was a fun tutorial that didn't hold my hand too tightly, but still had some nice rails for players who might experience the genre for the first time. The second was a very traditional domination map, while the third saw Siggren's forces face off against the undead armies of Nagash, led by a powerful necromancer all in control over three chains that guarded the artifact we came all this way for. I should mention the second mission, the traditional domination one, also had a lovely bit of bonus objectives that allowed you to free several units. The variety of enemies is another thing that's really cool. The first two maps saw me square off against orcs, or orcs, as the golden-plated boys and girls kept calling them, and there is a clear difference in fighting them even if combat is generally defined by the rock-paper-scissors-like combat triangle that's defined by swords, shields and arrows, and is explained by a handi-graph you were introduced to early on. If there's something I can see as a worry, it's that this is a bit of an oversimplification that might lessen the complexity of the game, but then again I'd need to play a lot more before passing a value judgment, and even games with an abysmally massive amount of symbols like Total War Warhammer, which is the other thing I have really experienced with in terms of Warhammer Fantasy, even those have a similar logic underlying all those complex army symbols. What about the narrative? As I said, the Warhammer Fantasy universe, I've played many hundreds of hours of Total War Warhammer in its sequels, but still my understanding of its lore is mostly absent. It's something of a blank canvas for me. I know that Age of Sigma was something of a reboot, and squaring away of the wider Warhammer Fantasy lore, what I don't know is any of the granular details. Playing Realms of Ruin makes me want to learn as many of those as possible. The story opens with a small band of sigmas faithful on the task of reclaiming an ancient but powerful artifact, a scene in the visions of the divinator Demicrius. This artifact lies somewhere in the realms of ruin, deep beyond Sigmar's lands, which are themselves constantly besieged by the bad no good evil servants of the Cares god, as things always are in any Warhammer property, Fantasy or 40k. Sigren, leader of the expedition, has a great haircut and a profound sense of duty, as well as only a limited number of soldiers at her back and call. Another bit of information that marries narrative and mechanics in a neat way. I love the easy camaraderie on this play between Eden, Sigren and Demicrius at the campaign's opening, with corruption and alike a constant danger in the Warhammer setting. I am sure it will be sorely tested as I dive deeper in the campaign, which I will be doing come release day. I already have November 17th marked on my calendar. The best part of it all is, I played the demo on hard and found it a great combination between fun and challenging, as well as a boost to my confidence that I will be able to handle all the rest of the campaign at that same level. The lone complaint I have is of some stuttering during cutscenes, but I can be 100% sure that it wasn't my computer that was the perpetrator here. As far as questions go, I wonder if there will be any kind of progress between missions. Nothing suggested that as far as the demo, but I have hopes that there will be a layer of strategy to enhance the layer of tactics the way there was in Dawn of War 2. We'll see. If you enjoyed this video and would like further coverage of Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin and other absolutely random games as well as books, don't forget to subscribe, share this video with your friends, let me know what you think of this game and of what you'd like me to take a look at next. I'm Philip Magnus and you're not, shockingly, I'll see you again next time. Bye!