A Modern War of Ideas: What Is Warside?
Warside is a turn-based strategy game that wears its inspiration on its sleeve. It’s a spiritual successor to Advance Wars, borrowing its colorful, grid-based combat and adding modern systems and deeper tactical options. Developed by indie team Lava Bird Studios, Warside introduces new units, targeted commander powers, and sea-based infantry in an effort to revitalize the genre.
At its best, Warside feels like a fresh take on a beloved formula. But right now, it’s also an incomplete one. Despite solid mechanics and strong ideas, the game launches with bugs, balance issues, and content that feels unpolished or outright missing. The result is a promising strategy title that stumbles out of the gate.
Core Gameplay: Familiar Grid Combat With Smart Tweaks
If you’ve ever played Advance Wars, Warside will feel immediately familiar: capture buildings to generate income, produce units from factories, and fight your way across tile-based maps. But Lava Bird didn’t just copy and paste—they added a few key innovations:
🔹 New Unit Types With Purpose
- Rhinos: Can shove enemies into water or off cliffs, instantly killing them.
- Snipers: Infantry with long-range, indirect fire.
- Medics: Heal nearby units, adding frontline sustain.
- RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats): Let infantry fight from the sea and capture offshore buildings.
Each faction gets a few unique units that further change up the formula. Wastelanders, for example, use suicide-bombing trucks and self-healing soldiers. Desert factions get stealth bikes that bypass enemy lines. These are meaningful twists that offer real depth and experimentation.
🔹 Commander Powers With a Tactical Twist
Unlike traditional CO (Commanding Officer) systems, Warside doesn’t rely on passive buffs. Instead, powers are manual abilities like EMP blasts, shield drops, or pinpoint missile strikes. This forces players to think tactically, rather than just pressing a “win more” button.
Unfortunately, the execution is uneven. As of now, AI commanders never use their own CO powers, which creates an imbalance in campaign missions. One CO even references powers that don’t exist, suggesting either a cut feature or a major oversight.
Visuals and Sound: Strong Pixel Art, Uninspired Characters
The unit and terrain art are vibrant and detailed. Animations feel snappy, and battles are visually clear. Pixel lovers will appreciate how Warside balances nostalgia with modern polish.
But the character portraits for commanders fall flat. Mixing semi-realistic faces with cartoonish elements results in an uncanny, emotionless style. It’s a step down from the personality-rich COs of Advance Wars, and it makes the already-weak writing harder to care about.
The soundtrack is punchy, energetic, and one of the game’s unexpected highlights—although it may include licensed tracks that can trigger copyright claims for streamers and YouTubers, which limits the game’s reach among content creators.
Campaign: Tactical Depth Undone by Missing Pieces
The campaign has the right structure: multiple factions, varied maps, and unlockable units over time. But despite a strong start, it falls apart by the end. Literally.
- The final mission ends mid-cutscene, with no credits or resolution.
- Dialogue refers to missions and characters that don’t exist.
- Story beats feel like placeholders, and even the game jokes about how bland they are.
Worse still, there’s no skirmish mode against AI and no campaign glossary for learning unit abilities or terrain effects. Want to know what a building does? Too bad—guess.
Multiplayer & Community Tools: Mostly MIA
Multiplayer technically exists—but at launch, the lobby system was broken and finding a match was nearly impossible. Private matches are now working post-patch, but no ranked play or matchmaking system is in place.
There is a map editor, which is a great idea, but without a thriving community or support infrastructure, it’s underutilized. The lack of player-versus-AI skirmish also limits its use as a testing ground.
The Ambition Is Real—So Are the Problems
Warside clearly isn’t a low-effort clone. There are great design decisions here:
- Sea control finally matters, thanks to income-generating oil rigs and aquatic infantry.
- Buildings level up when captured, rather than resetting every time, streamlining mid-game.
- Factory HP affects output, encouraging surgical strikes and disruption over brute force.
But bugs, content gaps, and unfinished mechanics overshadow these strengths. It feels like a game that needed another 6–12 months in development or a proper Early Access launch.
🎯 What Works Well in Warside
✅ Unit Variety and Synergies
Unique unit types add real tactical depth. Rhinos, snipers, and medics bring fresh options.
✅ CO Power Targeting
Manually triggering powers makes commander strategy more interactive and meaningful.
✅ Pixel Art and UI Clarity (Mostly)
Combat visuals and terrain are readable, with just enough flash to stay interesting.
✅ Naval and Resource Systems
RIBs, oil rigs, and income mechanics make the sea worth fighting for—finally.
✅ High Skill Ceiling Potential
Once balanced and bug-fixed, the depth is here for long-term tactical mastery.
🚫 Where Warside Falls Short
❌ Unfinished Campaign
Ending cuts off mid-scene, with no closure or credits.
❌ Buggy Systems and Misfires
Broken unit stats, missing animations, and non-functional AI CO powers hurt the experience.
❌ Weak Character and Story Presentation
Commander designs are visually awkward, and the writing is bland at best.
❌ UI Limitations
No in-game glossary, no damage preview, unclear unit stats—frustrating for newcomers.
❌ Multiplayer Instability
Broken lobbies at launch and lack of features mean PvP fans are left waiting.
Warside: Warside is full of good ideas, solid mechanics, and clear passion—but it’s not ready for prime time. It plays like a polished prototype that slipped out under pressure. While it can be fun for tactics veterans, the bugs, balance issues, and lack of polish make it a hard sell at launch. Buy it if you’re patient, passionate about Advance Wars-style games, and willing to support development. Wait if you want a finished campaign, strong writing, or competitive multiplayer out of the box. That said, Warside deserves a second look in a few months—if the developers follow through on their patch roadmap. There’s a strong game in here. It just needs more time in the trenches. – Obsidian