Wardrum Review: Too Much of a Good Thing | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: Steam (PC)

Price: $19.99

I love roguelikes. I love RPGs. I enjoy rhythm games, and I’ve grown fond of strategy games. On paper, Wardrum sounds like it was designed specifically for me, combining all four into a roguelike rhythm-based strategy RPG. That should be a recipe for success. But I guess there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Wardrum looks beautiful. It takes inspiration from games like Octopath Traveler, offering pixelated characters and scenery that are absolutely stunning. During battles, the camera zooms in on characters as they unleash their attacks, creating a striking blend of 2D art and 3D presentation. It’s a really cool effect that adds an extra sense of drama to each encounter.

The attacks are entirely rhythm-based, and each character comes with their own unique set of skills and corresponding rhythm patterns that I need to master. The system itself is fairly familiar. A vertical bar moves across the screen, and I need to press the appropriate buttons on beat as the line passes over each input prompt.

As I stated, I enjoy rhythm games when they're done well, and this is where Wardrum shines. The patterns aren't difficult to learn, and they make sense in the context of the attacks I'm about to unleash. For example, to fire an arrow with the archer, I first hit the X button on beat, then hold the top shoulder button for a few beats, and finally press Y on beat. The accompanying animation shows the character nocking the arrow, drawing the bowstring, and releasing the shot.

That visual feedback helps make the rhythm patterns feel intuitive. Maybe that's just how my brain works, but seeing the animations mirror the inputs made it much easier for me to understand what the game was asking me to do. And the more accurately I hit those inputs on beat, the better my results. Perfect timing can mean additional damage or even an extra attack.

And that applies to every character I unlock. As my party levels up, I gain access to new abilities, some of which feature much more complex rhythm patterns. Even so, after a few attempts, I was usually able to land most of the beats consistently.

Wardrum also includes some welcome accessibility options. I can calibrate the timing if I notice any input lag, and if I'm really struggling, there's a setting that makes hitting the beats more forgiving.

The battles take place on a grid, which is where the strategy side of Wardrum comes into play. Before combat begins, I can position my characters on the battlefield where I think they'll be most effective. I don't have complete freedom, though, as I'm limited to a designated deployment area. Occasionally, random events grant me the element of surprise, expanding my placement options and giving me a bit more flexibility in how I approach a fight.

Like the rhythm mechanics, this system is well executed. While I found it’s important to place my characters on the board that would best suit the situation, the strategy element didn’t offer anything new. That’s not a bad thing though.

Then there’s the roguelike element. Before each run, I select one trinket from a handful of randomly offered options. These provide various bonuses, such as increasing a character's health by fifteen percent.

Occasionally, I come across rare or even legendary trinkets. One of my favorites offered a tiny chance to deal 999 points of damage with an attack. Yeah the odds are slim, but hey, there's still a chance.

Like other roguelikes, I can choose which path to follow after each encounter. Some routes lead to random events, while others offer treasure chests or other rewards. Of course, the most tempting options also often lead to elite enemies, forcing me to decide whether the reward is worth the risk.

Personally, I was always on the lookout for a path leading to a rhythm forge, where I could craft new items using crystals collected throughout my run. These items can grant additional attacks, healing abilities, and other useful effects, making the forge one of the most valuable stops on the map.

Normal encounters are tough. My small band of heroes is usually outnumbered, which wouldn't be such a problem if the enemies didn't hit so hard. Archers in the opening encounters fire poison arrows that can take half of my tank's health in a single attack. Ouch.

Nighttime encounters add another wrinkle, as they have a chance to spawn additional enemies. Thankfully, I eventually learned a trick. The game warns me about incoming spawns a turn before they appear, and since combat is turn-based, I can position my team away from those locations. With a little luck, the new arrivals will focus their attention on the enemies already on the battlefield instead of my party.

And when I die? Well, it's a trip to the big drum in the sky.

No, seriously. I'm taken to a purgatory-like realm where I can spend the cadence points I earned during my latest run. These points are awarded based on how well I performed and can be used to unlock new characters, grant existing heroes additional abilities, and create oasis points on the map that provide healing or resurrection opportunities.

Progression is handled much like other roguelikes. I complete a run, earn currency, purchase upgrades, and head back out to see how much farther I can make it next time.

However, this is also an RPG, which means I'm leveling up my characters throughout each run. And when I die? Everything resets. My characters are sent all the way back to level one.

I don't mind a grind. In fact, one of the reasons I love RPGs is that when I hit a difficult encounter, I can spend some time building up my characters until I feel ready for the challenge. More often than not, I end up overleveling them.

That's why Wardrum's approach was so frustrating for me. After investing time into growing my party, a poorly timed ambush, an overwhelming group of enemies, or a boss encounter I wasn't prepared for can wipe out that progress in an instant. Losing a run is one thing. Losing the character progression I spent building feels demoralizing.

But I persisted. I started unlocking characters that better matched my play style and learned how to use my team more effectively. While dying sucked, I jumped right back in.

Maybe it's because I enjoy the combat so much. Or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment. Either way, it was heartbreaking to watch my team fall.

There were even times when I'd lose a key party member early in a run and simply cut my losses, abandoning the attempt altogether. At least I'd still earn some cadence points to spend before hoping my next run would go a little better.

Final Grade: B

As individual parts, Wardrum does a great job. The rhythm-based combat works well, the strategy elements are competently executed, and the roguelike features incorporate systems I've come to enjoy in other games in the genre. The problem is that these pieces never fully come together as a cohesive idea.

Roguelikes typically focus their progression between runs, rewarding players with new abilities, characters, and permanent upgrades; but death means starting over. RPGs are built around steadily growing stronger through character progression. Wardrum tries to do both at once, and for me, those systems ended up working against each other rather than complementing one another.

Spending time leveling my party only to lose that progress after a failed run felt demoralizing. Wardrum would have been stronger if it had committed more fully to either the roguelike progression model or the RPG progression model instead of trying to do both.

The combat is excellent, and it carried me through moments when I was ready to walk away. If the combat hadn't been as good as it was, I probably would have stopped after only a handful of runs.

Review code provided by Team17