Online game "Warhaven"

Knights' battles are a fertile and popular topic, and many multiplayer games are devoted to it. It is enough to remember the Chivalry series, MMO-tactics Conqueror's Blade, as well as For Honor and Mordhau. It seems that against the background of such works it is incredibly difficult to surprise the audience with something new. But the South Korean company Nexon, known for Dungeon Fighter, decided otherwise. The developers came up with a combat system, in which you don't have to aim or choose the angle of attack, as in For Honor, and then added fantasy and even steampunk elements to the project about medieval warriors. It turned out to be a mixture in the Asian style - bright, dynamic, and free. It remains to be seen whether it is interesting in practice.

Familiarization is simple: you don't need to register somewhere, install a second client of the store (you can't play For Honor without Ubisoft Connect), get a code by mail and everything like that. You just download the game from Steam and you can go straight into battle. To begin with, though, you should stretch yourself in the tutorial mode, where the newcomer is familiarized with the basics of control. At the same time it becomes clear that the environment here is not quite medieval: although the characters fight in knight's armor, they use magic, cut not only people, but also monsters, and also wear camouflage, ride on tanks and trucks made of wood, and communicate by radio. This unusual eclecticism is complemented by the effects, which are powered by Unreal Engine 4.

The game is a fantasy on the theme of the Scandinavian Valhalla, where all warriors go after death and where they go to battle as for work. So there are no story missions here, and all that the heroes do in this postmortem is an endless war of all against all. The basics are clear to anyone who is at least a little familiar with the genre of role-playing action movies: attack and defense are assigned to the mouse buttons, pressing Q and E activates additional techniques, there are jerks, dodges, blocks and parries. Everything seems to be simple, at least not as complicated as in most similar action games, but fights require flair and reaction. This is not a single-player adventure, where enemies attack one by one - in most situations your character is beaten by a crowd. You'll need to keep an eye on your swings, so you can jump back and block in time, as well as eliminate enemies by applying special punches and tossing them into the air.

Once per match you can turn into an immortal, gaining additional powers, but this ability should be used wisely. Mutual support of teammates is also important: lifting the fallen to their feet, treatment, strengthening in attack and defense. Those who die are sent to a respawn point, from where they have to get to the front again. Mortars help to speed things up - they are used here in a circus way: they shoot people, throwing them across a good third of the map. On the other hand, there is also regular artillery, but accurate hits from it are rare. The thing is that the game is very mobile, there are no static targets in it. Even with a sword or a spear it can be difficult to poke exactly where you need to go. Another difficulty is that it is difficult to distinguish enemy from friend in a mass fight, although the developers tried to remedy the situation by means of special designations.

But the fighter actively encourages for successes, and not only by giving out experience, resources and new items of equipment. If you show yourself to be a useful member of the squad, you can be praised both in the voice chat and by pressing a special button after the match. At the end of the fight, you'll also be shown a recording of moments when you were particularly good - for example, when you performed a double kill, held off an onslaught until help arrived, or rescued an ally. Everyone watches this "moment of glory" - you can't miss it. What else distinguishes Nexon's game is the minimization of violent scenes. There are plenty of bright effects accompanying attacks and spells, but there is no bloodshed and dismemberment as in Mordhau. As soon as the hero's health drops to zero, he turns to stone and falls to pieces, like a statue that has fallen from its pedestal.

The choice of maps in Warhaven is not rich, and their tactical variability is reduced to the fact that enemy teams use two or three through paths with narrow sections like bridges, and for bypass maneuvers run on wooden structures. But the game makes up for the small selection of locations with interactive elements. On any terrain there are several objects that you can interact with. There's a human cannon, there's a mobile mortar or trebuchet, and there's an altar. Towers exist not only to monitor the battle - nothing prevents you from jumping from them and landing on a paraglider exactly where you need to go. The heroes' skills also add variety - it's no coincidence that before the start of each match team members choose their classes in advance and even test them during a short warm-up.

Of course, you can decorate your hero in any way you like - you can even put a hussar cap on him, or a camouflage cape, as if in some Metal Gear Solid. Only you have to open the decor gradually, spending either virtual currency or real money on them. Other entertainment of conditionally free format is also in place: there are hundreds of icons, gestures and stickers in the game. It's not hard to earn all of this if you complete daily and weekly tasks, close the stages of the next battle pass and participate in themed activities, such as the Thanksgiving event. In other words, the game allows you to create a unique look, flash your rewards and, in addition, dance over the body of a defeated opponent.

You can fight in two formats - team battle to the death and capture control points. At the same time there are available modes "Quick Search", which creates a random match, "12 on 12" and "6 on 6". There is also a division of battles into standard and ranked - the first are available immediately, and the second are opened after reaching level 30, the maximum level in the game. In other words, in such matches are the most experienced gamers who value their position in the leaderboard. Those who feel that they are not ready to challenge live people can practice on bots. Here you have the same choice of desmatches and point captures, but the role of opponents is played by characters controlled by artificial intelligence. They are properly tuned, so don't expect an easy ride.

Warhaven offers a surprisingly rich selection of classes for conquering victories. Blade is a warrior with a two-handed sword and the main character of the tutorial mode. He not only chops his opponents, but also knocks their shields out of their hands and throws them into the air with a powerful blow. The Spiker uses his spear and power to poke his enemies particularly hard, as well as activating a combination of several jabs. Hammerfist is the largest character on the map, so he is noticeable from afar. Being a thug, he stuns enemies by pummeling them with his formidable weapon and headbutting them. The Guardian's skills, on the other hand, are centered around defense rather than offense. He also pushes his opponents off the walls with his shield - injuries from falls are serious.

The Quiet One is an assassin with exotic names for techniques like Crocodile Bite and Eagle Claw, who strikes stealthily and disorients. Lady Smoke is an interesting heroine who is not the most outstanding in close combat, but limits the vision of opponents with a smokescreen. Since you can kill with a couple or three blows, a brief hiccup in the mist is enough for the Lady's allies to seize the moment and accomplish the task at hand. Another unusual class is the Bard, who runs around the battlefield with a lute and defeats enemies with the sounds of music. The chords can both protect the musician and his friends, and stun or traumatize enemies. Each of the heroes has two important parameters - control and difficulty. Blade, for example, is the easiest to control, but requires a lightning-fast reaction to a threat. The Spike, on the other hand, is its complete opposite.

But that's not all, because during the fight characters can temporarily take on the guise of immortals, and you can also choose the alter ego that suits you in advance. The key characteristics here are also control and difficulty, and the list ranges from the easy-to-use Martyr to the complex but effective rider nicknamed Black Storm. When he rushes straight at you on horseback, it's really hard to dodge this attack, and once under his hooves, you're unlikely to survive. Also among the demigods are the sorceress Crow and the swordsman Heath, who can heal and revive fallen comrades from a distance.

Progression in Warhaven resembles all games of the genre at once: to grow in levels, you must win battles and gain experience with resources. Especially big rewards come from completing the daily quests associated with the seasons. But neither the level of heroes, if you have even the highest thirtieth, nor the purchase of weapons in the virtual store do not have a significant impact on the balance. What is more important is the ability to reveal the character's potential during the match - it is appropriate to use techniques, turn into an immortal and help your teammates. In other words, the personal skills of the gamer play a much bigger role than any regalia and items.

On the one hand, this is good, because it allows a fast newcomer to quickly prove himself and rise in the rankings. On the other hand, there is a rule familiar to many players: no matter how well you do something, there will always be an Asian who does it better. Since the game is Korean, even on its European servers there are Koreans who already have their hands full and have worked out winning tactics in their teams. Matchmaking by level does not guarantee anything - at any moment you risk running into an opponent who is too good for a beginner. If such difficulties do not embarrass you (after all, Warhaven is not the only online fighter with such problems) and you have a normal internet connection (ping should be less than a hundred), why not give it a try?

Warhaven is a successful attempt to make a Korean analog of For Honor with more magic and less complexity of heroes management. The game is also available, unlike the French online action game, for free, although it is somewhat inferior to it in the beauty of graphics. But the attempt to make the gameplay more accessible and the maps clearer did not lead to the fact that any beginner can cope with the tasks. Gameplay still requires attention, reaction and the ability to quickly find a way out of a difficult situation. Only possessing these qualities, you are guaranteed to enjoy the project of Nexon company, and the rest of the game can be recommended for familiarization at least.

Zarium. November 2023