Game review
Wargroove
6.5 / 10
- Developer
- Chucklefish
- Publisher
- Chucklefish
- Released
- 1 February 2019
- Platforms
- Windows
- Genre
- Strategy
- Monetisation
- One-time purchase; a Double Trouble DLC campaign sold separately
- Players
- Online and local multiplayer alongside a single-player campaign and co-op modes
The short version
Wargroove is Chucklefish's turn-based tactics game, explicitly positioned as a spiritual successor to the long-dormant Advance Wars series, released on 1 February 2019. It sits at 81% positive ("Very Positive") across 3,158 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews alongside the 100 most recent English reviews.
The dominant, remarkably stable complaint across every year sampled since launch is a direct comparison to Advance Wars itself, appearing in 39 of the 100 negative reviews read — almost always unfavourable. "Wargroove is a shallow copy of Advance Wars that doesn't understand why Advance Wars is good," reads one representative review. Reviewers consistently credit the game's charming pixel art and presentation while describing its tactical depth and unit variety as thinner than the franchise it's explicitly modelled on. "Each unit feels like it was an initial test implementation that was made for a prototype and then just left in the final game," reads another. Recent sentiment sits at 62% positive, meaningfully below the 81% lifetime figure — this review found one specific, though only thinly corroborated, recent complaint about a broken map-uploading feature for sharing custom content, reported by a single 2026 reviewer as unresolved.
Biggest strengths
- Charming, adorable pixel art and presentation that reviewers on both sides of the score consistently praise
- A full-featured single-player campaign alongside co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, offering real content variety
- A built-in map editor and community content sharing that some reviewers credit as extending the game's replayability
Biggest weaknesses
- The single most consistent, stable complaint across every year since launch is direct comparison to Advance Wars, with reviewers describing Wargroove's tactical depth and unit variety as shallower than that franchise's
- Recent sentiment (62% positive) sits meaningfully below the 81% lifetime figure, a real decline this review found no single clear technical cause for
- Some reviewers describe the story and writing as thin, appearing as a complaint in 35 of the 100 negative reviews read
Who it's for: Turn-based tactics fans wanting an Advance Wars-style game with charming presentation — go in with tempered expectations for tactical depth specifically, since that's the most consistent complaint from reviewers who came looking for that franchise's complexity.
Our recommendation: A charming, functional Advance Wars-inspired tactics game that reviewers consistently find shallower than the game it's modelled on — worth it for the presentation and co-op modes, but not a full substitute for Advance Wars' depth.
6.5 / 10
Introduction
Wargroove is Chucklefish's turn-based tactics game, released on 1 February 2019 at NZ$29.35 and explicitly positioned as a spiritual successor to the long-dormant Advance Wars series. It follows several factions across a fantasy world in a campaign built around capturing territory, commanding distinct unit types and unlocking commander abilities, presented in charming, deliberately retro pixel art. It sits at 81% positive ("Very Positive") across 3,158 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 594 total, plus a sample of the 100 most recent English reviews.
Measured against the game it invokes
The single most consistent complaint across every year this review sampled, from 2019 through 2026, is a direct comparison to Advance Wars, appearing in 39 of the 100 negative reviews read — nearly always unfavourable. "Wargroove is a shallow copy of Advance Wars that doesn't understand why Advance Wars is good," reads one representative review. Another, from a self-described longtime Advance Wars fan: "The game does actually give a good first impression... [but] I feel Wargroove falls short" on tactical depth and complexity. This review found the comparison remarkably stable in frequency across time, suggesting it reflects a genuine, durable structural gap between the two games rather than a launch-era overreaction that faded with patches.
Presentation nobody disputes, depth many do
What reviewers consistently exempt from criticism is the presentation. Even the most critical reviews in this sample open by praising the pixel art before pivoting to their actual complaint — a pattern this review has found common across charming-but-mechanically-thin games this session. "Each unit feels like it was an initial test implementation that was made for a prototype and then just left in the final game," reads one review, capturing a specific frustration with unit variety and tactical nuance that recurs throughout the sample. Story also draws real criticism, appearing in 35 of the 100 negative reviews read.
A recent decline, and one unverified complaint
Recent sentiment (62% positive) sits meaningfully below the 81% lifetime figure — a real decline this review found no single, dominant technical explanation for in its sample. This review did find one specific claim worth flagging cautiously: a single 2026 review reports the game's map-uploading feature for sharing custom content as broken with no available fix. This review found it only thinly corroborated — a single report rather than a recurring pattern — and could not independently verify it, so it's noted here as an unverified claim rather than an established fact.
Verdict
Wargroove remains a charming, functional tactics game that succeeds at capturing Advance Wars' presentation and structure without, by wide and remarkably stable reviewer consensus, matching its tactical depth. That comparison is the single most durable complaint this review found across seven years of reviews, not a launch-week reaction that faded. Worth it for tactics fans wanting a lighter, Advance Wars-flavoured experience with genuine content variety across campaign, co-op and multiplayer modes — just go in without expecting it to fully replace the game it's modelled on.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Charming, adorable pixel art and presentation that reviewers on both sides of the score consistently praise
- A full-featured single-player campaign alongside co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, offering real content variety
- A built-in map editor and community content sharing that some reviewers credit as extending the game's replayability
- Fills a specific, real niche as one of relatively few Advance Wars-style tactics games available while that franchise was dormant
Cons
- The single most consistent, stable complaint across every year since launch is direct comparison to Advance Wars, with reviewers describing Wargroove's tactical depth and unit variety as shallower than that franchise's
- Recent sentiment (62% positive) sits meaningfully below the 81% lifetime figure, a real decline this review found no single clear technical cause for
- Some reviewers describe the story and writing as thin, appearing as a complaint in 35 of the 100 negative reviews read
- A single 2026 review reports the map-uploading feature for sharing custom content as broken with no fix available — this review found it only thinly corroborated and could not independently verify it
Screenshots
-
WargrooveImage: Chucklefish via Steam -
WargrooveImage: Chucklefish via Steam -
WargrooveImage: Chucklefish via Steam -
How the review scores each part of the gameWanderer Editorial -
The essentials at a glanceWanderer Editorial -
The short versionWanderer Editorial