Game Reviews

Winterstate - Better sorry than safe

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iOS
| Winterstate
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Winterstate - Better sorry than safe
|
iOS
| Winterstate

Winterstate is a free to play RTS that sees you building a team of deadly vehicles to do battle with raiders and win back territory in a war-torn, post apocalyptic America.

It starts relatively simple. You own a peppy little machine gun-toting car and are tasked with taking down a few local raider bases and vehicles.

To do so, you enter a level, draw a path from your car through all enemy vehicles, and watch as it shoots them to bits.

Winterstate does quickly ramp up in difficulty though - especially as you unlock new classes of vehicle. There are five of these and they range from fast-paced cars to full-blown tanks, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Figuring out how to get these working in unison to bring down the variety of vehicles and defences you face is your main goal - and that's no easy task.

Time and time again

Before too long you'll be sending your tanks in to soak up damage, positioning your artillery vehicles safely behind buildings to bring down groups of unwitting vehicles, and whizzing behind enemy lines as a scout to destroy weaker opponents or pick up energy.

This energy fuels your vehicle's primary skill, which is dictated by its chosen class. Tanks can pop up a shield which makes them temporarily invincible while artillery vehicles can throw down defensive bombs to make a quick escape and take out a few opponents in the process.

As you complete levels you'll start to uncover territory and take over resource producing buildings. These can give you items to trade, gems, or resources used to upgrade your vehicles.

The trading aspect of Winterstate is easy to forget though. You'll unlock a bunch of farms which will produce materials periodically, then you pick them up and take them to the city that pays the most for them.

It's fine

It's fine and it works but it's not exactly compelling, and you'll be for more interested in engaging in the vehicular warfare than taking the time to drive from location to location to get a bigger paycheque.

If there's one disappointing aspect of Winterstate's warfare, it's the cruel timer you face during missions. It goes against your every instinct as a strategy player.

Instead of taking the slow, calculated, and safe route you're forced to get stuck right in if you want any chance of getting a three star score - let alone completing the level.

This leads to mistakes and frustration - particularly in the early game when you're finding your feet. The difficulty mounts pretty quickly.

Aside from that, Winterstate is an exceptionally pretty free to play RTS that provides a decent challenge and contains a ton of content to keep you busy for the long haul.

Winterstate - Better sorry than safe

Winterstate is a gorgeous free to play vehicle battler, but an unfair timer system and forgettable trading system mildly spoil the fun
Score
Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)