Gameplay

Battleforge is a fairly intimidating game to approach despite the helpful hints system and tutorials, but it really shouldn’t be. A lot of the actual gameplay specifics are pretty intuitive and the base mechanics aren’t fundamentally very different from most other RTS games; you form your army, launch assaults, achieve your objectives.

What sets Battleforge apart from most RTS games though is that the battle can actually be won or lost long before the match actually starts. It’s all about how you form your deck and how well it suits the level you’ll be playing on.

In gameplay terms a deck is essentially the tech-tree for your army, dictating what you can build, summon and do in the match to come. Matches are chosen from a huge map of the game world, with most levels having a small story arc in them which ties into the massive over-fiction. Really though, not a lot of that needs to be explained in detail; just know that you’re a big God in the heavens, dedicated to helping your people.


A deck is made up of cards, with individual cards being different units or actions. One card may be a troop of archers, or a cannon tower or spell-blocker, or it may be a targeted spell that you can aim at foes, it all depends. There are four different classes of card; Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow – or aggressive, defensive, blocking and sacrificial cards, respectively.

You can mix and match card types however you want, but since your deck can only be of a certain size getting the balance right is crucial. It may be tempting to just build a deck of Frost cards, but if you’re going to be playing a level where you are a lone aggressor then you’ll be at a considerable disadvantage if your foe favours Fire cards. On the other hand, Shadow cards won’t help you if you don’t have many resources – reading those mission briefings is critical.

Likewise, it may be tempting to build an army of only the most powerful cards, but if the level doesn’t provide the resources to summon them then you’ll be left without a single soldier. There are two types of resources in Battleforge; elemental orbs and power, both of which are harvested by holding certain buildings. While power is used as a currency to summon units, orbs dictate what units you can summon. A Fire Dancer may only cost 150 power to summon, but you might need three fire orbs to get access to her card, for example.


Getting to grips with the game thus far then has been a matter of logic and maths – the tentative back and forth process of trying different deck combos to see what works. To help make this process a little less punishing the main menu for the game is actually a huge arena where you can limitlessly summon any card you own and try it out against AI enemies for fun.

Where Battleforge starts to lighten up a bit is in the presentation of the game and the actual cards themselves. Explaining how the cards work is a somewhat dull but necessary task, but it’s made worthwhile when you get to the units themselves. They’re universally colourful and inventive, like scientists playing paintball.

On the surface the game seems as serious as an angry headmaster, but it’s actually as light-hearted and cheery as a class of mischievous children. The art is fantastically fantastical and the spells especially are always rewarding.

It doesn’t matter whether you flood a field with lava to slaughter some footsoldiers or slap an enemy Juggernaut with an Oink! Spell, turning him into a pig for a short period, the fact that you’ve chosen those cards leaves you feeling like you’re stamping your personality on the game at the very least.