Tabletop Tavern Review Summary

Innovative genre fusion and good value with an interesting roguelike campaign, but artillery and ranged feel overpowered, performance is poor, and multiplayer is missing.

Innovative genre fusion praised: Reviewers consistently highlight the successful combination of Total War’s real-time combat with Slay the Spire’s roguelike map and upgrade systems. This hybrid gameplay is seen as a perfect fit, scratching an itch for both Total War and roguelike fans.

Overall game quality high: Many players describe the game as excellent, fantastic, extremely solid, and enjoyable. The positive general sentiment indicates strong satisfaction with the core experience, though specific reasons are not always detailed.

Good variety of factions: The game offers many unique factions and leaders, providing flexibility in playstyles. This variety makes replaying fun and adds depth as players explore different units, heroes, and strategies.

Great value for price: Players feel the game is worth its cost, especially considering its scope and quality. It is described as affordable, a good purchase, and a good deal, even in bundle pricing.

Good combat mechanics: The battle system captures the best parts of Total War combat, featuring quick, straightforward fights that are easy to jump into. This simplified approach is appreciated by many who want the essence of Total War battles without the heavy time investment.

Artillery and ranged overpowered: Artillery and ranged units are considered too strong, with artillery being able to solo multiple enemy units including giants and dragons. This unbalances combat significantly.

Unit collision issues: Units can get stuck in each other, preventing movement and causing no damage. This includes infantry not moving when artillery tries to pass through them.

Multiplayer mode missing: Players report that multiplayer is not yet available, though it is planned for a winter release. Many are eagerly waiting for this feature.

Poor optimization: Optimization is reported as very bad, likely affecting performance and player experience.

Too simple for Total War players: Compared to Total War, the game is seen as too simple and easy, failing to offer enough challenge for experienced strategy gamers.

Total War Roguelike Hybrid: The game is frequently described as a roguelike or roguelite that incorporates Total War-style real-time battles, offering a snackable, arcade-like experience that simplifies the tactical combat of the Total War series.

Slay the Spire Mechanics Fusion: Players note the game combines Total War's strategic battle system with the deckbuilding and progression mechanics popularized by Slay the Spire, creating a unique hybrid loop of encounter choices and combat.

Streamlined and Casual Format: The game is seen as a shorter, more casual version of Total War, simplifying the complex campaign systems into digestible battles, making it ideal for quick sessions or board game-style play.

Roguelike Campaign Structure: The campaign features a turn-based map with event nodes, 9 factions, and 18 leaders, requiring players to survive 7 battles per run across 3 phases, emphasizing army development and choice-driven progression.

Real-Time Strategy Battles: The core gameplay is described as real-time strategy with roguelike elements, distilling the tactical depth of Total War battles into a fast-paced RTS experience with unit morale focus.

Poor general optimization: Players consistently report that the game is poorly optimized, with vague complaints about performance issues across various hardware.

Long loading times: Loading times are criticized as being somewhat long, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay.

High resource consumption: The game uses a high amount of PC resources including CPU and GPU, causing strain even on capable systems.

Stuttering problems: The game suffers from stuttering, particularly on fog and tree-heavy maps, as well as during battles.

Overheating issues: The game causes overheating problems, with one player reporting temperatures of 70 degrees for both GPU and CPU.

For Total War fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of the Total War series who enjoy battles but may want a more focused or faster experience. It appeals to both veterans and newcomers who lack time for long campaigns.

Total War meets roguelikes: Multiple reviews recommend the game for fans of both Total War and roguelike games, highlighting its blend of tactical battles with randomized progression, similar to Slay the Spire.

Good value for money: Several reviewers note the game offers good value at its price point, especially when on sale, and recommend it as a cheaper alternative to Total War.

Recommended for strategy and RTS fans: Broadly recommended for fans of strategy games, RTS, and real-time tactics, especially those who enjoy roguelike elements.

Needs more content and updates: Some reviews recommend waiting for more content, unit variety, and faction differentiation, while others say it is worth buying if the developer continues updates.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Story completion: 1.5h.

Session length: 1.0h.

This game provides immediate fun for players who enjoy fast-paced tactical RTS with roguelike progression, though early friction includes load times and some balance issues.

Friction: Long load times; High damage output makes battles resolve too quickly; Some balance issues with unit upgrades feeling overpowered; Early battles can feel tedious when victory is obvious but with big losses.

Unlock drivers: Meta progression with global upgrades from runs; Random unit upgrades at rest bonfires; Card packs from vendor that add unique modifiers.

Total War Veteran Seeking Casual Battles: Casual, short sessions focusing on resolving battles with minimal strategic map management. Motivation: Quick tactical battles without campaign complexity. Stance: sale.

Roguelike Strategic Enthusiast: Experimenting with factions, optimizing builds each run, seeking strategic depth through randomized choices. Motivation: Procedural runs and meta-progression. Stance: buy.

Indie Supporter / Solo Dev Advocate: Patient, engaged with updates, providing feedback, and appreciating the developer's transparency. Motivation: Supporting solo development and enjoying evolving content. Stance: buy.

Players with 12-15GB VRAM report smooth performance, while those with 8-11GB VRAM experience frequent performance issues requiring manual workarounds.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Runs well at high settings with good frame rates.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: negative. Users report performance issues requiring manual FPS cap workarounds.