Wargroove 2

5 January, 2025 - 1:45 pm by Tom Fathers
About 7 mins to read
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X|S

If you’re here thinking, “hang about, am I reading a review for a Game Boy Advance game? Have I magically gone back to 2001 when everything was better, and life was simpler?”

No. Sadly you have not.

This isn’t the golden era of the Game Boy; the age of handheld dominance. But what it is instead is a damn good throwback to it. I miss my Game Boy Advance SP, with its revolutionary upgrade with just the addition of the backlight alone, rendering sleep optional. When I first saw Wargroove 2, my immediate thought was – “This is just Medieval Advance Wars.” But then I started to play it and thought – “this is definitely medieval Advance Wars!” But that is in no way a bad thing – far from it. That game sparked the beginning of my little tactician brain, and each little rush of endorphins seeing the opposing army units getting wiped out. Wargroove 2 brings back those feelings and adds its own twist to them. Developed by Chucklefish and Robotality, and played on Xbox Series X, Wargroove 2 is a delightful sequel to a game that captures the fun and nostalgia of a time gone by.

At a Glance

Positives	Negatives
+ Excellent tactical warfare + Multiple campaigns & modes to increase longevity + Advance Wars nostalgia – what’s not to love?	– Not a great difference from the first game – Story not very cohesive between the campaigns – Visual clutter can, at times, make it hard to see what’s going on
Available on:	Xbox PC (Steam) Nintendo Switch
Find out about our scoring policy here

The story directly follows on a few years from the first game, where we are introduced to a new faction called the Faahri, and a band of pesky rodents who have come to the world of Aurania in order to uncover its magical secrets. The game splits into three different campaigns, which allows you to follow a different faction across their journey, and also separates the difficulty for players who might not be natural generals. The Faahri are for beginners, whilst the Heavensong Empire and the new Pirate factions are for intermediate players, who want to jump into the action quicker, with bigger maps, and all types of units at your disposal. Honestly, the maps and missions can be so big that some levels can take up to an hour each, especially if you want to complete all of the side missions. I enjoyed each campaign and their stories, although they never truly felt cohesive enough to give a “main campaign” feel, but they were each varied enough for me to not really mind.

Regardless of which campaign, the mechanics of each level are the same, but the goals can be very different. This could be to either wipe out the enemy forces, capture their stronghold, or complete missions like reaching certain location on the map, or surviving a wave of baddies for a given time. Fundamentally, with a turn-based style and top down view of the warzone, you progress your units around the map using terrain for tactical advantage. Some levels give you the ability to build units, others force you to use the limited army supplied but with items scattered throughout the map to allow opportunities to heal your troops or provide offensive or defensive abilities for individual units. These enhancements, like all other abilities, can be looked up in the codex, which is a handy tool since there are many different abilities that require precise knowledge of how they work in order to utilise them properly. The number of times I miscounted a square or misinterpreted a direction of something was costly, though thankfully once per battle there is a “undo turn” option, where you can reset to the beginning of your move – use it wisely! The only other issue I had was the clutter on the screen, with some abilities like The Twins commander Groove, at times it was difficult to differentiate between unit, terrain, building and the range graphic.

Another similarity I noticed between the first and second games of both Wargroove and Advance Wars was the addition of a second tier of commander ability. Or in this case, a Super Groove! As you perform actions with your army, the Groove Meter for your commander increases. and knowing when to unleash it immediately and when to save it up adds another tactical layer to the battle. Be wary however, if any of your commanders falls you lose, so don’t always hoard the Groove!

Away from the regular campaign, Wargroove 2 introduces a whole new mode in the form of Conquest. This provides players looking for an extra challenge by switching up the dynamic. You choose a commander and a small contingent of men, deploying them into a series of permadeath skirmishes. In a sense, it behaves like a roguelike game mode, where you aren’t able to prepare entirely for what lies ahead, as the game throws different types of enemies at you between the different battles. Fundamentally the game is the same, but I enjoyed having to think differently in order to succeed.

The map creation tool is also an excellent feature, allowing you to bring out your inner Picasso. Once you’ve gained a good grasp of what Wargroove 2 offers, you can then utilise your knowledge to build your own maps, with upgraded tools to quicken the process, as well as the ability to use them for solo play or multiplayer. It’s an excellent way to add longevity to a game that, in fairness, can already take upwards of 30-hours to complete.

Overall, Wargroove 2 may not add too much to its predecessor, but when you already have a good thing going, why change the formula? The long levels and occasional screen clutter can be annoying, and the story of the campaign is not especially cohesive. However, despite the lack of new features, at its core the tactical gameplay and the gorgeous visuals are a true throwback to the brilliant Advance Wars series. If you’re a fan of that formula, then look no further, as Wargroove 2 is available on Xbox Gamepass, Steam and Nintendo Switch.