Exclusive for PS4
World of Warriors is a bit strange: a four-year mobile turn-based game transformed into a PS4 family match. The look of the game, with its bobble-headed cartoon fighters and its simple, shaded graphics, has been transferred, together with the goal of gathering and training a group of the world's best warriors. But where the mobile game made you choose moves and use step-up enhancers against your enemy, the PS4 version is a rare type of 3D sand-based beat-em-up with echoes of Capcom's much-loved PowerStone, various Dragon Ball Games and the Field Phase part of the Pokken Tournament. Strangely, there is something about his global range of historical fighters that also reminds me of SoulCalibur or even Ubisoft's For Honor, although calling it Honor for children might be too extensive.
The agreement is that you unlock wrestlers from the Temple of Epics in the central city of the game, prepare them with advantages and potions and then take them to battle in different regions of the wilderness. The more your warriors fight, the more they rise in level, giving them more health, resistance and mana and increasing the damage they can do. The victories in combat earn you gems that you can use to unlock more warriors, including rare and legendary sorcerers who start at higher levels. While there is a kind of vague background story of heroism and ancient evil, you basically make your way through the wilderness, you keep adding to your list and see if you can collect the whole.
The combat seems deceptively simple. In most of the battles of the game a team of two warriors is placed, one enters the fray when the other is knocked out. You move in full 3D from a remote isometric perspective, dealing blows with the square and triangular buttons, dodging with X and pressing the circle when you have accumulated enough blue mana balloons to unleash your warrior's special attack. You can also run with a touch of L1 or block with a grip of L2. Measure your blockade perfectly and your enemy staggers, giving you the opportunity to strike back with a fierce blast of attacks.
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However, there are a couple of small wrinkles. In the first place, each warrior is tuned to an element, with the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) working in a cycle, so that the Fire is stronger than the Earth, stronger than the Air, which is stronger than water (you guessed it is stronger than fire The characters of the strongest element do more damage against the characters of the weaker, and by accumulating elemental energy you can fire an elemental impulse that maximizes the impact. in the fighters that you will deploy in any battle, since the warriors of the earth that face against, for example, the warriors of the Earth will give you more opportunities than the warriors of the air.
Second, the sands themselves have Its own special rules and idiosyncrasies: One could have a water titan throwing a gigantic anchor through the decks of ships, go and hit the anchor while it is embedded in the beams and to fly and hit your enemy. Another has a spooky tree with roots that can be persuaded to reach, grab your enemy and smash it to the ground. In some cases, playing in the arena may be easier than trying a straighter fight.
At various points, chests can appear, delivering materials that you can use to make more objects in the city or items that can heal or recharge. Finally, each wilderness region has its own special events, which can see you fighting multiple enemies in all-in-all fights or trying to fly a giant spider with cannon fire before wrapping a warrior in your net. Reach the end of a region and it's the boss's battle time, throwing you against a final special event or against two particularly tough warriors who, when defeated, join your team.
For a few hours, World of Warriors is fun. There is not much depth or variety in the action, but each new warrior has its own strengths and a special characteristic movement, while some of the enemies you face need a different strategy, pushing you to play it safe, dodge and counteract, or go with force with a brutal chain of attacks. Each new region brings new sands and mechanics, and there is a sense of accomplishment as you level up your warriors, winning new recruits and collecting materials and crafts. Here there is enough for younger players to learn, but not so much that it becomes impressive.
It also works well as a game for two players. While a player takes the lead and makes all the decisions, you can choose to bring a second for all the battles, turning the fights into direct fights of two against two and adding a bit of chaos to the mix. And although you can not play online cooperatively, you can join the battle with other players through matches and online leagues, giving you the opportunity to face your best warriors against the world.
Anyway, there's something a bit hollow in the heart of World of Warriors, not to mention something awkwardly grindy. The warriors are varied but not so distinctive; While there are differences in the speed or ferocity of the attacks, none seems so memorable or impregnated with real personality. There are forty to collect but few stand out. Some of the fighting is extremely difficult unless you keep pushing one or two warriors through repeated battles to level up, or unless you keep winning gems to unlock a higher level fighter.
The warriors It comes in sequence, so you can not skip one to save your points for a later hero, and although you can forge profits and potions in the foundry to equip your warriors, the advantages are not They are permanent. There is no sense that you are actually updating your equipment.
And there's no way to avoid the fact that World of Warriors is repetitive. It is exciting to open a new region, but not as exciting to fight in the same arenas or execute three variations in the same special event before you can progress. Add a couple of really irritating peaks of difficulty, and you have a game that is, well, fine but never that great.
I would still cautiously recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheap and fun game to keep a couple of kids occupied during a wet weekend. They could get more of the warriors' lineup and there is always the attraction of another fighter to pick up. Otherwise, you're watching a forgetful sand fight, good for a few hours, but nothing more.
Verdict
Do you have a boring children's home on a rainy weekend? World of Warriors has enough charm and interest to keep them busy for a day or two. However, while it has depth and some good ideas, it is neither sufficiently convincing nor varied enough to sustain its interest any longer. It has a lot of warriors, but not the heart or soul of a great fighting game.