Wartorn Preview: An interesting roguelite with a brilliant art style at its core

Wartorn is developed by Stray Kite Studios and published by Stray Kite Studios. It is a roguelite with real-time combat, where magic, storyline, and narrative meet an art style that can only be described as brilliantly unique. It is one of those games that catches you completely by suprise.

Your journey begins in a villa, which will soon be ablaze thanks to Imperia scum. Young Elani and Yara must flee and fight their way to reach Redjrix at the Recognition Stone in their enchanted Wagon. The gift sent to Yara in honor of her Recognition Ceremony, a strange Hourglass of unknown origin, ties everything together.

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Wartorn: First impressions and gameplay

Such a beautiful villa, would be a shame if something were to happen to it (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

Staying true to its name, Wartorn is truly a simple yet beautiful roguelite at its core. The mechanics are easy to understand, but hard to master. I was given the rundown of things before I had the chance to dive in firsthand, and one of the very first things that struck me was the art style. It's different, very unique for a roguelite, and I for one love it.

The character design and overall world-building remind me of the Wood Elves from Total War: WARHAMMER, which is something I'm deeply invested in. The lead protagonists, Elani and Yara, are very reminiscent of the Sisters of Twilight, Arahan and Naestra. But this is where I stop the comparisons and look at the unique gameplay that Wartorn has to offer.

The Twins: Elani and Yara (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

I've played for about four hours, and out of which, I had to start over three times. Not due to technical error, but rather the nature of the game itself. Death is not the end in Wartorn, but a second chance to start over and do things differently. Throughout your journey, some of the resources collected will be lost, but others, which help level up the twins, remain.

You grow stronger each time you - well, I won't say die, but rather reset time. This is the core mechanic of the game, and it has been beautifully woven not just into gameplay, but the overall storyline and narration as well. In short, it doesn't feel like an add-on to ensure this is a roguelite, but rather is the reason why Wartorn could become a roguelite.

The "strange" gift (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

I'll talk about combat, which again makes use of a feature that's tied into the storyline and narration. I won't give away much in terms of the hows and whys, but you can slow time during combat to execute tactical decisions. Each unit has abilities that can be used with extreme precision, due to time being slowed down. With a good mix of units, there are always new tactics to explore.

You get bonuses for flanking, for using abilities against an enemy type that is weak towards a certain element, and for layering abilities atop each other. For instance, you can make the ground wet with one ability, and then electrocute anyone within that area using a unit that has lightning ability.

Combat is smooth and can be intense at times (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

However, I learned the hard way that Wartorn has friendly fire. First time around, I wiped out my own unit without realizing it. Is it harsh and unforgiving? Yes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. By implementing this friendly-fire mechanic, it makes you critically think about how you're going to engage an enemy unit.

Sending in close-combat units with ranged support is only going to get your troops killed, as they'll be getting shot in the back. It took me a bit of time to learn how to adapt, but it was worth it. You can even use this tactic against the enemy, which is very effective. All in all, combat is truly fun, and there's a lot of it.

The overworld map (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

There are many side quests and other interactions you can participate in as your Wagon moves along the road towards the Recognition Stone. Another aspect of the art style is that the map is being drawn as the Wagon moves along the intended path. At each crossroad, you'll get to choose the direction of the Wagon; each path only allows you to move forward and offers certain challenges and rewards. There's no going back, so choose carefully.

The ultimate goal will be for you to reach Lady Justice, and seek a Degree of Vengeance against the Imperia. It took me a while to meet this entity, and it was indeed a fruitful adventure; full of battle, storytelling, intrigue, and without giving away any spoilers, a "Cosmic Stranger" as well. Oh, you also get to rescue Family Members, which in turn provide you with buffs.

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Performance and sound

I played my copy of Wartorn, provided by Stray Kite Studios, on a system having the following configuration:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
• GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
• RAM: 32 GB

In terms of performance and sound, everything functioned as intended. Coming to the voice acting and music, I enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to a lot more. Coming to the aspect of time slowing time, during these moments, nothing was out of the ordinary either. Things functioned smoothly.

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In conclusion

Lady Justice is no pushover (Image via Stray Kite Studios)

Given that Wartorn is yet to be released in Early Access, I don't want to jump to any conclusions at the moment. However, based on what I've played and experienced, the game is solid, and I know with time, things are going to get even better. The pacing is good, the combat is solid, and the storytelling/narrative had me sold.

I look forward to playing Wartorn again in Early Access to see what Stray Kite Studios has added. To be frank, I see a lot of potential with the game in terms of expansion and spinoffs of the storyline. As for the friendly-fire aspect, developers, if you're reading this, don't remove it. It adds a layer of dynamics that makes things interesting.

I'll stop here for now and try to complete my fourth run in Wartorn. Hopefully, I have enough buffs and bonuses to defeat Lady Justice and continue my playthrough. For now, I'll say A'dah a'rah.

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Reviewed on: PC

Platform: Microsoft Windows

Developer: Stray Kite Studios

Publisher: Stray Kite Studios

Release: June 17, 2025 (Early Access)