Back in 2024, EALA and EA released The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, a real-time-strategy game that successfully blended the hero-focused action of the IP with the base and army-building strategy of the genre. A sequel and expansion later, the sub-franchise solidified itself as a fan-favorite, one that many would like to see return. EA never got the chance to follow-up as the rights to Middle-earth shifted to Warner Bros. who also happened to have the rights to Game of Thrones. Despite sitting on two incredible IPs, Warner Bros. has done little in the game development realm for either.
That’s what makes PlaySide’s Game of Thrones: War for Westeros so interesting. War for Westeros stands as the first major game release the Game of Thrones IP has seen in more than a decade. Simiarly, it also borrows heavily from the popular The Battle for Middle-earth games, allowing players to control larger-than-life characters amid building your army. We got a chance to see if Game of Thrones: War for Westeros can capture the magic of The Battle for Middle-earth and Game of Thrones.
As a game still heavily in development, we only got to experience a sliver of what the full game offers. We only got to play with two of the game’s four factions (Houses Stark and Lannister), with a limited roster of heroes, on two relatively small maps, and in only a single 1v1 mode (though it could be played online or offline against bots). A pretty barebones experience, but given the game’s 2027 release window, very understandable.
At launch, Game of Thrones: War for Westeros will include the House Targaryen and White Walker factions, each with their own suite of heroes, units, and playstyles. There’ll also be a campaign mode, though details on that are currently underwraps. Players can also expect plenty of maps to play across online or offline in Skirmish.
While we don’t know much about the campaign or the other factions, what we can say is that PlaySide is doing an excellent job bringing Game of Thrones to life. The game carries over the look and feel of the HBO show, capturing the essence of each faction as they were showcased on Game of Thrones. This includes the heroes, whose likenesses are pulled right from the show. Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Jaimie Lannister, and Richard Madden’s Robb Stark are all beautifully recreated for War for Westeros. As far away from release as War for Westeros is, PlaySide has mostly nailed the presentation.
The one drawback is the audio, specifically for the heroes. As far as we can tell, none of the original actors have returned to voice their characters, and their replacements simply sound odd. This is a case where PlaySide may want to take notes from The Battle for Middle-earth, which took audio snippets from the films for Hero dialogue when the original actor didn’t reprise their role.
Game of Thrones: War for Westeros plays similarly to other RTS games, though takes many cues from The Battle for Middle-earth. Resources are simplified to just two; Gold and Influence. You can build anywhere in your base, but specific building plots littered around the map yield higher amounts of resources. Capturing outposts throughout the map unlocks new area to builds.
Regardless of which faction you choose, a match usually consists of collecting resources, building structures, and acquiring units and upgrades. A match is typically won by destroying your enemy’s base, though it can also be won by dominating the battlefield and capturing and holding every point. How you go about completing your objective varies heavily depending on your faction.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://hardcoregamer.com/game-of-thrones-war-for-westeros-preview/
