Geek Review: Mushroom Wars 2

RTS Games, or otherwise known as Real Time Strategy is a genre that has definitely seen better days. With the current video game generation shifting their focus to all things Battle Royale, and ensuring that new titles are “streaming-friendly”, it comes as no surprise that Mushroom Wars 2 is a breath of fresh air.

Wait, Mushroom Wars 2? Was there even a first title to warrant a sequel? What started out as mobile games on the iOS turned into something bigger, when developer Zillion Whales brought the franchise over to the Steam marketplace, and never looked back.

With the arrival of the Nintendo Switch, it would seem that many indie titles are being granted a new lease of life. Mushroom Wars 2 probably found itself on the right console at the right time, and its frenetic gameplay certainly makes for maximum entertainment in the living room.

Mushroom Wars 2 isn’t the same type of RTS game that was popular a few generations ago. Its premise is far simpler, and if you’re familiar with the board game Risk, Mushroom Wars 2 is pretty much built upon that same backbone. Build up your army, control points within the battlefield, and defend your positions as your opponent seeks to do the same.

Unlike traditional RTS games like StarCraft, there’s no need for resource gathering. Troops are created automatically from the base village structure over time, and will be used as a resource for building upgrades. For most of the game, players will be maneuvering around the battlefield grabbing as many structures as possible to eventually overwhelm the opposition. Over time, it becomes a juggle to manage between having a strong overwhelming force or upgrading your buildings with the same troops to ensure the empire remains firmly in your grasp.

In the absence of fog of war, there is a distinct lack of information on the battlefield to give players a good sense of their opponents’ strength. Over time, players would eventually deduce from visual cues if key positions of the map are heavily defended or ripe for the taking.

If players are looking to control key positions, it is likely that they would usually throw the bulk of their forces to secure a victory. In doing so, this will likely leave their rear open to attack and an opportunistic opponent might sweep in from the back to claim unprotected resources thus kicking off a tug of war.

While one could always slowly whittle away at an opponent, there are key mechanics in the game which encourage decisive victories. Send in a slow trickle of troops and you’ll only be serving to help build up the opponent’s morale bar. The higher the morale, the better the troops attack and defend. Thus, there is a good incentive to keep the momentum up as opposed to staying back and building up forces on the map.

The singleplayer campaign is a straightforward affair and introduces new concepts and buildings to players in a friendly manner. There is a good amount of missions to burn through but it starts to feel a tad repetitive, despite the length of the campaign.

The lack of unit variety might be a big contributing factor and Mushroom Wars 2 tries to mix things up by introducing hero powers into the game. The concern here is that while heroes add a much-needed depth to the game, there is little to no explanation what abilities each hero has and their use case.

It’s largely left up to players to figure out what abilities work best in a variety of scenarios. This issue is further compounded if you’re looking to play this title with friends for the very first time.

The upside of Mushroom Wars 2 is that it affords three other friends via local multiplayer, and there’s very little hand-holding for anyone getting into the game for the very first time. This is probably one of the best ways on how not to make a party game.

Combine that with the frenetic gameplay, it would take a resilient group of gamers many rounds before they get a good idea of how to get around the battlefield. If the local competition is not up to snuff, there’s always online multiplayer to seek out worthy opponents. During my tests, I always found a game in no time and usually each match would wrap up within ten minutes.

With so many play options packed into a title which made its debut on smartphones in 2016 and then Steam, the Nintendo Switch has definitely been a boon for Mushroom Wars 2. Without it, the title might be languishing amongst a crowded marketplace riding on a genre that has little modern fans. However, for all its charm and novelty, Mushroom Wars 2 remains a largely simplistic title which might not appeal to everyone. This is a title best played with veterans over time but not one which will spark renewed interest in the RTS genre.

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!