Warbits 9+

So what if I’m about 6 years late on this review? I started playing Warbits again recently and it hit me that I’ve never left an honest review for it. It’s never too late I guess. That being said, this game is LEGIT. It has been one of my favorite iOS games since it was released years ago, and has been one of my favorite strategy games in general. I’ve played a lot of them, so please take that as a big compliment. I won’t drag this review on, because other reviewers have already praised it for its gameplay, visual style, music, dialogue, etc., etc., but DANG I love this game! The only super minor complaint I have is that it’s not full screen on my iPhone 11, and that once in a while little glitches will happen here and there, like charges flying off the screen upon earning them, and a few icons not lining up properly. I’m still giving it 5 stars though, because for a game that’s been around this long, it’s still super fun and looks great. Devs, please create more games, or magically update this one, because bravo! Sincerely, thank you for this gem.

This game is an Advance Wars clone. I don’t use the term lightly; it’s not just that the units are almost the same, even the end-of-stage scoring system rates you on Power (% of enemies destroyed), Skill (% of your units that survived), and Speed... even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. On stage 4-4, for instance, you have an ally who helps you against your foe- every unit your ally destroys does not count towards your Power score, making it literally impossible to earn top scores.

Now don’t get me wrong, Warbits is not a bad game. Its core systems, such as its economy, unit balance and variety, mostly copy Advance Wars, which is a really solid system to copy. The reason I give it three stars is because it’s worse in all the areas it cannot directly copy (storyline, aesthetics and visual clarity), and the one area where it tries to innovate and improve upon the old formula with its HQ abilities, it mostly fails. The abilities are poorly balanced, the AI is shamefully poor at using them, and their inclusion harms the game’s overall unit balance.

As a result of the above, Warbits is a competent game and if you like the genre, you won’t regret playing it. It’s also forgettable- it doesn’t advance the genre in any way. When the next game of this type comes out, it will still be compared to Advance Wars, not to Warbits.