In Stormgate, the seconds before being thrown into a 1v1 RTS battle is unmatched. As the timer ticks down, your heart races. Then, you take a deep breath. All of a sudden, a colourful command center blazes before my eyes, as do the workers, and I am about to face off with a stranger. “Win or lose, let’s go!” However, Stormgate has evolved the basecraft formula in both subtle and major ways since Early Access was first announced.
The developers of Stormgate have removed the Early Access label from the game but don’t consider it ‘Version 1.0’. Plans are still in the works for major faction reworks and graphical overhauls, as well as a few major modes that are still “In Development.” While the competitive 1v1 has been a fun overall, some recent changes have been somewhat controversial.
Classic Roots with Modern Innovation
Stormgate is developed by ex-Blizzard RTS developers and gives the feeling of comfort food to anyone raised on Brood War or WarCraft 3. Ordering your human Vanguard recruits and timing high-level base upgrades creates a lovely classic experience. The way players’ brains coordinate with hotkeys and the rhythm feels right, showing the minds at Frost Giant know what’s up in the world of RTS.
To call Stormgate “StarCraft 1.5” isn’t entirely fair to the unique ideas that the game offers. The game’s quality of life features like automated control groups and easier access to production queues smooth out the gameplay experience in such a way that, once tried, they seem a must for all current RTS. One can take some getting used to, but ultimately enhance the moment – moment experience quite a bit.
Faction Dynamics and Evolutionary Design
Because I have played Terran and Human in various other RTS games, I found myself drawn to the Human Vanguard. Their similar to standard RTS factions, so they aren’t hard for new players to understand, but the way they’re designed allows for greater skill ceiling.
To illustrate, units from Vanguard gain veterancy when they engage in combat making them stronger. Minimizing losses and protecting the veterans troops become an important dynamic for high-level play. It also presents strategic opportunities to focus on the value units. The design philosophy of Stormgate is easy to learn, tough to master.
The Celestials have seen some improvements, even though they’re still waiting on a visual update. At first, they might confuse new players due to their unusual mechanics, but not anymore. The objectives of Morph Cores are clearer, Arcship placement is more logical, and power generation is less confusing.
Not all changes have been positive, however. In the recent overhaul, the Infernals lost their Animus bar, the signature mechanic of their faction which filled when a unit died and allowed casting spells. The removal or relocation of all command abilities from the top bar to buildings is a step backwards. Although the developers intend to bring it back with upgrades later, its omission is unfortunate.
Campaign Evolution
The campaign has improved the most since early access. Most things have been redesigned, from the Vanguard characters that now possess more realistic models to a complete story overhaul. Overall campaign experience consists of four episodes (R25 total) while the 1v1 and experimental modes are free. If you’ve got RTS skills, you can finish all 12 missions in about 10 hours and explore bonus objectives and other lore conversations.
Thanks to the Raptor 1 deck, the game creates a more coherent experience with unlockable upgrades for your units. There’s also an item locker that lets you customise your hero and armies in between missions. The campaign missions present fun challenges, and the overhauled story cuts some of the more stale Early Access tropes.
Although there are some improvements, the campaign still needs a final polish. At times, a cutscene will speed through certain events as they mention important information instead of showing it. At times, the voice acting of the protagonist Amara and more just does not seem well rehearsed or well directed. The awkward cadence it has can be immersion-breaking.
Learning Curve Challenges
Unlike other RTS campaigns where a faction’s character mechanics are introduced gradually, it’s hard to feel connected to the Celestials in Stormgate as there is no context yet. What are their motivations? What defines their society? While Infernal and Celestial campaign chapters will certainly be added, the limited introduction hurts the player’s investment compared to say, StarCraft 1 which spent a lot of time on each faction.
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When players start to play 1v1 matches right away without tutorial experience, they don’t get how (for example) the Infernal’s shroud gimmick works. The “Learn to Play” button just takes you to some videos, some of which are now outdated. This isn’t a great way to onboard new players probably.
While BuddyBot helps players manage bases, it certainly doesn’t help them learn the basics of the game. An assistant that provides contextual tips when making mistakes would be much better for learning a skill.
Community Creativity and Co-op Play
Stormgate now has an editor and custom games, which are still experimental, which is good news. Although lacking triggers and other features the community has still produced beautiful maps and game modes already showing incredible creativity with the limitations. Like the tools that formerly supported Brood War and WarCraft 3 modding communities, the editor itself is intuitive and flexible.
New location for 3vAI Co-op mode Sigma labs, still fun to play around with AI’s new features. With hero units with interesting abilities, account progression, and unlockable cosmetics added since Early Access, there are more reasons to keep playing than just to compete.
Stormgate is the next evolution in competitive RTS games. It seeks to take what is a classic basecraft formula and refine it thoughtfully. It brings that addictive “I will play just one more match” feeling that you received in the early days of StarCraft II. The campaign has improved a lot but can still be polished further. Stormgate has a long way to go in terms of development, but I think it’s already a special game. It successfully integrates new ideas and ideas with familiar systems to create a compelling RTS.