Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin - Fantasy Dawn of War is here!

Warhammer Age of Sigmar might have nearly been around for a decade at this point, but it can feel like we've not yet had a proper video game that represents Games Workshop's foray into its newish fantasy setting. Of course, there are games tied to Age of Sigmar, but nothing has really stood out as the game that you think of when the setting is brought up. Enter Realms of Ruin.

If you understand what I'm talking about when I say Dawn of War but fantasy (and a little bit better by these early impressions), then you know all you need to in order to get excited about Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin. But, for the uninitiated, this new RTS from Frontier takes place in the Warhammer Age of Sigmar setting. It gives us access to four playable factions, each with their own unique playstyle and a single-player story, multiplayer battles, and the roguelike Conquest Mode to work through as well. For our recent play session, we took a look at the story mode, where you take control of Sigrun, a Stormcast Eternal.

If you know anything about Warhammer, think of Stormcast Eternals as fantasy space marines. If you know nothing, they are essentially super soldiers who cannot die, but can be defeated for a time before they are reforged. Our goal as these golden goodies is to bring peace to Ghur. Aptly titled the Realm of Beasts, this place is home to all manner of things that want to kill us, from the tricksy Orruks to the terrifying Nighthaunts. Something that stuck out immediately when I started playing was the distinct visual style of each faction. They look exactly like living, breathing versions of their tabletop models and have fun fighting animations for when they get down to business. You're never looking at a blue or red team facing off, as each faction brings something completely different to the table, which is easy to tell even when you play arguably the most stable and beginner-friendly Stormcast Eternals.

The combat is fun too. You're not bogged down with 50 rules when you kick off the game. It's a simple point and click to go fight the bad guys. But, as we found out when playing the trickier second level that had been prepared for us, the story is definitely no walk in the park. You will have to pay attention to what is going on around you, and know the best uses of your units if you want to make it out alive. Still, as you can change the difficulty it doesn't feel like you're going to be stuck on one mission for long if you really struggle. Something I would've liked to have seen more of is interesting environments. I love a good swamp as much as the next guy, but hopefully there is more to see in the Realm of Beasts.

In terms of the gameplay, there's not just the story mode, and at full release we'll be battling it out in multiplayer and can take one of the four factions through different roguelike runs in the Conquest Mode. There's a lot to like so far, and while playing as the Sigmarines was a lot of fun, what really is drawing me in at the minute is how the other, weirder and more villainous factions will play.

If you want an introduction into Warhammer Age of Sigmar without reading a hefty tome of lore, this might be a good option. It's definitely got the story to help it, but I think we'll need to see more of multiplayer and the Conquest Mode to fully decide whether it can stand among the RTS greats.