Some Blizzard veterans came together in October 2020 to revive the real-time strategy genre at Frost Giant Studios. With Stormgate, their first project has launched in Early Access on Steam.
What is the community’s verdict? Since the Early Access launch on Steam on July 30, 2024, 1,053 reviews have accumulated, with 58 percent being positive, which is only enough for a “Mixed” rating.
Many players praise:
- The good playability; it is evident that the team has previously worked on classics like StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3. Units respond promptly to commands, and troops can be produced or buildings constructed from anywhere on the map using hotkeys.
- Frost Giant combines elements from Blizzard classics. Visually, the setting, factions, and units resemble StarCraft, with monster camps on the maps, and in the campaign, you play equipable (but not levelable) heroes – almost like in Warcraft 3.
- The global abilities of the factions positively complement the gaming experience. The three factions play very differently.
- The cooperative mode offers an enormous amount of unlocks, which increases long-term motivation.
Criticism includes:
- Many players criticize the art design or the look, effects, and level of detail of Stormgate. The storytelling in the campaign missions feels outdated. The 14-year-old StarCraft 2 seems more modern, engaging, and produced with much higher quality.
- The solo campaign cannot be played offline. During the high player influx at the EA launch, this led to some crashes.
- The soundscape has room for improvement as well. There is a lack of impactful combat feedback and a clear sound layer that allows players to orient themselves in the chaotic battles.
- Some units suffer from pathfinding issues.
- Workers can get trapped between self-built structures.
- The balance between the factions is off. In 1vs1 ranked matches, the Celestial Armada dominates due to its great flexibility, speed, and strength. Consequently, the current leaderboard is quite lopsided.
- The cooperative missions quickly lack variety.
- Features like clan chats and tournaments are still missing.
- For additional heroes, the developers also want extra money from buyers of the 60-euro version.
Here are some impressions from the Stormgate trailer from the Game Awards:
Wait until August 13
What is the scope of the EA version of Stormgate? Starting August 13, 2024, the Early Access version of Stormgate will be available for free to all interested parties. The current paid EA packages grant you in-game items, companions, three additional campaign missions, and earlier access to the game. Otherwise, the scope of Stormgate remains the same.
You will have access to:
- the first three prologue missions of the story campaign
- 1vs1 ranked matches, each faction receives its own rank, no heroes
- 3-player cooperative mode against AI hordes, with increasing difficulty, base building, levelable heroes, extra unit variants, and various mission objectives
- Custom games against AI and/or other players
Who is behind Stormgate? At Frost Giant, a wealth of real-time strategy knowledge has gathered. CEO Tim Morten, Chief Architect James Anhalt, Art Director Jesse Brophy, Lead Coop Designer Kevin Dong, Lead Client Engineer Joseph Shunk, and Lead UX Designer Ryan Shutter all worked on StarCraft 2.
Game Director Tim Campbell has worked on Wasteland 3 and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne in his career. Additionally, bestseller and former Blizzard author Micky Neilson supports the team as an external force. The expertise is complemented by useful tools: New strategy game from former Blizzard employees aims to improve the genre, relying on a tool that makes everything easier
