In the various worlds of Warhammer, there are now dozens of games, many of which are… mediocre. While this has improved in recent years, there is still one black sheep: Realms of Ruin. MyMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus gave the great disappointment a chance and was pleasantly surprised.
On November 17, 2023, Realms of Ruin was released, a new strategy game set in the world of Age of Sigmar. This is one of the three worlds of Warhammer and has long been the least popular of them.
This impression was confirmed back then with Realms of Ruin: The game flopped so badly that the developer got into trouble. The fans were not happy at all. They still aren’t.
If you look at the Steam page for Realms of Ruin, the reviews stand at 56% across all reviews (1,700 reviews, as of August 1, 2025) and even only at 36% in recent reviews (19 reviews). Thus, the strategy game only gets a “mostly negative” rating.
A while ago, I looked at the officially highest-rated Warhammer games on Steam and, of course, came across the counter-example Realms of Ruin again. I began to wonder: Is the game really that bad?
I have had it in my library forever since it was once in a Humble Bundle. Realms of Ruin pleasantly surprised me. I only played for about 3 hours, but those hours were surprisingly good.
High-quality graphics and unique units: Feels like Warhammer
What I notice immediately: Realms of Ruin looks good. I mean really, really good. I’m not usually a graphics whore; gameplay is always more important to me. But the units and the accompanying cutscenes look top-notch. This could easily be an MMORPG and would look even better than many on the market.
However, that is not the main reason why I enjoyed Realms of Ruin. It primarily lies in the design of the different units. Realms of Ruin only offers four different factions, but they differ significantly from each other:
- The Stormforged Eternals are the poster boys (and girls) of Age of Sigmar. They are essentially the fantasy version of the Space Marines from Warhammer 40,000.
- Orruk Moorpirscha are what remains of the greenskins from Warhammer Fantasy.
- The Nightspook are an entirely new faction that loosely unites all undead, but significantly differs from the Tomb Kings and Vampire Lords.
- And for Chaos, there are the Disciples of Tzeentch who… represent nothing special except that Tzeentch appears the least among all Chaos gods in video games. Nurgle and Khorne are more often the antagonists.
Each faction has its own units. The design is, however, uniquely tailored to fit the fantasy of each race, something that has always been lacking in Age of Empires, in my opinion. Everything just looks the same.
The focus is on quick action and simple gameplay, not complex strategies
The gameplay itself isn’t actually that bad. The rounds are short and always the same, yes. Available points massively limit unit production and you will almost never see the largest units.
Additionally, everything operates on a rock-paper-scissors principle, which makes diversity rather rare. However, if you embrace that, you can certainly have fun and discover something. A user on Steam compares it to movies:
You have to compare the game more to a flamboyantly presented action movie, where you have no expectation of finesse and just want to see explosions. […] It provides you with cozy popcorn entertainment, where you can succeed with simple bundles of all units.
Nappi on Steam
This means translated: If I want to play real strategy games, I play something else. But Realms of Ruin can be fun when I simply want to play a bit of Warhammer without sinking half an hour into build orders and rush tactics.
Because here, the game is quite good. The campaign is short but tells an exciting story, and you get a good feel for Age of Sigmar, which is significantly more exciting than many assume.
By the way, Age of Sigmar only exists because the world of Warhammer Fantasy was destroyed:
Realms of Ruin is really fun, but is it worth it?
Before you open your wallet: I still do not advise anyone to buy Realms of Ruin. Sure, after 3 hours my assessment is probably not as in-depth as others, but I can already gauge that nothing is going to change. The game consists of little more than individual rounds and a short campaign, and there isn’t even base building.
The reason I cannot recommend Realms of Ruin is primarily the price: At 60 euros, the strategy game commands a harsh tone, and it’s simply not worth it. For that kind of money, there are plenty of Warhammer games that are much more fun.
However, if you can snag it at a discount somewhere, you should not necessarily be deterred by the reviews, but take a second look. If you want to get to know Age of Sigmar and just want to see really nice models in action – after all, Warhammer is essentially about cool minis on the battlefield – then consider Realms of Ruin. If you need more options, you can find here the 7 best games to step into the world of Warhammer.
