Athena Crisis

With Athena Crisis, Nakazawa Tech brings us a very colorful and highly entertaining strategy experience with tactical battles that are not suitable for the clueless, a game that although it has a campaign and a demanding multiplayer, its great value lies in the level editor. In this sense, the possibilities are really endless, offering us the possibility of generating dialogues, stories and characters that we can involve in the conflicts we want to create.

It's not quite at the level of the games that inspired it, but Athena Crisis is a great effort with loads of customisation options.

Athena Crisis is clearly a title made by fans, for fans. While its generic presentation may not impress from any angle, its fun campaign, combined with the extensive level creator and the various multiplayer options, have the potential to entertain for months, maybe even years, on end. In the end, this may not be the most beautiful love letter to the turn-based strategy genre, but it's hard to deny its intention — and especially its honesty — when reading it, which will always be a positive thing.

Athena Crisis is a solid tactical RPG that takes some of the best parts of Advance Wars and brings them to PC and Steam Deck. There are some rough edges, but the map editor and general gameplay make this one title worth keeping an eye on.

The real question I set out to answer for myself was a simple one. Is Athena Crisis a true successor to the Advance Wars and Wargroove formula? Or does it feel more like a cheap knockoff, trying to get a quick buck from an unsuspecting gamer? I think seeing all the units that are available to play with speaks enough for itself to show that this isn't the Advance Wars you grew up with. While the dialogue does feel a bit Saturday morning cartoon, the amount of choices you have when crafting an army are massive. Add a campaign editor, and a few other customization options and you have a title that is worthy of the games it wants to emulate. Not only that, but sets the bar for the next title in this genre to rise up to.

Athena Crisis is squarely aimed at long-time Advance Wars fans, who will likely find much to enjoy in both the official missions and the potentially endless content created by the community. It falls short of the best in the genre, like Wargroove or Into the Breach, but is still worth a look for those who get a kick out of sending pixelated soldiers to their deaths.

Athena Crisis is a great strategy game. It features fantastic combat and tight-level design, bolstered by a level and campaign editor.