Punk Wars

Ultimately, Punk Wars stands out as a fun game with a rough-around-the-edges indie charm. It could do with some polish; some map and texture packs would be a welcome addition in the short term, and a fifth faction could drive interest further down the road. For right now, it’s definitely worth playing through at least one of the campaigns, especially at the low price point of $20 US. There is also a free demo available called Punk Wars: Prologue if you’d like to try it first. The full game is available for Windows and Mac on both Steam and GOG and, at the time of this writing, is 10% off on both platforms.

Punk Wars offers a very classic take on the turn-based strategy space. The four corporations have personality and their own deranged charm but there’s not enough here to make the setting truly compelling. The tactical combat is solid but favors the defensive so much that battles never feel exciting, with too little space to execute complex plans.

I wanted to like Punk Wars. Its promise to be a stylish 4X style game about warring punk factions intrigued me, and it only really needed to strongly hit one target for me. I'd have happily taken a vapid but immersive tactics game; a thoughtful exploration of post-apocalyptic punk with bland combat; an all-style-no-substance experience that carried the game on vibes alone. Instead, I got the worst of all worlds: a dull, poorly balanced game that doesn't commit to its ideas.