How does Carbon Studios’ latest stack up on standalone hardware? Find out in our Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall graphics and gameplay comparison.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall is an odd game. It initially released on PC last year and, in some ways, the pairing with The Wizards developer Carbon made for a perfect fit. Carbon brought its signature visual flair to the haunted world of undead combat, complete with elements of its gesture-based ranged combat system. But weak melee combat and imbalances really muddied the overall experience, resulting in a game that fell far short of its potential.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall Graphics & Gameplay Comparison
The Quest version doesn’t offer a revolution over the PC edition in terms of gameplay. In fact, enemies have been stripped back in some areas to help maintain performance. That might sound disappointing at first and, sure, it’s a shame not to be getting total feature parity across the board. But cutbacks — from what we’ve seen — are mostly assigned to the skeleton soldier encounters, which were quickly dispatched already. The more demanding battles with the Nighthaunt are still here.
But, on the visuals front, Carbon manages to keep a lot of the core experience intact. On PC Tempestfall is a ghoulish game with lots of atmospheric effects to bring the Nighthaunt to life. Many of these have been inevitably chopped away on Quest; lighting effects for spells and enemies are drastically simplified and vegetation like shrubs on the floor have been stripped back too. Overall, though, we think you’ll agree it’s still a good-looking game for the platform.
What did you make of Warhammer’s Tempestfall Quest port compared to the PC VR version? Let us know in the comments below!
No matter which virtual reality (VR) platform a developer chooses to support first, if they haven’t already picked Meta Quest 2 then it’s highly likely a port will come at some point. Carbon Studio has proven that this week by announcing that PC VR title Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall will be making the leap onto the standalone headset next week.
Carbon Studio has been hard at work fitting a big action-adventure videogame like Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall onto the Meta Quest 2. With the PC VR version having been “further refined and improved” the Quest 2 edition has been “enriched with an improved combat system and several quality-of-life changes.”
These range from easier spell-casting and “clearer signalling of the attack direction by opponents” to additional upgrade stations to enhance weapons, and an improved hit recognition system.
The team hasn’t just enhanced the gameplay experience. The Quest 2 edition will come with all of the PC VR versions extras like the new Hardcore Mode plus one extra bonus – The Storm Trials Mode. Similar to a horde mode by the sound of it, you’ll have to fight through ever more challenging arena levels, upgrading your character and weapons along the way.
Hopefully, these improvements stack up to a more rounded experience, as gmw3 said in its review: “Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall offered the prospect for the sort of adventure Games Workshop’s brutal universe is renowned for, and the history and narrative is certainly there. Yet there’s no connection to or development of the main character, the action is mostly forgettable and there are just too many little glitches and inconsistencies to create a world Warhammer fans can really immerse themselves in.”
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall will arrive for Meta Quest 2 on 19th May 2022 priced at $24.99 USD. For further updates on the latest Carbon Studio titles, keep reading gmw3.
Carbon Studio’s Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall looked set to offer a big glorious virtual reality (VR) adventure ahead of its launch last month but didn’t quite live up to expectations. The developer has been quick to respond to player feedback with a series of patches to hone the gameplay. Today’s patch is a big one, not only adding more quality-of-life improvement but also a new Hardcore Mode.
If you’ve already completed the campaign in Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall and want something tougher the new Hardcore Mode should, hopefully, offer the kind of challenge any Stormcast Eternal would relish. If heading back into the campaign doesn’t exactly fill you with excitement, maybe the addition of all the bug fixes and improvements may pique your interest?
Carbon Studio has been hard at work patching Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall with a smaller 1.16 patch earlier this month adding a few refinements. v1.2 will offer a much wider raft of enhancements to the gameplay, addressing critical performance bugs, improving motion-based tracking, combat polishing, audio refinement, as well as other elements.
Players should find that physical spell casting is easier to execute, chests are easier to open, and the inventory system has been improved. Carbon Studio hasn’t just been working on gameplay elements either: “The team has also added a selection of lighting and visual detail fixes as well as improvements to multiple environments throughout the game. In addition, a wide variety of bug fixes and combat improvements have been added,” a press release explains.
Combining both physical melee combat and devastating magical abilities, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall put you in the role of Lord-Arcanum Castor Stormscryer commanded by the god-like Sigma to vanquish a plague of Nighthaunt forces that have arisen. However, whilst the VR experience had some great elements the overall delivery wasn’t quite there with VRFocus saying in its review: “Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall offered the prospect for the sort of adventure Games Workshop’s brutal universe is renowned for, and the history and narrative is certainly there. Yet there’s no connection to or development of the main character, the action is mostly forgettable and there are just too many little glitches and inconsistencies to create a world Warhammer fans can really immerse themselves in.”
With this run of patches Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall might become the no-holds-barred Warhammer experience everyone hoped it would be. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Carbon Studios’ Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall now has a Hardcore Mode.
When the first-person action title launched last month its campaign could only be played in one mode. The Hardcore Mode was listed, but greyed out so that you couldn’t actually select it. Details on exactly what this mode changes and how the game is harder aren’t exactly clear but, given that we thought the original version of the game was far too easy to exploit, we’ll definitely be interested to check it out.
Carbon also released a new mixed reality tailer for the game today, which you can see below.
Warhammer VR Updates Incoming
Today’s update also brings with it a host of mechanical changes. Carbon says it’s easier to cast spells, navigate the inventory system and open chests, three complaints that we cited in our original review. There are also bug fixes and the studio says its optimized the experience to run better, along with improving the visuals at the same time.
We’ll be looking to dive into the update to see exactly how different the game is. We gave the launch version of Tempestfall an ‘Okay’ label, noting issues with the combat system. “The combat is a mess in need of a significant overhaul, the UI is fussy and unhelpful, and a string of bugs and puzzle roadblocks kill any sense of momentum,” we said. “With more time under the hood, a lot of these issues could have been refined and Tempestfall would have been a highlight in a meager year for PC VR releases.”
A Quest version of the game is still due to launch next year.
Games Workshop’s Warhammer franchise has rooted itself in every entertainment medium and virtual reality (VR) gaming is no different. It’s a universe that fits well in VR, where you become a god-like warrior defeating hordes of horrifying enemies. While Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister took you to the more modern equivalent of Games Workshop’s war-filleduniverse, Carbon Studio’s Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall takes place in an era without all that technology, where knights fought ghastly ghouls to ensure the protection of mankind. Which all sounds awesome doesn’t it? Yet the final delivery just doesn’t quite live up to the potential.
Ever since Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall was revealed in October 2020, each drop of information bathed the experience in deep, rich lore that you just couldn’t wait to be part of. All of that lore is there if you wish to delve into the menu and extract it, which is why it’s such a shame that all the surface level stuff – i.e. the main storyline itself – lacks delivery and a real sense that you’re embodying this epic Stormcast Eternal warrior come to vanquish the plague of Nighthaunt forces.
So some context. As the name implies the videogame is set within Warhammer’s Age of Sigma universe, where a devastating Necroquake wakes up all these horrible forces who go on to attack the mortal realms. As Lord-Arcanum Castor Stormscryer, an all-round badass and leader of the Stormcast Eternals you have to cleanse the world using your superhuman skills, some rather brutal melee weapons and a suitable amount of magical abilities.
Starting in a city ravaged by Nighthaunt forces, Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall is mostly a linear adventure that takes around 7-8 hours if you don’t get lost or delve into all the side missions. Lost you may be wondering? Carbon Studios has created an intricate city where the narrative will simply move you forward as intended but with a bit of exploration, you’ll find plenty of hidden secrets including Sigmarite and ancient scrolls (vital for upgrades) and doors unlock that provide handy shortcuts later on. Alas, these are useful but other gameplay elements hamper that usefulness, more on that later.
Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall is in no way subtle about its gameplay style, you’re a massive warrior who smashes through everything to get the job done. In your inventory are three weapons ranging from the really close combat sword to the long staff. These can be dual-wielded so you can mix and match depending on your preferred strategy and the magical abilities of each weapon. They all have three castable spells, performed by holding the trigger and either lunging forward, swiping horizontally, or lifting the weapon skyward He-Man style. Fairly simple yet they’re all effective in different circumstances and are suitably fun to unleash.
However, even though combat is the core of Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall, it also becomes one of the titles weakest facets. To begin with, smashing Deathrattle Skeletons apart – you can just rip them apart with your hands – or unleashing magical bolts of lightning at Nighthaunts is a blast until it becomes clear that the collision detection isn’t that great. There were numerous times when slashing at an enemy produced no result, and the same goes for the magic casting. It was erratic enough that it took a lot of the joy out of battles, especially when surrounded.
And you’ll get surrounded a fair bit as the enemy AI is set on grunt default of charging straight at you. You’d kind of expect it from the skeletons but you’d hope for a bit more from the Nighthaunt that float menacingly around. Fights then become a real close quarter hack ‘n’ slash affair instead of intense sword fights. Elements such as being able to block and parry are there, alas they fail to properly solidify the battles as they’re not easy to read when toe to toe with multiple enemies. And when waving both weapons around does just as good a job why bother?
On the subject of opponents, there’s also a lack of variety, Deathrattle Skeletons and Nighthaunt come in several flavours but you have to wait until the latter half of the campaign that some new enemies actually appear, at which point you’ll miss the ghostly foes. Running the Steam version of Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall at full resolution the enemies are incredibly well designed and intricately detailed, they do look the part, but after continually fighting so many the repetition quickly sinks in.
That’s made all the worse by the spawning layout. Basic enemies like the skeletons appear in packs during the city level, making for nice natural fights as you turn a corner and suddenly spot a group. It’s when you come across a wide-open area that you know Nighthaunts will appear and quite often you’ll be locked in an arena battle, over and over again. You’ll feel that inevitable sigh building as you walk into another grand area to fight the same enemies. Remember that mention of opening up handy shortcuts, they’re all well and good but the spawns happen in the same spots so wandering back over an area looking for secrets will trigger them again.
It must be said Carbon Studio has done well with the level layouts, they twist and wrap around one another to simulate multiple paths and there are plenty of sneaky hidden areas to find. This is vital if you want to upgrade that equipment of yours. Weapons can have their base stats improved followed by each magical spell, so there’s plenty of reason to hunt down elusive chests. As you might have guessed by now there is a but, a big but. There’s no easy way to access your main base to incrementally add these upgrades unless you want to keep walking through the city fighting the same opponents again and again. There really needed to be more anvil placements or a quick return feature.
If that wasn’t enough Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall has some annoying mechanics that hampered the general gameplay. It was little things like picking up a Spirit Flask or using the Gravesand Hourglass. Weapons instantly appear in hand when pressing grip so you can get right into a fight, that’s perfectly fine. Pick up an empty Spirit Flask – used as a grenade when full – and it automatically equips, the Hourglass is two-handed but with the same effect. Thus, every time either of these items are used you have to reequip your weapons again. After several hours of this, you’ll understand the annoyance.
Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall offered the prospect for the sort of adventure Games Workshop’s brutal universe is renowned for, and the history and narrative is certainly there. Yet there’s no connection to or development of the main character, the action is mostly forgettable and there are just too many little glitches and inconsistencies to create a world Warhammer fans can really immerse themselves in. Warhammer Age of Sigma: Tempestfall isn’t a bad VR game, there were enjoyable moments and with a bit of refinement it could be a decent game; at the moment being a Stormcast Eternal just isn’t a blockbuster experience.
Winter is rapidly creeping in meaning it’s a perfect time to cosily sit inside and enjoy some virtual reality (VR) gaming. And there’s going to be no shortage of that in the coming week with some major titles arriving across Oculus Quest 2, PlayStation VR and PC VR headsets, so let’s dive right in.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond – Respawn Entertainment
The first of the two big VR videogames on their way, Respawn Entertainment’s Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is coming to Oculus Quest 2 – and only Quest 2. A huge game when it comes to storage coming in at a whopping 45GB, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond takes players across European battlefields with land, sea and air missions. A multiplayer mode consists of 12-player maps and five game modes including Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Mad Bomber, Domination, and Blast Radius, whilst all the live-action documentaries Respawn Entertainment filmed are also included.
Released over the summer for Oculus Quest and PC VR headsets, PlayStation VR owners will soon be able to test their shooting and dodging skills in this colourful roguelite. Coming from the team behind the Pixel Ripped series, YUKI is an action figure you control directly with your hands, sweeping him through the minefield of neon death, collecting upgrades and trying not to die. If that happens you can purchase various upgrades to make the next run a bit easier (hopefully).
Supported platform(s): PlayStation VR
Launch date: 16th November
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall – Carbon Studio
Time for the second major release in the coming week, Carbon Studios’ Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall. An official tie-in with Games Workshop’s Warhammer franchise, in this adventure you take on the role of the mighty Lord-Arcanum, tasked with defeating the Nighthaunt forces. Armed with devastating melee weapons and spells, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall looks to be a physically energetic experience throughout.
For those PC VR players after something a little more chilled, there’s Jetpack Vacation by indie team Tourism Infinity. Literally having jetpacks for hands, you’ll be able to fly, dive, and shoot your way through a collection of mini-games set in a tropical paradise. Mini-games include playing football in the Jetpack Stadium, testing those shooting skills in Target Practice, and exploring the island to find what secrets it contains.
While it might look like a rhythm-action videogame initially, Sucker Punch VR most certainly isn’t. In fact, it’s more akin to Pong in VR, where you have to punch and parry cubes flying at you, returning them to your opponent, hopefully causing them to miss so you can score points. Supporting solo and multiplayer (PvP) modes, you can level up and unlock new gloves, each having its own special abilities to mix up the gameplay and give you an edge.
Carbon Studio has revealed over seven minutes of new Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall gameplay ahead of its launch next week.
The video, seen below, is taken from the PC VR version of the game that releases on November 17. An Oculus Quest version will be launching later down the line, too. This is the Warhammer game set in one of the more supernatural sides of the universe and isn’t to be confused with last years’ Warhammer 40,000 VR game, Battle Sister.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall Gameplay
This gives us our closest look at the game yet, including the magical combat in which players can swing a sword to launch magical attacks or engage in melee combat. You’ll also have a staff in your other hand for more possibilities.
Following a combat section with the Nighthaunt, the video moves into a more exploration-based clip that shows some of the game’s navigation before rounding out with more action clips. It definitely looks like Tempestfall is another graphically-rich adventure from Carbon, which is best known for its work on The Wizards series.
Still, it’s tough to tell exactly how the game will play based on a video alone, but we’ll be able to tell you more about that at launch next week. Are you going to be picking up Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall? Let us know in the comments below!
The Wizards developer Carbon Studio is releasing its Warhammer Age of Sigmar VR game on Oculus Quest and PC VR headsets next month.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall launches on November 17. It’s a little later on than originally anticipated as the game was delayed to make changes after two rounds of closed beta testing. You can check out a brand new trailer for the game below.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall Release Date Revealed
Tempestfall embraces the supernatural side of the Warhammer series, and is not to be confused with last year’s Warhammer 40K VR shooter, Battle Sister. In the game, you play as a sorcerer known as the Lord-Arcanum and take the battle to the ghostly Nighthaunt. Combat consists of a combination of melee attacks and magical components that build on the gesture-based casting of The Wizards.
The trailer gives us our best look at gameplay yet, including expansive environments and a range of enemy types. Alongside combat with a range of different weapons, we get a look at some exploration elements, like climbing surfaces and finding collectibles. The game is promising a full story-driven campaign as the Stormguard investigates a new threat. We’ll definitely be interested to see how the Quest version measures up to the PC, though Carbon did a good job bringing 2019’s The Wizards: Dark Times onto the standalone platform.
Tempestfall will be launching across the Oculus Store, SteamVR and HTC Viveport. Will you be picking up Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall? Let us know in the comments below!
Summer is coming to a close and so is the time frame for all those big virtual reality (VR) releases. Carbon Studio’s Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall was due to arrive soon but just like Lone Echo IIand After the Fall, has now been pushed back towards the end of the year.
The delay is due to the closed beta that was held during June/July, where players selected got to see the first stages of the videogame. “The group of players who tried out Tempestfall during the Closed Beta gave us a lot of very cool ideas and useful suggestions. We are aware that the VR gaming landscape is constantly evolving and improving, which is why we want to take a bit of extra time to ensure Tempestfall meets the expectations of both casual and hardcore VR gamers,” said Carbon Studio’s Co-Founder Aleksander Caban in a statement.
Due to the feedback from players Carbon Studio will be enhancing various aspects of the gameplay in Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall. This includes the physical blocking system for weapons, being improved to suit both stationary and mobile combat styles.
The developer has also confirmed that: “players can also expect a deeper character progression system, with additional rewards for exploration.” So hopefully Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall should be worth that extra wait. Additionally, if you didn’t get a chance to participate in the first closed beta Carbon Studio will be holding a second in September. Signups are open now until 14th September over on Discord, the beta will last for two weeks.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall is gearing up to be an epic adventure in the Warhammer universe, set during the Age of Sigmar if you didn’t realise. You take on the role of the mighty Lord-Arcanum, tasked with defeating the Nighthaunt forces which are rising up all across the mortal realms. Leading a retinue of Stormcast Eternals, you wield devastating melee weapons, abilities and powerful magic.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall has been delayed. But don’t worry, it’s still expected to release this year.
Developer Carbon Studio today confirmed that the game will miss its initial summer 2021 release window and now arrive in Q4 of this year. The decision was apparently made based on feedback from a closed beta testing round for the game, which gave the studio several elements to improve on.
Namely, the game will feature an improved blocking system. Carbon provided the below GIF to show the system in action. Like Until You Fall, the game telegraphs where you need to block in its first move, though it seems subsequent attacks must be read for direction.
Carbon will also be improving the character progression feature and adding more rewards for players that explore the game’s environments. The team will run a second closed beta for the experience towards the end of September. You can find out how to get involved over on the developer’s Discord channel.
Tempestfall isn’t to be confused with last year’s Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister. The latter game was set in the series’ most familiar universe, but Tempestfall is instead concerned with the more supernatural elements of the Age of Sigmar universe. You play as Lord-Arcanum, a magic-wielding warrior and part of a taskforce known as the Stormcast Eternals. You’ll have to battle the ghostly Nighthaunt in the realm of Shyish using first-person combat and a gesture-based weapons system. Check out the gameplay reveal in the trailer below.
As far as we know, Tempestfall is still due to launch on both PC VR and Oculus Quest at the same time. We’ll let you know if that changes.
