100 Years’ War Review

Even with the Best Intentions, 100 Years’ War is a Pyrrhic Victory

While there’s a lot to like about Hexwar’s 100 Years’ War, recently released on Android and Steam, unfortunately much of its appeal is ultimately degraded by watered-down mechanics and slipshod production values. Hexwar is best known for their historical, multi-platform RTS games that take place during many of the more notable wars fought between antiquity and WWII. Top-down military strategy games are in the developer’s wheelhouse, and in some ways, 100 Years’ War is a shining example of that.

In the 12th Century, war rages on between Britain and France. Knights, archers, cavalry, infantry and cannons await your orders. Bait the enemy force them into traps that lend you the tactical advantage or attempt to overpower them, the choice is yours. 

A Commanding Presence

Less Total War: Rome than Total War: Phone, 100 Years’ war offers a good deal of conquest to be had in this $2.99 title. With the option to fight battles from both sides, Hexwar’s RTS offers up two dozen skirmishes to win and multiple paths to victory as you learn to master different units and exploit their strengths. There’s even more battle to be had in either of the $1.99 expansions. 

Each battle you fight is given its historical context on the loading screen. These aren’t fantastical scenarios dreamed up by the developer, but rather real conflicts that happened during England’s 100 Years’ war. The game is surprisingly educational and well-researched given its status as a budget title from a small indie developer.. 

In terms of immersion and atmosphere leading into your conquests, 100 Years’ War shines. The developers have adorned the home screen, menus and loading screen with artwork evoking the period and script fonts that look the part of notes written in the 1300s. The music is unobtrusive but evocative of the period.

Unfortunately, when it comes to gameplay, the game sacrifices much of what players of the RTS genre enjoy on the pyre of simplicity. Hexwar forgoes skill trees, and offers precious little in the way of leveling up your units or ways to exploit the environment to your advantage. 

Slogging Through the Mud

Among the worst sins of this game are the battle sounds. The game provides exactly one sound for when units are killed, one for when units meet in melee, one for when horse-mounted cavalry move in the environment, so on and so forth. In short, you will likely want to play this game with the sound off or turn off the sound effects in the settings menu. 

Perhaps the worst element of the game, however, is that the title offers little in the way of tactics. Most melees come down to a roll of the dice, and you’ll likely see numerically superior units bested by inferior enemy units once or twice during each battle. Attacking from the rear often means winning a melee, but flanking doesn’t grant an advantage, and as any strategy player knows, flanking is one of the most important tactics. 100 Years’ War offers little in terms of rewards. You’re never given a way to improve your soldiers, artillery or equipment before or during missions. 

100 Year’s Wars’ serviceable graphics prove underwhelming for a title released in 2019. Character models scan both boring and stiff in their animations. Terrain looks to be made of low-resolution textures and the roads that cut through them (which offer no speed advantage to those that travel on them) look to have been drawn in with little care. RTS games aren’t known for having particularly impressive graphics, but 100 Years’ War looks to be a step below what is expected of the genre in this latter half of the decade. 

My Kingdom for a Horse

For the most diehard RTS fans, the game will feel spartan and frustratingly imprecise. Casual fans of the genre, the game may feel friendly but its presentation will likely mar its curb appeal. For fans of the history of medieval Europe, 100 Years’ War’s downsides may be worth overlooking to play its historical mode, which ups the realism of the skirmishes in terms of unit weakness and fatigue. 

Much like the battles contained in the game, 100 Years’ War starts with great intentions but soon falls off its horse. With lackluster graphics, god awful audio and a battle system that largely comes down to the luck of the draw, 100 Years’ War doesn’t do nearly enough to establish itself as a worthwhile title for fans of the genre.