Jack, Drexy, and Joe race through a wave of fresh strategy game announcements from Gamescom and BlizzCon, from Joe’s unexpected obsession with Lego Skylines to Paradox’s mysterious new post-apocalyptic IP Afterworld, a skeptical look at Humankind 2’s return of civilization-switching, and reveals for Rainbow Six Tactics, a Heroes of Might and Magic III remake, and War for Westeros.
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This episode rounds up a wave of strategy game announcements from Gamescom and BlizzCon, covering everything from cozy city builders to grand strategy reinventions. Joe reveals a surprising personal excitement for Lego Skylines despite never having played City Skylines or Lego games before. The hosts dig into Paradox’s newly announced Afterworld, an in-house post-apocalyptic grand strategy title notable for its physicalized, Total War-adjacent unit combat, before turning skeptical eyes toward Humankind 2’s return to the civilization-switching mechanic that plagued the original, especially in light of Civilization VII’s upcoming one-year anniversary expansion. The episode closes with reactions to Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Tactics and Heroes of Might and Magic III remake, Blizzard’s surprising BlizzCon reveals, and a first look at gameplay for the Game of Thrones RTS, War for Westeros.
Critical Moves Podcast – Episode 99 Show Notes
Episode Title: Gamescom and BlizzCon Announcement Roundup
Hosts: Jack, Drexy, Joe
Episode Length: ~67 minutes
Episode Summary
This roundup episode covers a wave of strategy-adjacent announcements from Gamescom and BlizzCon, ranging from cozy city builders to major franchise reinventions. The hosts react to Joe’s surprising enthusiasm for Lego Skylines, dig into Paradox’s mysterious new post-apocalyptic IP Afterworld and its notably physicalized unit combat, express skepticism toward Humankind 2’s return to civilization-switching mechanics given Civilization VII’s own evolution away from strict reliance on that system, and cover reveals for Rainbow Six Tactics, a Heroes of Might and Magic III remake, Warcraft III Reforged’s surprise new campaign, and early gameplay footage for the Game of Thrones RTS, War for Westeros.
Lego Skylines Wins Over Joe
Joe expresses unexpected excitement for the newly announced Lego Skylines despite having never played City Skylines or engaged with Lego media as a child, crediting the trailer’s charm and cozy aesthetic. Jack speculates the Lego framing may simplify City Skylines’ notoriously escalating complexity (education tiers, waste management, university requirements), potentially making it more approachable than the mainline series.
Paradox Announces Afterworld: A New Post-Apocalyptic IP
The hosts discuss Afterworld, a newly revealed in-house Paradox grand strategy title set in a post-apocalyptic North America, notable both for being an entirely new intellectual property (rather than an established Paradox franchise) and for featuring physicalized unit combat more visually detailed than typical Paradox abstraction, drawing comparisons to Stellaris’ animated space battles and even Total War’s tactical unit positioning. Jack expresses excitement about the premise of playing as an emerging post-nuclear-shelter settlement rebuilding civilization, including managing supply convoys and experiencing emergent, Stellaris-style random events across multiple storylines.
Humankind 2 and the Return of Civilization-Switching
Drexy and Jack express strong skepticism toward Humankind 2’s confirmed return to the civilization-switching mechanic widely blamed for the original Humankind’s poor reception, especially given that Civilization VII, which adopted a similar mechanic, has already evolved to let players opt out entirely and play a single civilization from start to finish following community feedback. Jack contrasts Humankind 2’s marketing framing (switching civs as deepening cultural identity) against Civ VII’s framing of the same mechanic as primarily a strategic gameplay tool, arguing Civ VII’s more flexible implementation may render Humankind 2’s core selling point redundant on arrival.
Civilization VII’s Upcoming Anniversary Expansion
Jack details Civilization VII’s forthcoming 35th-anniversary expansion, including a new fourth “Atomic Age” extending gameplay by roughly 100 years, space exploration content, city-state proxy wars, expanded diplomatic options, and the return of Gathering Storm-style climate change and World Congress mechanics alongside new terraforming abilities that let players retroactively optimize city placement bonuses late in the game.
Rainbow Six Tactics (“SixCom”)
Drexy and Jack express strong enthusiasm for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Tactics, an XCOM/Jagged Alliance-style tactics game built around named, established heroes from Rainbow Six Siege’s multiplayer roster. Jack argues the game’s sandbox-style mission structure (hostage rescues, bomb diffusal, counter-terrorism scenarios) could offer strong long-term replayability without requiring an overarching narrative, while both hosts voice cautious concern about potential Ubisoft monetization given the company’s live-service track record with Siege.
Ubisoft’s Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake
The hosts discuss Ubisoft’s newly announced full remake of Heroes of Might and Magic III, built on the Snowdrop engine also used for Tom Clancy titles, expressing skepticism about the timing given Ubisoft’s prior reluctance to publish the community-developed Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era (which succeeded after being picked up by Hooded Horse instead), and noting the franchise’s more recent entries (VI and VII) were poorly received.
Warcraft III Reforged’s Surprise New Campaign
Jack details a new campaign shadow-dropped for Warcraft III: Reforged at the opening of BlizzCon, alongside a wave of other Blizzard announcements including a controversial new third-person open-world Starcraft game slated for a 2030 release, a new World of Warcraft “Forever” classic-content initiative, and other franchise reveals that the hosts interpret as an attempt to shore up fan goodwill following Microsoft’s acquisition.
War for Westeros Gameplay Reveal
Joe expresses surprising enthusiasm for the newly revealed War for Westeros gameplay footage, comparing it favorably to Battle for Middle-earth despite widespread criticism online that its graphics resemble a mobile game, while both hosts remain cautiously reserved given the Game of Thrones franchise’s poor track record with prior game adaptations.
Rapid-Fire Mentions: Worms, Transport Fever, and Conquesta
The hosts briefly cover several additional announcements without extended discussion: Worms Galactic Tactics (a tactics-focused spin-off following years without a mainline Worms release), a new Transport Fever entry, and Conquesta, a colony sim/4X/RPG hybrid whose visual style draws unflattering comparisons to Farmville.
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 Update Teased
Jack notes additional gameplay and customization details were shown for Total War: Warhammer 40,000 at Gamescom, suggesting a dedicated future episode once a release date is confirmed (currently listed as “to be announced” on Steam).
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Episode Verdict
This rapid-fire roundup format works well for covering a genuinely large volume of announcements without any single topic overstaying its welcome, while still finding room for substantive analysis where it counts, particularly the extended Humankind 2 versus Civilization VII comparison, which benefits from Jack’s detailed firsthand knowledge of Civ 7’s evolving civ-switching mechanics. The hosts’ consistent skepticism toward publisher motives (Ubisoft’s Heroes of Might and Magic timing, Blizzard’s fan-service-heavy BlizzCon, potential Rainbow Six Tactics monetization) grounds the episode’s genuine excitement in a healthy, non-credulous industry awareness rather than uncritical hype. Joe’s unexpected Lego Skylines enthusiasm provides a charming, low-stakes opening that sets a relaxed tone before the episode dives into denser franchise analysis, and the closing nod toward a dedicated future Total War: Warhammer 40,000 episode gives listeners a clear reason to stay tuned as more concrete details emerge.
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