Warlord: Awaji

Warlord: Awaji is the second game in the Warlord series developed by Darkmatter Games. The player takes the role of a samurai warlord who has been given orders by the Emperor to conquer the island of Awaji and prop up a failing regime. The game combines first-person perspective with strategic play, which the developer describes as immersive strategy. The player leads an army, builds a camp, captures villages and forts, and can fight directly in battles in real time alongside their own troops.

The open world is based on real heightmap data for Awaji and includes dozens of temples and shrines taken from actual locations. Civilian convoys and warrior bands move across the map in real time, and local clans respond to the player’s actions. Players can target strongpoints to weaken enemy reaction forces, capture rival shrines to affect a spiritual aura mechanic, and work with warrior monks to curse opponents and arrange coalition attacks. Army management involves recruiting named samurai who gain experience over time, equipping them with weapons and armour, and arranging melee, ranged and cavalry units into formations using a drag-and-drop menu. Conquered land is used to promote leaders and increase army capacity.

Base building allows a war camp to be set up anywhere in the world, with tents, screens, fences and guards, and troops require sleep, rest and food. The camp can be packed up and moved at any time. The developer states that weapons, armour, structures, names and gameplay elements are drawn from literary, iconographic and archaeological sources, with input from specialists in samurai warfare, and that the game is set in 14th century medieval Japan.