Focus Home Interactive and Tindalos Interactive recently released Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, the action-packed, real-time strategy game based on the Warhammer 40K lore by Game Workshop. The title is receiving a lot of positive feedback from the community for how hardcore the game is and how dedicated it is to the 40K universe. In fact, a large majority of the reviews — while still pointing out the game’s flaws — state that the voice acting, visuals and depiction of each faction make it the best Warhammer 40K game to date.
Players will be able to partake in a single-player campaign or multiplayer bouts utilizing four different factions. The game allows players to acquire ships from each faction, customize them with various armament, artillery, skills and even color schemes as they head into battle. You can get an idea of what the game is like with the trailer below.
The visceral and explosive battles, powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 have nearly been universally praised by gamers, and the whole Warhammer 40K aesthetic managed to win over plenty of paying customers, such as Temko, who noted that despite the game’s rather slow combat and methodically linear campaign the whole aesthetic is Warhammer through and through…
“Battlefleet Gothic: Armada fits the Warhammer 40K universe more then any I’ve ever come across in the last few years. it looks like 40K, it plays like 40k and the voice acting makes it sound like 40k should. It plays like a Tactical RTS and is quite enjoyable in both solo and multiplayer”
Veska concurred, writing that the four classes play vastly different from one another and that each one feels authentic to the Warhammer 40K experience that the tabletop games featured…
“Really amazing tactic RTS game. It isnt normal RTS just like AoE II etc. No, it is “board” game, that you can play on pc. And it would be maybe the best Warhammer 40k game, that i played. Really. I love series DoW etc, but this? This is game, that we want. Really nice graphic, every detail on ships. Four amazing races just like Orcs, Elders, Chaos and Empire. And every races have different played style. If you played board game Battlefleet Armada, you must like this game.”
Beevers of the North noted that the game wasn’t perfect but still recommended for those who want a true Warhammer 40K experience, writing….
“If you want a true 40k game.. This is it. So far this game is beautiful and amazing with lots of micro needed. OF course it isn’t a perfect masterpiece but for 40k fans it is amazing. The factions are very well made and designed and suite the lore very well.”
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There are some deep criticisms of the game, though. The campaign is regularly said to get repetitive at times and the mission variety is rather limited, with renoraider explaining…
“while game modes remain repetitive, there are enough variation and randomization that it doesn’t get all that tiring, though objectives remain boringly linear: keep x from reaching y, go to a, keep b from stealing c, and so on. Ultimately, the battles main selling point is not the end of the journey, but how you get there, namely how you’re gonna triumph against enemy fleets whilst keeping yours intact, on the way to accomplishing your objectives. The maps could use some more loving, but it’s space, and other than some fancy looking backgrounds, you’re not gonna find anything more besides rocks, space debris, and giant space cathedrals.”
A few others said they couldn’t recommend the game due to the bugs in the single and multiplayer, with a few gamers suggesting that potential consumers wait for Tindalos Interactive to sort out the bugs before making a purchase. Others like Peo01 pointed out that the game lacks multiplayer co-op, campaign co-op and has unskippable cut-scenes.
There are some additional negative reviews that highlight that some of the players did not like micromanaging their ships, upgrading them, customizing them or having to control up to six ships at a time. One player, Fabio, complained that the ship skills and micromanagement was too much like playing an MMO, stating…
“If it was just the over use of MMO cooldown abilities and too fastly paced combat, I say maybe get it and hope that they improve it. However, that in combination with the insane F2P grind model and ship loss penalty push this into an emphatic thumbs down. If you’re interested, check the updates and only purchase it if they fix 2 out of 3 of these things.”
Majority of the players note that the combat is actually kind of slow and you can slow it down further with a bullet-time style feature similar to the real-time combat with pause feature from most D&D CRPGs.
Sarai was more-so disappointed with the lack of features and the limited two-vs-two fights, writing…
“[…] this game reminds me of Star Fleet Command and Star Fleet Command 2, but with less features. Those older games, while set in a different universe offered all the same tricks (bombs, shuttles, high energy turns, cloaking, ship design, etc) while also offering a 6 player multiverse for persistent fights.”
Even still, despite the criticisms from some, the vast majority of players enjoy the giant space cathedrals, the micromanagement of specific ships, the intense graphics and space warfare, as well as the ability to setup intricate, naval-style strategies during combat. The_Real_Twist3d wrote…
“If you’re a fan of the 40k universe, rts, space ships, or all of the above like myself, you will almost certainly love this game. It provides the intense moments of adrenaline filled close-quarters fleet combat, as well as the opportunity to set up intricate strategies and ship formations. The progression in this game is phenomenal also.”
There are various reviews that go into deep detail about the kind of strategies that can be employed in the game, from pick-and-roll attacks with light cruisers, to long-range bombardment from battleships, to literal hit-and-runs that result in smashing a ship in half.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is available right now on Steam for $39.99. You can pick up a digital copy from the Steam store or visit the official website to learn more.
(Main image courtesy of Hodie)
