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Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus Review - A Simplified, Solid Strategy RPG
With Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus coming to consoles, there is now the potential for a new group of players to experience this excellent tabletop-inspired video game. The game takes a lot of influences from the popular tabletop RPG of the same name, but fleshes it out with a deeply entertaining storyline and a robust upgrading system. Some aspects of Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus can be a little slow, but it is ultimately a very rewarding strategy RPG.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus puts players in the boots of the Adeptus Mechanicus faction as they try to eradicate the constantly regenerating, Terminator-esque Necrons. The Adeptus Mechanicus are a scientifically inclined group that modifies their own bodies with machinery, but their obsession borders on religious fanaticism. This concept usually leads to some of the more interesting aspects of the story line.
In between missions there are cutscenes that show three high-ranking Adeptus Mechanicus members debating what the player should do next. These characters are interesting and unique, helping to drive the story in between gameplay. One has become so obsessed with technology and science that they only speak in equations, while another believes that all alien technology is evil and must be destroyed rather than studied. Their witty - or sometimes entirely devoid of emotion - banter is hilarious to listen to, and it puts the player in the position to decide which dogmatic view of the Adeptus Mechanicus society they fall in with while out on missions. It's a welcome touch, and one that wouldn't necessarily be expected from characters so obsessed with machine perfection.
Missions in Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus have players viewing a top down version of a map, much like how they would in a normal tabletop game from the property. Players decide which path they want to take through maze-like areas, and each new room entered puts gives them a situation they must make a choice about. Most of the time these choices seem to fall within the separate ideologies of the High Tech Priests, and one common situation is players finding a piece of technology and deciding to either study it, destroy it, or leave it alone and avoid risking an attack from enemies. These choices are fun and interesting despite their inherent simplicity, but ultimately don't have a major effect on the outcome of missions. They are mostly just filler between combat encounters, and they can sometimes become repetitive as playtime begins to reach double digit hours.
The combat where things truly shine, however, so the in-between is often just dressing for the game's main course. Combat is turn based and centered around Warhamer 40,000: Mechanicus' version of action points, CP. The player's Tech Priests can move around and do simple actions for free, but will need to use CP to move extra spaces or use certain weapons. CP is basically the lifeblood of the game, so players who want to make it far will need to ensure that they have a full bar whenever possible. This can be done by killing enemies, using certain equipment, or by interacting with obelisks.
Players will need to be smart while facing off against Necrons. Depleting an enemies' health bar doesn't kill them immediately. Instead, they go into a regeneration mode, which means players will need to attack them again to clear them off the board. This is made even more difficult by the fact that there are healing drones that float around boosting their teammates' health. It makes for interesting gameplay since players will need to attack enemies but make sure they can't recover. Careless players can become overwhelmed very fast if they forget about enemies that are regenerating health, while those with an eye for balance during gameplay will find the combat planning satisfying in execution.
In between missions, players can boost their Tech Priest abilities by investing in-game currency into different upgrades and abilities. Players have the choice of adding brand new weapons, pulling skills from different skill trees, and adding new armor or gear into their rotation. With all of these options, players have the ability to create completely unique characters that have a wide range of different abilities. Customization options can sometimes be a lot to handle, but players who take the time to invest their skill points will be capable of wiping out vast amounts of Necrons with no problem.
That's basically the underlying core of Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus - it is basically a simplified version of the tabletop game, which makes a perfect entry point for newcomers but still offers complexity and depth for veterans of tabletop gaming. The ongoing war between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Necrons is fun and engaging throughout the game's runtime, and players will most likely get several playthroughs out of experimenting with different Tech Priest combinations and strategies. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a must-play for RPG and tabletop fans as a result, and another quality entry into the franchise's expansion into the video game industry.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
