Service to the Omnisiah is Eternal – a review of the game “Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus”

The Warhammer 40,000 universe  is a mine of unique, distinctive social groups and philosophies. Out of this huge variety, the Adeptus Mechanicus, followers of the cult of machines and the god Omnisiah (also: Omni-Messiah), fans of the slow transformation of their imperfect, biological bodies into mechanical constructs, distinguished by their extraordinary aesthetics, are definitely unique to me. It is therefore not surprising that Bulwark Studios has focused on them in their production. Did the God-Machine show his grace sending inspiration to the creators to make a solid title?

Cursed Xenos and their resistance

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus  is a turn-based strategy in which we direct the activities of the Adeptus Mechanicus expedition led by Magos Dominus Faustinus. In search of new technologies for the benefit of the empire and the glory of Omnisiah, we begin the exploration of the Silva Tenebris planet, which causes the awakening of the Necrons frozen in lethargy – asleep aliens who have been resting in this place for centuries. So we begin the fight against time to gain as much knowledge as possible before the damned aliens awaken in full force.

The game is divided into two stages. In the first one, we manage our units, choose the next missions, we can preview the progress and choose special cards that will help us in the exploration of the next dungeons. In particular, the editor of tech-priests deserves attention, in which we can increase their level for the currency earned during the mission and modify them thanks to discovered technologies. While at the beginning we do not have a large selection of implants, at a later stage of the game we have a really large arsenal that allows us to adapt priests to their specialization and our needs. By sending them to new tasks, we can assign them the support of servitors or Skitarii warriors, although of course it is associated with an increase in costs.

The second stage of the game is completing missions in the next dungeons. Almost every room in the labyrinth, after being visited by the sent unit, initiates a briefly described event, which presents us with a choice of its solution. Each option has positive or negative effects that affect the fight that ends the task. The rooms that trigger the final dungeon clash are clearly marked, and the structure of the corridors allows you to quickly reach them without other rooms. Meticulous examination of all angles provides a greater amount of currency and the possibility of finding additional technologies, but it also makes our opponents stronger, and the percentage of awakening Necrons will definitely increase, bringing us closer to the end of the game.

The formula is slightly changed by the addition of Heretek, giving us rebellious priests, devoted to the gods of chaos as enemies. Fighting with them is much less predictable than with aliens, exploring the dungeons has been replaced with a set of event descriptions along with decisions to choose from, and completing the missions related to the expansion does not affect the awakening of Xenos, so we can slightly strengthen ourselves before facing inhuman enemies of the empire. However, the disgust remains after the fight with the leader of the Heretek, because regardless of its outcome, the plot of the expansion has exactly the same ending.

For the Omnisiah, the fight is a glorious fight

The fight itself, taking place in turns, allows us to observe the actions of our tech-priests from an isometric projection. Apart from proper planning of traffic and activities, and the use of terrain obstacles, an important element of the strategy is the management of cognitive points. These are obtained from special places scattered around the map, as well as with the appropriate skills, and they are needed to use most of the abilities and significantly extend the march of Adeptus Mechanicus members. The limit of the number of points available at the same time forces us to combine, but the appropriate planning of movements can cause that even one of our charges can seriously disturb the enemy’s ranks. A lost fight has no major impact on the story, except for the final battle of the whole game,

Although the whole thing is quite well made, unfortunately there were some glitches. The biggest problem is that the camera does not work properly. In the game, there are many locations of different height levels, which often means that the image cannot decide which floor to focus on and starts to jump, making the player nystagmus. In the opponent’s turns, the view also likes to get much closer without returning to the previously set state, so you have to re-establish a comfortable distance each time, and this can really upset you. A slightly smaller, but also irritating inconvenience is the repetition of the maps. Fighting on the same boards with the same spacing of terrain obstacles and tanks with cognition points definitely clashes with the diversity of the placement of rooms in the dungeon.

The spirit of the machine is contented

Visually, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus looks really solid. Locations and units are rich in details, personalizing tech-priests with the discovered improvements introduces a very pleasant variety, and everything is sprinkled with dirt, darkness and ubiquitous technology, perfectly reflecting the unique atmosphere of the represented universe and the character of Adeptus Mechanicus. The biggest advantage of the production, however, is definitely the sound. The music is heavy, full of low tones introducing the player to the cruelty of the forty-first century, mechanical and cybernetic sounds accompany us almost constantly, and the voices of some characters, especially the bass speech of Magos Dominus Faustinus, can give you shivers in a positive sense. Interestingly, the leaders of the sinister Necrons speak English, while the priests, both those faithful to the Omnisiah and those devoted to the gods of chaos communicate in a completely incomprehensible, mechanical language. Even if it was just meant to make things easier by reducing the amount of vocal recordings, in my opinion it definitely reflects the spirit of unity between the members of Adeptus Mechanicus and the machines. Although I have gone through many games in my life and many productions delighted me with their music, I can definitely say that Bulwark Studios soundly surpassed everyone and set the bar definitely above the competition.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus  is definitely a solid title, not without flaws, but incredibly atmospheric. Good gameplay, solid visuals and absurdly perfect audio mean that I can certainly recommend the game to everyone, especially fans of the universe. And now I’m back to serve the Omnisiah!