After MENACE and Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era were able to deliver, and even exceed my expectations, I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could be going for a hat-trick with Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II, Bulwark Studios’ sequel to one of the most beloved Warhammer 40,000 games, the 2018 turn-based strategy Mechanicus. This game puts players in charge of the most technologically advanced faction of the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, providing a much different experience and approach to combat than your more common Space Marine-focused titles. So, is Mechanicus II the sequel we’ve been waiting for?
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II is keeping the basic mechanics and gameplay loop of the previous title very much intact (at least, from what I can remember, it’s been a while, you know?). Meaning that the game’s focus isn’t necessarily on your whole squad (like XCOM, where every unit is equally important), but on your hero units who, in turn, have their servitors and necron troops to help them achieve their objectives.
Speaking of which, that’s one of the things that sets Mechanicus II apart from the previous game. In this new entry, players will have at their disposal 2 playable factions (The Adeptus and the Necrons), and both of them will have two narrative campaigns. The demo gives us a brief glimpse of the way both factions play. From what I have seen, yes, they play differently, but not that much differently from one another that I would call them asymmetrical, or even unique. They’re more variations of one another. Both factions had their melee units (Flayed Ones for the Necrons and Servitors for the Adeptus Mechanicus), their mid-range fighters, and longer-range snipers. Greater variation is to be found on the hero units, each of which has several unique attacks and abilities, including the Necron Nefershad skill to revive all units on their deathbed (Necrons need a final killing blow, even after they have fallen in combat, to effectively eliminate them). I’m very curious to see how this is going to be expanded upon on the final release of the game, as from the promotional screenshots of the game, that certainly seems to be the case.
The major difference I was able to spot in this demo was the way each of the factions uses their power-up abilities. The Adeptus Mechanicus has an activation system that allows the player to select if they want to activate a power-up or not on a given unit, to give their attacks an extra “humpf”. From this short demo, what I have gathered so far is that there are no discernible reasons as to why you would not use them, because you always have enough activation points to go around everyone.
The Necrons work a bit differently, in the sense that their “Dominion” mechanic is passive, and every 10 points it accumulates, the Dominion gauge levels up, and the Necrons gain new effects on their attacks. For example: On Dominion level 4, your Flayed One deals 1 extra damage from behind, and on Dominion level 8, they always attack twice regardless of the target’s HP. This mechanic also applies to the hero unit, making it quite powerful.
To round up my impressions of the Mechanicus II demo, I want to tell you that graphically, the game is pretty damn impressive. Unit models are some of the most detailed I have ever seen in any of the Warhammer games, and the shadows and effects of the game are extremely well made, and the animations are ok. Sound-wise, it’s just what one expects, nothing memorable in here, but nothing bad either. So, from a presentation standpoint, Mechanicus II is solid.
So, to round things up, is this the hat-trick I was hoping for? Well, no. Not really. I cannot, in all fairness to other titles I have previewed recently, like MENACE and Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, say that that Mechanicus II has be super excited for its release as I am for those other two, but I’m confident that if you’re a Warhammer 40,000 fan with an interest in the Adeptus Mechanicus, you should be looking forward to play this one. As for me, I still need to see the more strategic aspect of the game before making a decision on whether this is the game for me or not.
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