[Quick note on the most controversial part of the game at launch: performance. The game has stabalized quite a bit, but you'll still probably wanna get some updated benchmarks before committing if you're running something like a GTX 1060 or a RX 6500.]
Since this is one of those kind of replayable-mission-based, multiplayer, co-op shooters, I put off reviewing this until I felt like I had a chunk of time in to see how my initial good impression held up as I sunk into the systems.
The answer is that after 40+ hours I still don't really care about the systems because I just wanna shoot plasma gun and watch dirty Nurgle worshipper pop like balloon.
Of this Left 4 Dead lineage of high-volume shooter, I'm quite confident in saying this is the most visceral, impactful, and satisfying one yet put out. I've been a casual enjoyer of the 40k universe since I was introduced to it with Dawn of War II, and this is the game my Quake raised brain has wanted in it since day 1.
The environments are awesome. The lighting is incredible. The graphics all-around make me feel pretty good about the money I've spent on my computer 😂. The sound design rocks. The MUSIC
OH LAWDY THE MUSIC
And so many of these weapons are so fun!
Even better — and probably why everyone's mid-low range computers were getting absolutely toasted on launch — Fat Shark somehow managed to up visually fidelity and shove 2-3 times more enemies onto the map at any one time than I ever saw in Vermintide. That, or they've managed to make the hordes "feel" more voluminous either by more aggressive, enveloping pathing or just through visual tweaks to the size and presence of each model. Probably a mix of all of the above.
The point is, I haven't been able to really think critically about things like "the scaling of combat" and "weapon balance" because when I go into a 3 or 4 difficulty mission (out of 5) with "High Intensity" active, I'm just swept away into the joy of trying to survive against an insane mob.
Even when it's overwhelming it never feels quite hopeless. Or perhaps it's better to say, even when it's hopeless I still just wanna cut and blast and try to fight my way out. It's great.
To that end, the game is actually surprsingly less punishing with health and reviving than Vermintide was. It's not coddling, but the rules on health and recovery have been made more cut-and-dry. If you make it to the next med-station, you can heal back to full and be ready for the next push. They've opted to have "shields" on top of regular health this time, instead of the temporary health recovery present in Vermintide, so now getting grazed by a hit or two isn't as annoyingly detrimental as before.
Geniously, they've introduced a "Unit Cohesion" rule (and other very tabletop inspired mechanics that I quite enjoyed) that serves as the only way to passively recover shields — outside of a handful of situational class abilities. That both removes the plainness of a hide-and-recharge based shield and has been fairly effective in getting groups of matchmade players to actually try and stick together.
As a hobbyist game designer, I bloody love that mechanic.
And they provide a counter balance to it with the active form of shield regeneration, keeping it from being miserable during the times where you need to split up: killing enemies in melee also recovers a chunk of shields. A skilled player can use that to cut themselves a bloody trail to their goal and back, but run out of nearby enemies when shooters descend or simply make too many mistakes and you're in for it.
So basically I'm in love with the core gameloop here and have been very satisfied with it....
Which is good because currently that's really all there is to the game: repeat the same 12-16 missions with different difficulty modifiers and collect gear to optimize your build. There are no story missions or a "Chaos Wastes" type rogue-lite mode to vary it up. The missions are designed a fair bit smarter than Vermintide's original set in that they took a few more clues from the Chaos Waste's maps on how to get more replayability out of them, but the fact remains.
So the game is best enjoyed in bursts. If you try to binge this with some kind of "completion" goal, the game will not satisfy you.
If you boot it up for an hour or two per session for lark with the boiz or to just let off some steam, then it will cover that need splendidly.
Definite recommend for Left 4 Dead fans and Warhammer 40k fans with an interest in shooters.
Since this is one of those kind of replayable-mission-based, multiplayer, co-op shooters, I put off reviewing this until I felt like I had a chunk of time in to see how my initial good impression held up as I sunk into the systems.
The answer is that after 40+ hours I still don't really care about the systems because I just wanna shoot plasma gun and watch dirty Nurgle worshipper pop like balloon.
Of this Left 4 Dead lineage of high-volume shooter, I'm quite confident in saying this is the most visceral, impactful, and satisfying one yet put out. I've been a casual enjoyer of the 40k universe since I was introduced to it with Dawn of War II, and this is the game my Quake raised brain has wanted in it since day 1.
The environments are awesome. The lighting is incredible. The graphics all-around make me feel pretty good about the money I've spent on my computer 😂. The sound design rocks. The MUSIC
OH LAWDY THE MUSIC
And so many of these weapons are so fun!
Even better — and probably why everyone's mid-low range computers were getting absolutely toasted on launch — Fat Shark somehow managed to up visually fidelity and shove 2-3 times more enemies onto the map at any one time than I ever saw in Vermintide. That, or they've managed to make the hordes "feel" more voluminous either by more aggressive, enveloping pathing or just through visual tweaks to the size and presence of each model. Probably a mix of all of the above.
The point is, I haven't been able to really think critically about things like "the scaling of combat" and "weapon balance" because when I go into a 3 or 4 difficulty mission (out of 5) with "High Intensity" active, I'm just swept away into the joy of trying to survive against an insane mob.
Even when it's overwhelming it never feels quite hopeless. Or perhaps it's better to say, even when it's hopeless I still just wanna cut and blast and try to fight my way out. It's great.
To that end, the game is actually surprsingly less punishing with health and reviving than Vermintide was. It's not coddling, but the rules on health and recovery have been made more cut-and-dry. If you make it to the next med-station, you can heal back to full and be ready for the next push. They've opted to have "shields" on top of regular health this time, instead of the temporary health recovery present in Vermintide, so now getting grazed by a hit or two isn't as annoyingly detrimental as before.
Geniously, they've introduced a "Unit Cohesion" rule (and other very tabletop inspired mechanics that I quite enjoyed) that serves as the only way to passively recover shields — outside of a handful of situational class abilities. That both removes the plainness of a hide-and-recharge based shield and has been fairly effective in getting groups of matchmade players to actually try and stick together.
As a hobbyist game designer, I bloody love that mechanic.
And they provide a counter balance to it with the active form of shield regeneration, keeping it from being miserable during the times where you need to split up: killing enemies in melee also recovers a chunk of shields. A skilled player can use that to cut themselves a bloody trail to their goal and back, but run out of nearby enemies when shooters descend or simply make too many mistakes and you're in for it.
So basically I'm in love with the core gameloop here and have been very satisfied with it....
Which is good because currently that's really all there is to the game: repeat the same 12-16 missions with different difficulty modifiers and collect gear to optimize your build. There are no story missions or a "Chaos Wastes" type rogue-lite mode to vary it up. The missions are designed a fair bit smarter than Vermintide's original set in that they took a few more clues from the Chaos Waste's maps on how to get more replayability out of them, but the fact remains.
So the game is best enjoyed in bursts. If you try to binge this with some kind of "completion" goal, the game will not satisfy you.
If you boot it up for an hour or two per session for lark with the boiz or to just let off some steam, then it will cover that need splendidly.
Definite recommend for Left 4 Dead fans and Warhammer 40k fans with an interest in shooters.