Creative Assembly will dive into the dystopian world of Warhammer 40,000 with the latest installment of the Total War series. Exactly the right setting for strategy game fan and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus, who has already spent two hours delving into the grim battles and had to learn many new things despite his experience in Total War.
Since the announcement, I have been closely following the development of Total War: Warhammer 40,000, after all, Creative Assembly has big plans here:
- A completely new engine is supposed to improve Warhammer 40,000 and all future installments.
- As a result, Total War is even playable on consoles for the first time and is coming for PS5 and Xbox.
- At the same time, the developers are fundamentally reworking some of the systems that define Total War.
After well over 1,000 hours in Total War: Warhammer 3, I am looking forward to the new installment. Now the creators invited MeinMMO for an early preview, and of course, I seized this opportunity immediately.
For almost two hours, I was able to play a short tutorial, a small part of the campaign, and a somewhat challenging battle – albeit only as Space Marines, one of the four playable factions at launch. My prior Total War knowledge only helped me to a limited extent.
Different campaign, completely different battle, but all done right
Right off the bat: The insights I gained while playing were really minimal. I could neither choose a faction nor did I know the exact point in the campaign or the story, and many functions and content were simply locked for the demo. However, if what I saw is representative, then Total War: Warhammer 40,000 does many things entirely differently than I am used to from its predecessor.
The movement in the campaign alone is no longer measured in length units, but in fields. Specifically: An army in the demo could always move two fields, similar to Risk. If a visiting field has an enemy army or settlement, it results in battle.
While this feels unfamiliar at first and seems less strategic, since Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is not set on one world but on countless planets, the scaling is of course completely different. Accordingly, the expansion of cities and recruitment is also somewhat “scaled back” and is dependent on the “provinces” of the settlement.
However, I noticed the biggest difference in fighting. Normally, battles in Total War are among the least interesting content for me. But in Warhammer 40,000, I felt very much like a commander, and I could really get into it.
I have to play much more actively and that’s what Total War has been missing
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 really throws everything out the window that I had learned about real-time battles in Total War up to that point. Formations and Doom Stacks? Not anymore: Strategems, tactics, and cover are the order of the day!
Instead of placing melee fighters in front of my shooters and artillery, my tanks advance to stop the enemies, while the infantry takes cover behind barricades and attacks with bonuses. There is no more ammunition and all units can shoot while moving, which creates entirely different dynamics in battle.
I no longer sit in front of the screen watching at 8x speed as an army runs into my hail of arrows and eventually clashes steel on steel; I must constantly take action, secure flanks, or launch pincer attacks. Yes, that was important in earlier installments too, but not to this extent.
To illustrate: The armies have special abilities. In the case of the Space Marines, a lance strike and an area bombardment. To ensure that I eliminate as many Orks as possible, I simply dropped my Captain and Terminators behind their lines via “Deep Strike” and engaged enemies there.
I retrieved my Terminators through teleportation as the bombers arrived. The Captain provided the highest service to the Emperor and thus helped me to victory.
Click on the images to enlarge:
Little details show: This is real Warhammer
The mere fact that the Space Marines field units numbering in the hundreds, while the Orks have thousands, shows just how different and faithful to the material the factions really are.
This is also evident in the … graphic part. Warhammer 40,000 is said to be the “bloodiest Total War to date,” the devs mentioned in the presentation. And yes, that is true. I won’t say more for reasons of youth protection, but the feeling of a dystopian war zone definitely came through.
What impressed me the most were the little details in the game. Troops can be equipped with weapons that change their function, have some active abilities, and automatically switch to the currently best weapon choice. The Scriptor, for instance, usually roasts the green skins with his warp lightning, but when they get too close, he fights with his psychic sword.
Moreover, it is – at least in the demo – possible to create your own Space Marine chapters or replicate existing ones. Of course, I played my beloved Black Templars, the fanatics among the Space Marines, who come closest to the Sororitas.
As a Warhammer fan, I had to pause the battle several times just to admire my surroundings. Imperial cities and positions in the background and the ruins of the battlefield, war wounds on units and vehicles, all of this evokes exactly the feeling I get when I think of Warhammer.
Is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 still a Total War?
Much of this now sounds as if Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is primarily a game for Warhammer fans and not for fans of the series. However, I won’t say that anyone expecting a Total War with Warhammer 40,000 would be disappointed. That is certainly not the case.
Despite the many changes, the core gameplay remains the same, even if the game mechanics differ significantly. The “meta game” is somewhat simplified, but raising armies, expanding outposts, and conquering regions are still part of the game and an important aspect, as far as I could see.
Moreover, I would even argue that Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is especially suitable for newcomers. Some systems still need polishing, but they are so intuitive that you should have them down pat after a few hours.
As for the lore, the devs have done a great job here. Famous heroes from the Warhammer universe play an important role and in the details, you can tell that the creators have a lot of knowledge about the material. As a fan, I noticed many details that brought me joy, but I wouldn’t have needed this deep knowledge to feel comfortable.
An exact release date for Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is still pending, but especially due to the brief glimpse I got now, I can hardly wait for the release. Along with Dawn of War 4 and Dark Heresy, there are three Warhammer games on the horizon that I’m really excited about and will keep me occupied for hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours.
What do you think of the changes? Are you looking forward to the upcoming Total War? Do you already know which faction you will play first in Total War: Warhammer 40,000? Leave a comment!
The waiting time until the release of the games will be exhausting, but fortunately, in the meantime, a DLC will come that strikes just the right tone: Lords of the End Times for Total War: Warhammer 3 on September 24th, and I already know what I’m looking forward to the most: I’ve long deserved to be the King of the Undead – Total War: Warhammer 3 makes that possible soon
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