Warhammer, the franchise that never dies! Warhammer is such an amazing universe with lots of lore and interesting characters. This pool of knowledge opens up doors to some fun games that’ll take hours of your time. However, it hasn’t always been this great. Some games that are set in the Warhammer universe failed to deliver but I can easily say that Warhammer: Chaosbane isn’t one of those “failed” games. The developers looked at similar games, learned from their successes and implemented some of those ideas into their project that’ll definitely be appreciated within the Warhammer’s community.
The game is set in the year 2301 where a Kurgan warlord named Aasavar Kui played an important role in the plan of the Dark Gods where the destruction of the realms of men was the ultimate goal. This warlord united the different tribes of the Chaos Wastes and formed a dangerous army. The invaders captured Praag which was one of the greatest cities in the realms of men. A nobleman named Magnus convinced the people of the Empire to fight for their lands and pushed the Chaos warriors out of their beloved city. The Chaos horde scattered across the lands and Magnus managed to defeat Kul single-handed. Magnus became the new emperor, but the Dark Gods are still lurking in the dark and planning their next move, to avenge their defeat.
“A delightful new experience of this old known but favored genre.”
Warhammer: Chaosbane doesn’t bring anything new to the table, however, they built on a successful formula and make some interesting changes that’ll make this game their own. It doesn’t seem like a secret that they’ve looked closely to the building stones of the Diablo franchise and use it as an inspiration to create this fun dungeon crawling experience. If Diablo did something right, it was the fluency of their combat mechanics and addicting loot system. Warhammer: Chaosbane does almost the same thing but pours a little Warhammer sauce on it, to make a delightful new experience of this old known but favored genre.
Just like Diablo, Warhammer: Chaosbane is a dungeon crawler. You play through the same dungeon with almost the same enemies over and over again, just to get better loot. Warhammer: Chaosbane delivers 4 interesting classes with their own set of skills and combat mechanics: Empire Soldier, High Elf Mage, Dwarf Slayer, and a Wood Elf Waywatcher. Each character follows the same story but puts their own mark on it. This feature makes up for some decent replayability and long-lasting game hours. The game is very simple and yet complex enough to create an enjoyable “stop-thinking” kind of game. Your character will kill enemies, gain experience points, level up, unlock different abilities and discover loot. Quite simple, right? But combine this simplistic gameplay component with the ability to create your own playstyle due to the different action skills, traits, and stats… Well, you’re on your way in becoming an overpowered killing machine. Some combos will work, and some will falter but the game doesn’t punish you for being experimental. It’s just the opposite. I faced a difficult boss with my High Elf Mage and my build just didn’t work… I always died the same way. The game lets you switch abilities AND equipment on the spot, even when you’re confronted with the boss. I took 5 minutes to change my equipment with different stats to focus more on Defense instead of Attack and I managed to take the boss down. This is an amazing but simple feature that motivates you to keep going.
Warhammer: Chaosbane sets itself apart from Diablo by implementing some interesting features. For example The Bloodlust system. The Bloodlust mechanic allows you to become frenzied and unleash devastating moves that’ll pulverize your opponents when used correctly and at the right time. Fallen enemies will drop blood orbs that’ll replenish some of your health, as well as the rage meter.
“Action abilities can be swapped each time you want and will help you with the creation of your perfect build.”
The moment your meter has been filled, it’ll stay filled and it’s up to you to decide when you’ll activate this Bloodlust. Not only is it fun, but it can definitely overpower some of your enemies and get away safely. This ability becomes more important over time when you’re actually becoming more powerful. Because even though you’re becoming a powerful beast, your enemies become stronger as well. The more powerful you become, the more favor you’ll receive from the Gods. Leveling up will open up the God panel, in other words, it’s another skill tree where you can spend favor points to become even more powerful and unlock some interesting God abilities. Just like any other ARPG, your skill points are limited so you’ll have to give it some thoughts before you’re spending them. Action abilities can be swapped each time you want and will help you with the creation of your perfect build.
Let’s talk a bit about the loot, the loot isn’t bad, but it isn’t amazing as well. I often find myself staring at my character to see if anything changed the look of my character drastically… but it didn’t. The game lacks some interesting looking armor pieces that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. Even though I felt that I was becoming more powerful each mission, my appearance didn’t make me look powerful. A bit more variation within the armor pieces would have been amazing but this aesthetical approach can still be tweaked over time. However, they did an amazing job to create armor that stayed true to the racial background of the characters.
The game takes you to different places within the Old World’s lore, but I didn’t find them mind-blowing. It’s good to have some variation between the environments but a lot of these areas feel the same and uninspired. Don’t get me wrong, the environments will definitely suit the game because they’ve been built from the Warhammer Universe, but it just doesn’t bring that “WOW” factor which is a bit of a bummer. The upcoming game “Lost Ark” does this so much better, the world around you live, and it feels like you’re in an action movie for sure. I believe that the developers could have done so much more and made the environments a little bit more interesting.
“The design of the missions was definitely okay but nothing new.”
Eko Software did a great job when you look at the graphical aspect. The presentation of the abilities or the environment has been well sorted out which is always a plus in my book. The gameplay has also been a smooth experience so far, there were some moments where a bit of lag tore through my screen but most of the time, it was a short moment. There weren’t any big technical failures that could have influenced my game. I do believe that some of the characters in the world didn’t get the same attention as others or maybe the voice actors weren’t always on point with their acting. I felt like some characters were a bit more polished and thought through than others. Then again, the backstory will also have an influence on the choice you’ll have to make when it comes to picking a main character. It’s good to have different character slots that allow you to try out the different classes. The design of the bosses was interesting and challenging enough but overall the design of the enemies was a bit too dull for my taste. There wasn’t any type of character that had unique features. Even the stronger enemies looked too normal to distinct them from others, aside from a couple. Not only does this affect the enjoyment of the graphical presentation but it’s also an important gameplay aspect as well. The tougher enemies should be taken out first before they can do any major harm to your character. With the horde of Chaos Warriors running towards you, it was often too hard to pick them out from the crowd.
The design of the missions was definitely okay but nothing new. The story takes place in different areas, but the objectives will mostly be the same: find survivors, collect supplies, hunt down high-value targets, capture important enemies and unlocking gates. The design of the boss battles that happen at the end of each act was very well thought out. Facing these enemies won’t come without consequences. The bosses have some well-designed gameplay mechanics and you need to accept a couple of your defeats to discover the patterns of the bosses. Only then, will you come out on top! Discovering patterns, adapting your playstyle and experiment with different stats will help you overcome these monstrous beasts. They’re challenging and we wouldn’t have them any other way.
The game also offers some online and offline co-op. The game allows you to play with up to three friends, either through the power of the internet or just by sitting in the couch next to you. The online system worked flawlessly, and I didn’t experience any hiccups. After playing online for a while, there’s definitely been some thought when it comes to the synergy between the classes which makes up for some brutal combinations. After playing through the story, there’s still some room to build up your character’s equipment list. You’ll be able to replay your missions on a higher difficulty level and rush bosses. These after main story segments, will allow you to gain even more loot. The higher the difficulty, the better the rewards!
Conclusion:
Warhammer: Chaosbane is a great addition to the Action RPGs on the market. The Diablo-like experience will be appreciated by a lot of gamers, just because the developers did so many things right. The game will live up to your standards and it will even brighten your horizon with some fun gameplay elements like the Bloodlust system. The classes are varied, the bosses are challenging, and the loot system is decent enough that’ll keep you going to find the best equipment. The online/offline feature is also a great feature that’ll count for some long game hours through the night with your friends.
