Finally, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters has had a console release. In doing that I have been able to get my hands on it. I have been a fan of all things Warhammer since my teens (I won’t indulge my age but trust me it’s a long time) so I will jump at any chance if I get to review any game in the settings. Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters piqued my interest because it featured the Grey Knight Chapter. It is very rarely you see them out in the wild never mind in a game but I will get into them later.
Did someone order Chapter 666?
In Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters you follow the Grey Knights Flagship, Baleful Edict. The Grey Knights are a secretive chapter of the Space Marines who specialize in hunting down and eradicating all Demon threats to the Imperium of Man. The ship is returning to the Grey Knight home-world of Titan for repairs when it is commandeered by Inquisitor Vikar.
The Inquisitor needs the help of the formidable Chapter as a nearby star system has had a terrible plague
unleashed upon it by the powers of the Chaos God, Nurgle. This you will find out is called The Bloom and
transforms those infected into various Nurgle-type monsters. The main objective for the players is to keep the bloom in check by not letting it spread from the system. You will also manage the Baleful Edict by managing repairs, researching weapons, updating barracks to receive more Knights, and talking to various characters to ease the tensions between your knights, the Inquisitor, and the Mechanicium.
Blooming hell
If you have played XCOM or the like then you will be very familiar with the gameplay mechanics in Chaos Gate –Daemonhunters. As I mentioned above there is some ship management. The ship screen is the main place for requests, repairs, and upgrades for both the ship and your squad. It will also be where the system map can be found. Here you can travel from planet to planet and wherever The Bloom rises. You will need to make tough choices on which planet needs your squad’s help the most as others will fall to The Bloom. You can also advance time on the map screen to finish the research or let a Knight recover from injuries. It is handy to do but you will find yourself doing it less and less as you will have to stay on top of The Bloom growth in the system.
This won’t take long as the Grey Knights will be called by Inquisitor Vikar into action. Most missions are
investigation or retrieval and can get a bit repetitive after a while. Once down on the planet, you will be launched into a familiar turn-based tactical game. Each character in your squad can take different actions each turn. They can use an ability, to find cover, reload, or attack the many enemies that you encounter. As I said if you have played XCOM or the likes you will pick this up easily the only real difference is Chaos Gate tells you straight off if you will hit or miss with an attack. One of the great mechanics is the enemies’ stun value. Get this to zero and you can trigger an execution. This not only looks great but as a bonus, you give all squad members an extra action.
In Daemonhunters there is only Grimdark
The look and feel of Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is everything you want from a Warhammer 40,000 game. The settings are Gothic and Grimdark. It’s like the tabletop game itself in many ways. There are a few little issues that I didn’t like. The character interactions were a bit bland and uneventful. I put this down to them being scrolling text with a voiceover, I would have preferred a cut scene or something with a bit of life in it. The same can be said about the storyline it is fairly basic for a Warhammer 40K game. The gameplay does get repetitive especially once you get the hang of things but there is a big difficulty curve. Just keep an eye on the Bloom meter as when it hits 100% you will get swamped with enemies. This is chaotic especially as you only have a small squad of Grey Knights.
All in all, this is a game that any Warhammer fan should play. It has all that you need to feel like you are in the setting. You also get some insight into the workings of the Grey Knights, Nurgle, and the Inquisition. By the Emperor’s Throne, you won’t want to miss out.
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