The Warhammer 40K license is ripe for video game adaptations, with many falling into the first-person shooter and strategy game genres. Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is a tactical RPG that involves conflict on a massive scale, as the player directs a war across the stars while also managing troops in brutal battles with the forces of Chaos. Screen Rant had a chance to see the game in action ahead of its May 5 release date.
Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate focuses on the conflict between the Gray Knights and the Plague Marines. The Gray Knights are the chapter of the Space Marines that deal with the forces of Chaos, and the Plague Marines are the servants of the Chaos God Nurgle, the lord of pestilence. Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate's story involves Gray Knights learning of a new plague, known as the Bloom, which can affect an entire sector of space. Thus begins a race against time, as the Gray Knights must purge the infected worlds of the Bloom while battling the Plague Marines.
The main gameplay loop of Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate will be familiar to fans of the XCOM series. The player directs their campaign from their colossal battleship, where they can: use the Barracks to customize the appearance and load-outs of their soldiers; use the Armory to purchase permanent upgrades that affect available troop types; use the Manufactorum to upgrade the ship; and visit the Libris Malleus to research new weapons and anti-Bloom tactics. The Libris Malleus also has a research tree for Strategems, which are psychic buffs that can be used during missions, but only in limited numbers. Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate has an entire base management simulation on the ship, but the player will inevitably need to send their Space Marines into combat, which happens on a much smaller scale.
One of the key differences between Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate and the XCOM series' gameplay style is in the approach to combat. In XCOM, the squads of soldiers are often outmanned, so the player must rely on distance and cover to take down enemies from afar. In Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate, the Space Marines are genetically engineered superhumans with high-tech gear, so they have the capacity to go toe-to-toe with the servants of Chaos. Each soldier can equip different types of gear and use special abilities that are linked to the eight classes in the game. The player can also customize the appearance of their soldiers, which stays true to the tabletop game.
Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate favors a more aggressive playstyle, with the Space Marines possessing powerful melee attacks that can be used to target specific enemy body parts, but only in certain situations, such as when performing a critical hit. These precision attacks can be used to inflict status effects, stun an enemy, or even remove their limbs. Enemies have a certain number of hits they can take before they become stunned. Once they're stunned, it's possible to execute the enemy, which not only comes with a cool and gory cutscene but also restores Willpower, which is a resource used for psychic abilities used by the Space Marines.
The battle maps in Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate feature the alien landscapes and gothic structures that will be familiar to fans of the franchise. A major feature in Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate is its destructible environments. It's possible to blow up bridges that enemies are standing on, send architecture crashing down onto them, or simply create rubble that can be used as cover. These maps also have a number of features that will keep players on their toes. It's possible to take special challenges during missions that increase their difficulty or add extra objectives, in exchange for extra rewards. There are also random Warp Surges that can occur during battle, which can introduce new elements into battle, such as spawning enemy units or weakening the player's squad.
The battlefield is ever-shifting in Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate and the player will need to use all of the abilities and upgrades available to them, if they hope to stand a chance against the forces of Nurgle. The Bloom in Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate acts as a Game Over mechanic. If the disease spreads too far, then the Gray Knights will have failed in their mission. The level of Bloom also changes the maps. As such, the player must plan their moves carefully and be ready to make sacrifices as needed.
The gameplay comparisons between XCOM 2 and Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate are unavoidable, but it's clear that Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate has more cinematic and dynamic combat. The shift to a more aggressive style changes the gameplay a great deal from XCOM, and Warhammer 40K Chaos Gate should offer a new and exciting experience for fans of the tactical RPG genre.
Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters will be released for PC on May 5, 2022. Screen Rant attended a private presentation for the purpose of this preview.