Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2

Back in April of 2016 we received the first instalment of the Battlefleet Gothic: Armada series, and during their What's Next event in Paris this month Focus Home Interactive and Tindalos Interactive introduced us to their next real-time strategy game based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe - Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 - except this time they've changed a few things.

The motto of this second opus is to do things with more ambition, making it bigger and more impressive, and this is illustrated in particular by doubling the number of playable factions. All 12 factions featured in the original board game and its expansions are now present and accounted for, including The Imperial Navy, Space Marines, Mechanicus Adepts, Chaos, Aeldari Corsairs, Aeldari Craftworld, Drukhari, the T'au Merchant and Fleets Protectors, Orks, Tyrannids, and Necrons (which fans have been wanting for a long time).

As for multiplayer, the focus is on the diversity of match-ups, and Tindalos is doing this by revisiting the balance to make the experience more interesting for both beginners and veterans of the game. As a part of these new efforts, there should be less mismatched games compared to the previous game, which returning players will no doubt be glad to hear.

For the solo mode, the mechanics of the campaign were also reviewed so that it now offers a more immersive experience. Exploring, expanding, and protecting one's territory is now the central goals of Battlefleet Gothic Armada for this sequel, and in the same way, the narrative has also been enriched with more cutscenes and actors' voices. What's more is that Tindalos Interactive is the first studio to make a game with a story that takes place after the recent developments of Games Workshop's universe, including the Gathering Storm and the 13th Black Crusade that have shaken things up, so it's only natural that they had an influence on the campaign.

We started the demo session at the controls of the Imperial Fleet ships, where the objective of the mission was to shoot down the mothership of Chaos before it destroys a planet, Death Star style. The first surprise was the size of the ships, as it's almost like they've been on steroids since the first game. The hunters shooting and circling around our cruiser now look ridiculously small, if not imperceptible, and as such, the map looks cramped, although it seems that it varies depending on the campaign mission. In competitive multiplayer, however, you'll have to get used to it, because this is just how things look with this new instalment.

If you're not used to this kind of gameplay, you'll still be able to find your marks, as it's now possible to slow time down or stop it altogether, which was not the case in the previous game. The ability to board enemy ships has also been also added, as a new mechanic lets you take out your opponent from the inside. In campaign mode, something interesting has been brought in too, disengagement. What this means is that the damage that your warships undergo is permanent, and remain throughout the duration of the story, so it's sometimes more reasonable to send them away than to expose them unnecessarily. It's all about balancing risk and reward, after all.

Graphically, there are improvements too, such as more details and depth in particular. The effect as laser shots hit energy shields is particularly well done, and there's also a more refined visual interface on top of that. It truly feels like a sequel in the visual department, both in terms of the polish added as well as making sure that all the controls and UI are improved compared to the original.

Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 therefore seems to perfectly meet the objectives that the development studio has set: to take the first game in the series and enrich it to make it bigger, better looking, and more imposing. It only remains to see if the narrative and the balance of the multiplayer are up to scratch, but for now we came away from the game wanting to play more, and impressed by what we had seen.