Battlefleet Gothic Armada: Get This Game NOW!
RTS Fanatic HERO here. I’ve been diving into the brand new Battlefleet Gothic Armada. Here’s what I think:
What can I say? The game is absolutely freaking amazing. I’ve waited so many years for someone to make a game like this and I’m absolutely blown away by the level of detail they put into the game’s core mechanics. The graphics are amazing, the sound is superb, and the atmosphere and the ambiance stays true to what you would expect for a universe as rich as Warhammer 40K. There are great story telling elements available throughout the game, including leveling up your ships, persistent damage, leveling up your crew, and purchasing different upgrades for your ship. The best way I can describe the current experience in the game is that it feels like a slow-grow escalation league where every win is carefully calculated, and every loss is felt through the entire sector.
Personally, I come from a very niche group of players, possibly even more niche than table-top as a whole. I am a former pro RTS player and have been playing the genre for 20 some years. At the same time, I’ve also designed and hosted numerous story-driven escalation leagues during my years as a red shirt. It’s safe to say that I’m a mix of both the hardcore and super casual, having lived and breathed in both camps for many years of my life. The die-hard RTS player in me hungers for more elements in multiplayer, but the super casual fan in me has died and gone to heaven. The only downside with the game for me right now is that when ships die in multiplayer, they go under cooldown, meaning you can’t use them again for two rounds. While I understand why this exists in single-player, I’m not so sure it belongs in multiplayer.
Either way, I think the game is amazing. If I take out all the crashes in the game, I would probably rate it 9/10 as the best table-top to computer game that I’ve ever seen, possibly even more than Dawn of War. I know, that might be borderline heresy, but if you think those games were great, you have to give BFG: Armada a try. The gameplay is solid, there are a ton of tactical choices you have to make in any given moment, and for the super casual player, you can take advantage of the Tactical Coginator to “slow down” time so you can issue all your orders in good time. It’s one of those rare games that pays homage to the table-top fan despite the rigorous demands of the RTS genre.
Pre-order immediately, Tindalos is planning to put a patch this week to address some of the technical issues we’re seeing. It’s a great way for you to get in the game and see what it has to offer. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
Follow me on Twitch for non-stop BFG: Armada action.
~What do you think of the new game?
