r/mechanicus

The full soundtrack is already out.

Praise be the machine.

Hey, I am thinking about picking this game for Switch (physical). However it's sold everywhere and the only physical copy I have found is US version (I am from Europe). Is this game completely on cartridge and playable? Meaning all DLC content etc. I am not going to create US account only for 1 game.

Praise the Omnissiah, for we have completed our playthrough of Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus and it was an excellent time! I genuinely believe that this game has the best presentation of any 40k videogame on the market at the moment. It was such a good time managing and upgrading the tech priests and seeing them become less and less human but more and more deadly. More machine than man indeed.

To start with the best aspect of the game, the OST. This is without a doubt the best OST in any Warhammer material and is up there with one of my favourite OST in videogames, with special mention to Children of the Omnissiah and Noosphere for being absolute bangers. The entire soundscape is a work of art really.

The presentation in general is top notch with an excellent variety in how the tech priest you control as well as the NPCs look. I adored how the human members of the Mechanicus came across as more alien that the truly inhuman Necrons, truly 40k grimdark at its finest. Loved how they made the NPC have different tones in their language, the Cant Mechanicus, their variety in modifications, how they view the universe around them, their obsessions with their areas of expertise, it is no wonder this game can make people fans of the faction. The opening to the game with the “Weakness of the flesh” speech is the hardest Warhammer 40k has ever gotten and it has become the iconic speech of the Mechanicus in the fanbase for a damn good reason.

The gameplay, I am a bit more unsure on. It could stand to move a bit faster, but that’s an easy fix in their future projects. I am very torn on the cognition mechanic. On one hand, I love the emergent strategies it enables by managing the resource and when everything works it feels like a well-oiled machine running at maximum efficiency, allowing you to run circles around the Necrons and dominate the battlefield. On the other hand, it make cognition the only resource that really matters and it only allows for blitz tactics, which I love, but I can see why some more defensive players would have qualms about it. Ditto with the awakening gauge. No problems with it during the mission, as staying in the tomb for an extended period of time should be extremely dangerous, but I hate how it made me feel rushed. It also forces you to play hyper optimally to achieve the minimum awakening per deployment which we accomplished, but again, it only encourages blitzing the enemy.

On a related note, I like how all the missions were unique and even how the rewards were randomised, as it made choosing a deployment really impactful, but because the missions were unique, but the awakening meter constantly rushes you, I feel it prevented the game from having a really engaging plot. As it stands it more of a setting; get a feel for the Mechanicus and immerse yourself in the vibes rather than engage with a plot. I feel the missions should have connected together to a stronger plot and have the awakening meter as a measure of how deadly the encounters are about to be. Maybe it simply buffs the Necrons in terms of power, units deployed etc rather than forcing you to end the game. That said, the mission where you steal their miniatures was gold!

The balance was also a bit off, with the numbers for everything being so squished that it prevented different equipment from being genuinely diverse and it created some pieces that were straight upgrades from others. All that said, the presentation, the emergent puzzle of a tactics game, the feel of the weapons, building up the tech priests more than made up for the game’s shortfalls. It still doesn’t quite reach the heights of X-Com for me, but it provides an interesting take on the genre and I feel it succeeded in what it set out to do. I am now very excited for Mechanicus II and look forward to seeing what they do with playing both sides and how they will evolve the concept. Until next time my cogboys and girls.

The Omnissiah Knows All, Comprehends All!

FULL PLAYTHROUGH: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...