"Tighter tactics, but the tech-priest tinkering is gone"
About
A sequel to Bulwark's turn-based Warhammer 40,000 tactics game, running two linear story campaigns: the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Necron legions. Combat turns on cognition points, turn-order manipulation, and squad composition rather than the first game's customizable tech priests, and the roguelike mission structure has been replaced by a fixed narrative path. You pick a faction, build out a squad of unit types, and fight scripted engagements between cutscenes.
Verdict
Mechanicus II trades the build-breaking freedom of the original for tactics that genuinely demand more thought per engagement, and the faction writing is the strongest thing here. But it strips out the exploration and customization that gave the first game its replay pull, then ships with frame drops and soft-locks that no tactics game should carry. A solid campaign trapped in a worse package than its predecessor.
You'll like it if …
- +you want tactical puzzles that reward reading turn order and squad synergy over a god-unit
- +you're here for dense faction lore and strong voice acting
You'll dislike it if …
- −you loved building custom tech priests and breaking the balance
- −you replay tactics games for varied runs rather than a fixed story rail
Breakdown
- +Combat punishes you for not reading turn order and squad synergy, no minmaxed god-unit to lean on
- −Cleverness has a ceiling since the system poses its puzzles inside fixed encounters rather than varied scenarios
- +Two faction campaigns with distinct leader styles provide a second pass through the story
- −Linear story replaces the variety that the original's roguelike runs generated, leaving little reason to replay once you've seen the rail
- −Stripped of customization options and exploration that gave the first game its replay pull
- +The Mechanicus-versus-Necron framing turns into a genuinely rewarding lore dive carried by strong voice acting
- +Dense faction writing and friction between the Omnissiah's acolytes and the deathless Necrons
- −Story stays on rails, so your choices don't bend the plot
- +Portraits and effects look sharp, with especially strong Necron detail work and unit animation
- −Weapon clank earns praise but the new score lands flat and warped next to the first game's
- −Rubbery character models and environmental clutter from fire and radiation genuinely obscure the battlefield
- −Soft-locks from autosave overwrites and frame rates in the mid-30s on a 5090 undercut careful tactical play
- −Tooltip gaps and skill bugs indicate the release needed more time
- −Shipped at full price with the original soundtrack walled off behind a separate purchase, despite shedding features from its predecessor
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