Mordheim - City of the Damned Reviews
Mordheim is unapologetically hardcore, and if you're not the type to play the X-COM games in Iron Man mode then you might want to give it a miss.
An authentic enough adaptation, Mordheim is deliberately hard and borderline impenetrable to the initiated. Approach with caution.
A finely tuned turn-based strategy effort that takes place in Warhammer's grim Mordheim game universe, Mordheim is furiously enjoyable but it demands both patience and skill from its prospective armchair generals in spades.
Mordheim is a game for fans of its tabletop sibling. As a strategy game, it offers enough depth and complexity to stand out from the crowd. As an RPG, it's simply burdened by too much complexity to reward the player. Sadly, thanks to a story that is difficult to appreciate and a heavy focus on run-of-the-mill missions, the gameplay becomes repetitive far too quickly as there are not enough interesting story missions to breathe life into the experience.
Mordheim is a game that does alot of interesting stuff; permenant character damage, high levels of customisation and differentiated objectives, but hides some of it behind an unforgiving grind which may put off some players. For those who stick it out though the interesting story missions and fun gameplay are rewarding in their own right.
Mordheim: City of the Damned is a tough game to get into at first. It is a daunting experience from the moment the game is turned on and the tutorials are attempted, but the mechanics are better off learned during the heat of battle. Trial and error will eventually get the ball rolling in terms of finally being able to win missions, but it does take a lot of losing early on to finally get into the swing of things. With not much of a story to keep newcomers interested, and its poorly laid out user interface, it is the rinse and repeat process of building a team of fighters and levelling them up across campaigns that is the real selling point. This is not a pick-up-and-play title, and it requires many hours of dedication before it starts to become a fun experience. Again, though, persistence is the key to cracking this beast of a game, and though it does deliver on its sense of accomplishment, it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get there.
I found myself wishing that something would appear to redeem Mordheim: City of the Damned, but as it began to feel like every action in the game was taking a few agonizing seconds too long, I realised that I'd lost hope in much the same way as the residents of the eponymous city. Mordheim isn't a dangerous place, it's just a bit dull.
Ultimately, there are some big flaws here, and too much competition really with the recent release of XCOM 2 on home consoles that are much more complete, balanced and enjoyable. If you're desperate for some Warhammer strategy then this may do you, otherwise you'd be best to look elsewhere.
Authentic to the source material, Almost a full recreation of the table top game