By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)
I have seen the truth! The false emperor and his puppet army no longer obscure my vision. The way has been made clear by the four true gods: Khorne, the Blood God; Slaanesh, the Perfect Prince; Tzeentch, Master of Fortune; and Nurgle, the Lord of Decay. The days left to that pompous Admiral Spire are numbered, and he who is chosen by the four great ones, Word Bearer Malos Vrykan, will be the one to topple his house of cards.
Tindalos Interactive launches the true Grand Campaign for their homage to the dark gods, Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2, on June 24th, 2019. This new campaign highlights the strength of the forces of Chaos as they burn their way across the sector to true victory!
Okay, dropping the pretense now to get to the meat of the review: Yes, the Chaos campaign for BGA2 has landed on Steam for $12.99. It’s a bit pricey for a DLC, but this is a fully fleshed out new campaign with amazing art and graphics, voice acting, and all new mechanics. Plus it comes alongside a free-for-everyone update that will have many, many quality of life improvements.
Some of the new mechanics that you can look forward to in the Chaos campaign have to do with how you earn and when you can use the Blessings of Chaos. These are relatively similar to the boons of the Adeptus Mechanicus and etc from the core game campaign, except, of course, having to do with the four gods of Chaos.
The blessings are earned in various ways, but the primary of these is by offering up planets to the dark gods when you take over a system. The number of Chaos boons you gain depends on what type and value a planet has. Planets with greater strategic value will generally offer a greater reward than their less favorable counterparts.
Of course, the ships and their captains that you receive are also particular to the Chaos campaign. You can even use your chaos gifts to recruit specialty captains that have gifts from each of the dark gods. Be warned, these captains owe their allegiance to the daemon who has marked them above all others. Turn your back on them at your own peril.
The captains do come with some rather powerful benefits however. Each of the captains has two powers, one unique to their patron daemon. For example, the Nurgle champions have an aura of decay about their ships which can cause damage to their enemies, and heal their cohorts. This makes having an entire fleet of Nurglese vessels fighting in close formation something to be feared indeed.
Pay heed, though, the gifts of chaos do not come cheaply, and devoting a planet to the Dark Gods will increase the cost of upgrading that planet, so you’ll want to choose carefully those which you offer up, and which to develop.
You can also achieve chaos gifts by completing certain secondary missions. These are similar in mechanics to the boons granted in the other campaigns, and are not to be confused with secondary objectives, which are also coming with the new free patch.
Secondary objectives will grant more ways to win a match than simply the current take and hold mechanic. In fact, most of the game modes from the original Battlefleet Gothic Armada will be implemented. So you may find a mission whose objective is to assassinate a particular Captain or Admiral in the enemy fleet. Perhaps you will have to escort a flotilla of cargo ships, or other similar objectives. I’m not actually sure if planetary bombardment missions are included, but possibly.
As I said, $12.99 might feel a bit steep for a DLC, but a lot of work has gone into this one, and the visuals are stunning. I really enjoyed my foray back into the Dark Millennium universe and romping about as the fearsome chaos forces is a real treat.
Plus, when you consider that Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 is as worthy as any AAA title, with a multiplayer that is functional, if in flux as balance changes are frequently being made, as well as four full campaigns, and the base cost is only $39.99, it doesn’t really feel unreasonable for Tindalos and Focus Home Interactive to be asking what they are for the DLC. It feels very worth it, in my book. If you disagree, fight me. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. SKULLS FOR THE… woah, um… I mean… everyone is entitled to their opinions, even heretics. AND YOU SHALL DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS FOR DEFYING THE DARK GODS.
Note: A game key was provided for review purposes.
Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2: Chaos Campaign DLC Screenshots
