Mordheim: City of the Damned

If you enjoy Warhammer Fantasy and are ok with a more hardcore set of mechanics then this is the game for you. Its not perfect but the level of atmosphere, customisation and fun goes a very long way. You can play it fairly simply initially and then look to go deep into specialisation and customisation once you get the hang of things. For the price its well worth picking up. Unfortunate it didnt get more development time. For the Mac people - it runs perfectly on Crossover when installed manually (I haven't tested Galaxy but that should work as well.)

Reading the reviews I realised I would likely enjoy this game despite its relatively low overall rating, and I was right. It may not be a game for everyone, but it offers very, very solid tactical experience in a compelling atmosphere.

I liked this game up until I played the library story missions. They are rage inducing, and not just in the normal "RNG screwed you over" way. (There are plenty of those moments throughout the game though.) Without getting into too much detail, there are teleporters, hallways which can be body-blocked by one enemy, and enemies which ignore several of the established rules of combat. On top of those relatively minor annoyances, you must carry quest items back to your starting camp, all of which are far away and the normal mechanics of the game make carrying items a chore even without the obtuse level design. From a personal experience, I played this mission with Skaven, Empire, and Sisters, and every time was when I quit playing the game. I even had one time where I almost completed it (as Skaven) but on the last quest item a new enemy either spawned or finally walked over to where my people were and killed off the quest item carrying person. The enemy was strong enough to prevent my low HP other characters from rescuing the mission. I get that this is going to happen but it took so long just to get that close I uninstalled the game and hid it from my library. TLDR: game can be fun but can also be so frustrating the fun stops.

I've sunk way too many hours of my life into Mordheim. It's in the thousands. That's on PC and PS4. Yes, I liked it so much I bought it twice, just to see if there's a difference of experience (there is, but not a huge one). Mordheim is a game that you're going to fail at for a while, until things start to click. Your first few Warbands are probably going to get wrecked. But once you get the hang of it and understand all of the mechanics at your disposal, you'll start winning. I'm at the point where losing a unit to an AI player is a deep personal shame, the stench of which I cannot escape. Look, lots of other games have mechanics for "tough as nails" gameplay. Permadeath (or permanent injury), autosaves after every action, and, naturally, RNG. But this game has some stuff others don't. 1. Customization like I've rarely seen before. All of your units can be trained in ANY skill they have access to with few exceptions; the limit is stat requirements for the most part. You can take a Henchman (think Red Shirt) and train him to be a heavily armored tank, a light scout, a dodge tank, a mule, or a debuffer; this is true for all factions. Finding the right combinations of skills for your playstyle is what makes the game what it is, in my opinion. 2. Perspective that's reminiscent of Valkyria Chronicles. I play a lot of SRPGs having started with Shining Force on my old Genesis in the 90's, and they almost always take a high-level view, like you're playing on a chessboard. I get it, and it makes sense, but sometimes you want to travel WITH your team. The perspective is a huge asset IMO, though I concede others might think otherwise. I probably never would've played it if it didn't have over-the-shoulder views. 3. Fair RNG. Yes, "FAIR." For every action, you'll know the percentage chance you have to succeed. The game rolls 1d100, and that decides success or failure. They're all logged and viewable! Mordheim is worth a try for SRPG fans. I think it's one of the best.

It's a good strategy game with a lot of depth, but the lack of map and scenario variety keeps it from being the experience it could be. That said, there's not many games with true RNG and real make-or-break decisions presented every turn, so it's sort of the best option after tabletop if that's your thing. Overall definitely worth it on sale.