With the launch of Space Marine 2, the world of Warhammer 40,000 is back on everyone’s mind, but the game I’m really waiting for is Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus 2. The XCOM-like strategy game’s 2018 predecessor is one of the greatest and most overlooked in the franchise. In Mechanicus 2, developer Bulwark Studios and publisher Kasesdo Games are building on the original’s success by making the Necrons enemy force into a playable faction. At Gamescom 2024, I sat down with Kasedo product manager Tony Cross to take a closer look at the new game and learn how it brings the Necron perspective to the fore.
Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus 2 doesn’t completely flip the script, but instead offers you two very distinct campaigns. After an introductory set of missions that give you a taste of playing as both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Necrons, you’re able to choose which of them you want to follow. It’s a smart twist to what was already one of the best Warhammer 40k games in recent years, and Cross says that the team is eager to take on the challenges of giving each faction a unique play style and also presenting a more nuanced look at the Necron perspective.
While the Adeptus Mechanicus are led by the returning face of Magos Dominus Faustinius from the first Mechanicus game, the Necron force is led by Vargard Nefershah and her advisor Kynox, the latter of whom acts as the narrator for the Necron campaign. Cross notes that the sequel canonizes its predecessor’s ‘destruction’ ending as we dive into the opening missions, which see Scaevola disturbing Nefershah from her millennia of slumber. As the right hand to Sankhotep, Nefershah’s primary goal is to awaken her king.
Mechanicus 2’s narrative is helmed by veteran Warhammer author Ben Counter, and aims to give us a bit more insight into the Necron perspective, an angle that is often overlooked. “Too often they’re just the bad guys,” Cross tells me, “we don’t even get to see their side of the story. From their point of view, they’ve just woken up and their world’s been settled by another race that’s so far below them on a technical level that it’s like coming home to a rat infestation in your house.”
That disparity is indeed core to how battles actually take place in Mechanicus 2. A lot of the basics will be familiar to those who played the original, but there’s a lot more at work here, with a much wider range of combatants involved in skirmishes and a greater diversity of objectives to consider. Initiative has changed, too – while your enemies will act in a fixed procession, you can use your units in any order you like each turn, with their actions refreshing once you’ve rotated through them all.
Another core change is the introduction of cover. The Adeptus Mechanicus can now make use of various obstacles to hide behind, and they’ll certainly need to. While that gives the game more of an XCOM vibe, there are no hit percentages to worry about here – if you can’t get line of sight on a unit because it’s behind cover, you can’t shoot it. You can, however, attempt to destroy some types of cover to open up sightlines and freedom of movement. The Necrons typically have less interest in hiding, although some of their more nimble units will want to duck behind obstacles for safety.
On the Adeptus Mechanicus side, the first game’s Cognition system returns – essentially a measure that knowledge is power, this resource amplifies your combat potential as you learn more about what you’re up against. Each unit generates Cognition differently; Servitors earn it by taking damage, making them ideal to throw into the front lines, while Skitarii Rangers will claim it by dealing damage to enemies at long range.
You can then use your Cognition for a variety of abilities, including your leader’s Canticle (previously a once-per-fight ability in the first Mechanicus). Your leader also has a range of options at their disposal to spend Cognition on, from moving further than your typical range in a given turn to abilities such as Scaevola’s Volkite Blaster, which unleashes a beam of damage that burns units in a long line.
The Necrons, on the other hand, benefit from a resource called Dominion. This acts effectively like an experience bar that fills up and earns levels as you fight. Each rank of Dominion reached can convey benefits that range from smaller bonuses such as an extra 10% chance to deal bonus damage with each increasing level, to dramatic ability upgrades that are typically earned at more substantial milestones such as every three ranks. “We wanted some mechanics that really give a sense of their escalating power,” Cross explains.
Of course, another key factor of the Necron forces is their ability to reanimate. Much like the first game, you’ll see countdowns above units that represent the time before they reactivate. Necron leaders, however, have powerful abilities such as Nefershah’s Arise, which instantly brings back any units on the battlefield that are currently regenerating. Combine that with her Wrathful Charge, which gains more range at Dominion level three and deals additional damage based on the distance traveled at rank six, and a Warscythe that cleaves a wide area, ignoring enemy shields, and you can rack up some real devastation.
At the start of a skirmish, you can deploy your units across the battlefield as you wish. Between turns, you can use any leftover troops to reinforce your army if you’ve fallen below the capacity limit. There’s a lot more nuance at play here, too – get up in the face of a ranged unit, for example, and they won’t be able to shoot at you unless they have a pistol. Running away from an enemy also gives them an attack of opportunity; while all units can take advantage of this, the close-quarters troops will likely make much better use of it than a sniper getting in a cheeky tap with the butt of their rifle.
Each of Mechanicus 2’s campaigns takes place across a world map split into regions. You’ll see what controlling each area offers you and can then dispatch your leaders to them as best suits. Once you commit to a region, you’ll zoom in and control your leader as they move through it, encountering skirmishes and narrative events as they progress. These events can provide plenty of rewards for the faction economies, with lots of potential to make riskier choices if you’re eager to snatch the best possible payouts.
As someone who has long been Warhammer 40k adjacent but isn’t all the way in, I’ll say that Mechanicus 2 is the most excited I’ve been for a new Warhammer game in quite some time. Its overhauled and updated tactics show a lot of promise and there’s clearly been plenty of careful consideration put into making its two rival factions play differently. I’m also always a sucker for stories that give more insight into the perspective of ‘the bad guys,’ so the prospect of learning more about the war from the Necron side is very enticing indeed.
Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus 2 is set to launch in 2025. For now, you can wishlist it on Steam if you’re eager to stay up to date with its progress.
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