Warhammer: Chaosbane Beta Impressions
Release date: June 4th, 2019
Developer: Bigben Interactive
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC (Played)
Price: $60
Recently I got a chance to play the beta of Warhammer: Chaosbane. This game is best described as an action RPG/dungeon crawler, or a cross between Diablo and Gauntlet. I think fans of the genre will really like this game, and there is enough to keep newcomers interested.
As someone who doesn't know much of the Warhammer universe, I always associated it with orcs and strategy games. But Chaosbane is more of a “Diablo meets a dungeon crawler” imitation. The action is fast paced, players will get to pick from 4 classes, High Elf Mage, Wood Elf Scout, Imperial Soldier and a Slayer. I tried the mage and the soldier. The soldier excels at close combat and taking damage. I really like the mage; I could stand back and blast enemies with all sorts of spells.
Players will collect gear, level up their skills and unlock new abilities. Almost every button on the controller is mapped for an ability. Just like Diablo, players will get to decide where they want to put their skill points and what abilities they want to use. All of the attacks have cooldowns but most of them recover quickly. There are some passive things that unlock as well.
This game has a lot of loot. I enjoyed playing as the mage the most and there are some fun spells to knock back enemies. All the characters are well voiced and it's fun to hack and slash through waves of enemies. Bloodlust is an ultimate ability that when unleashed turns players into unstoppable killing machines for a few minutes.
The NPCs are well voiced and this serves to pull players into the game. Although the story didn't grab me right away, I enjoyed getting quests from characters and proceeding forward. The cut scenes are well done and should keep players interested.
Here are my few gripes, the areas players have to explore seem dull and repetitive. The loot at the end of quests or dungeons is nothing special and for the most part it's a intermediate step up. I had a hard time with online play, but this is probably due to the Beta.
I was hoping when I tried a new class I got to jump in where I left off with my precious character, this is not so. I also felt the game takes itself very seriously whereas Diablo and games like it have some bouts of humor. I could see how Chaosbane could be a lot of fun with 4 different classes running around.
The game isn't due to release until this summer and it's going to be $60 at release. Players can buy it physically or digitally PSN/Xbox Live or Steam. I would recommend this game to people who like this genre and it has a lot of potential. Big thanks for the developer for letting us play the Beta and we are looking forward to the final product.