Located in the northeast of the Empire, the city of Mordheim was almost completely destroyed by the fall of a comet with two tails, which also had the effect of spreading everywhere shards of a mysterious stone, which the different bands of fighters who occupy the place seek to recover. Here's a succinct summary of the intro cutscene which, surprisingly, is only available in English without subtitles, even though the rest of the game is perfectly localized. One wonders how a publisher like Focus was able to miss this, knowing that it would only take about twenty minutes for a professional translator to transcribe the introductory text. This gap is all the more regrettable as the universe of Mordheim is relatively unknown. But we will see throughout this test that accessibility is clearly not the priority of the game. The campaign begins with the creation of a band of fighters, to choose from four factions. Knowing that the board game officially has sixteen, we can already expect the arrival of paid downloadable content... For the time being, we will therefore have to be content with the valiant human Mercenaries, humanoid rats called Skavens , the Sisters of Sigmar whose convent was spared by the comet, and the Cult of the Possessed, which includes degenerates and other mutants. Apart from the combat missions, which are still the heart of the gameplay, there is a multitude of things to do with our fighters. The recruiting process alone requires attention as one can hire Leaders, Heroes, Brutes and Henchmen all at the same time, each of them possessing an impressive number of characteristics and skills, which would make almost passing a character sheet from the first Fallout for cat pee. We will not detail all of this here, but know that there are about fifty entries to study per character.
THE DEATH IN THE SOUL
Thereafter, it will be necessary to pay the wages of the mercenaries (who will end up leaving if they are not paid), as well as the treatment of the wounds received in combat, permanent and which will end up killing them if you refuse to spend money. money regularly. The Contraband Lair allows you to sell the magic stones collected during the missions at a good price, while the Shop is naturally used to buy additional equipment. Beyond the experience accumulated by the different characters, a "Veteran system" with dedicated skills allows the player to progress permanently over the different games. Because above all, don't expect to come to the end of the campaign with the first tape you create. Mordheim: City of the Damned is hardcore and ruthless! Thus, each of the randomly generated missions during the campaign places you against an opposing band of a level significantly higher than yours. It's unfair, but that's the way it is. It is therefore necessary to spend as judiciously as possible its strategy points (movements, dodging or parrying postures, etc.) and action points (attacks, counter-attacks, spells, etc.) on each turn. The slightest misstep can be fatal, and it will take you many hours before you manage to take into account all the parameters managed by the game. Dice rolls fit absolutely everywhere, and even an action as simple as climbing a low wall or jump below can miss and cost you life points.
This richness and this requirement are obviously pleasant, even exciting, but they come at a cost: the game is really difficult to learn.
This richness and this requirement are obviously pleasant, even exciting, but they come at a cost: the game is really difficult to learn. The interface works on a principle of manual scrolling of possible actions (coupled with a wheel of actions) and systematic confirmation of the orders given. As a result, even to reload a bow or simply end your turn, several clicks are necessary. In addition, the mini-map does not make it easy to find your way around. For example, a path that seems accessible from this high view may turn out to be blocked when observed from the third person view. Fortunately, beginner players can always count on the failures of the AI to get out of it as best as possible. So, it's not uncommon for an enemy brute to get stuck high up, while our archers patiently turn it on at every turn. But the biggest technical failure of the game (rather pretty and with nice animations by the way) concerns the loading times of the missions, which generally take from one to three minutes each time! And three minutes of stupidly staring at a fixed screen in front of your PC is really a very long time. Flaws like this, coupled with the overall complexity of the game and its lack of accessibility, mean that the average gamer is clearly likely to be frustrated, even if they are already accustomed to XCOM-like turn-based strategy. . On the other hand, aficionados of the Mordheim universe will appreciate finding themselves on familiar ground and dealing with a faithful and uncompromising adaptation of their favorite board game.
