Don’t Forget to Tip

You’re probably thinking, “So what’s with this whole Wyrdstone business?”. Wyrdstones work as a currency to purchase certain things as well as a commodity to send to your “sponsors” or primary faction. Each warband has a primary faction that requires a certain weight of Wyrdstones to be delivered to them within a set period of time. Along with the primary faction are extra sponsors you can build your reputation with.

However, if you leave your primary faction wanting and miss a shipment, your warband will disband. All gone. Poof in a cloud of smoke. Start again. Essentially this is game over. Game over will also occur if your leader dies from injuries, so yet another reason to horde that gold.

Aesthetic Charm

Mordheim: City of the Damned does a really bloody great job with it’s graphics. The designs for each troop across all warbands are spot on and completely remind me of how I saw my own Warhammer figurines when I was younger.

The environments are so beautifully desolate and convey a city-just-got-destroyed-by-a-comet feeling just brilliantly. Navigating through demolished houses and buildings is heaps of fun and sometimes a little bit scary not knowing what, or who might be waiting for you in an ambush stance around the corner.

Musically, the sound track matches the entire game’s feel by being incredibly epic. Expect to hear lots of deep booming drums and operatic vocals. Everything to make your Mordheim experience feel just as epic as it felt when you played on a table top as a young ‘un.

Final Thoughts

The learning curve might feel a little steep to people who are new to games like this, but to the veteran strategy game lover, Mordheim: City of the Damned is an absolute winner. You can have heaps of fun customising your warband and growing close to each troop you hire. Personally I mainly preferred to customise my team so I could tell them apart.

Now, having written this review, I could have gone into far greater detail about the other events you will encounter during a battle such as a character being completely surrounded and fleeing in terror from a failed roll. There is also a veteran system where you can invest veteran points into special skills to give you a better chance of enhancing your warband. One such skill reduces upkeep costs and another scores you free gear. Honestly, the list of things to do in Mordheim: City of the Damned goes on and on.

If you think you’re ready to tackle an advanced game such as this, Mordheim: City of the Damned is a great investment. But if you’re new to intensely customisable strategy games, but are prepared to learn, Mordheim: City of the Damned also does a great job at taking you by the hand in it’s tutorials.

All in all, Mordheim: City of the Damned is one of the most complex games I’ve played for a very long time. It’s a joy to play and a delight to look at and listen to. I highly recommend it for any gamer willing to put in the time and effort to learn.

Score

4 stars – a massive strategy game set in the Warhammer Empire city of Mordheim