Necromunda: Underhive Wars shows us 40k's underbelly
Overground, underhive, womblin' free
In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war. Obsessed, xenophobic warrior-priests in ancient power armor battle alien and extradimensional menaces as dark gods rise and the withered Emperor of Mankind has thousands of psychics sacrificed to him every day in order to sustain some small glimmer of power. And that's just the above-board, shiny side of the Warhammer 40k universe.
Rogue Factor (formerly of Mordheim) hope to give us a peek at the less organized side of the setting with Necromunda: Underhive Wars, as criminal gangs living deep in the bowels of overgrown arcology-cities battle for territory, resources and sometimes just because they want to. Within, a teaser trailer to help set the scene.
Necromunda is, assuming you're unfamiliar with Games Workshop's secondary library, a tabletop game of gang warfare. Much smaller in scale than Warhammer 40k, but significantly more intricate - through dice and rulers it simulates complex, messy infantry combat in environments that make little to no sense to the casual human observer, but viewed at a distance are just part of an enormous mechanical whole.
Our resident huge Warhammer nerd Adam took a deep dive on what we knew of Underhive Wars early last year, chatting with the developers about their exact mechanical goals for the game, and their visual inspirations. Sadly, we don't have much more information, although it's safe to assume that with the release of this teaser, the PR blitz is about to begin.
As with Mordheim (which was a bit patchy, albeit visually impressive), Underhive Wars is eschewing the modern XCOM-esque trend and instead giving you free movement each turn, within a given distance. Think more along the lines of Valkyria Chronicles and you're halfway there, and the ranged-focused combat of Necromunda should at least allow the system to shine more here than it did in Mordheim.
Necromunda: Underhive Wars is due sometime this year (having slipped from its original late-2017 target), and we'll be keeping you abreast of any scurryings reported in the tunnels. Until then, keep an eye on the official site for more info. With any luck, we'll have some gameplay footage next.