Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus - Heretek pits cyber-brother against brother
A crisis of horrifying robo-faith.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus was such a pleasant surprise last year, so I'm glad to report that there's an expansion on the way. Heretek, due this summer, is the first DLC announced for Bulwark Studios's offbeat squad tactics game. In the main story, the bickering factions of the Adeptus Mechanicus worked together against the Necron threat, but Heretek escalates to full-blown infighting. It will add a new set of missions aboard an Ark Mechanicus ship, and a bunch heretical cyber-monks to murder. Plus the option to recruit a few along the way, pragmatically.
Mechanicus - Heretek will add five missions aboard an Ark Mechanicus, plus the option to unlock the xenotech-using Xenarite class. There'll be new weapons and cyber-gubbins, plus two new grunt troop-types to unlock; Sicarian Infiltrators and Ruststalkers, some of the most cyborged-up troops in the Mechanicus codex. There's not much meat left in them, giving them a very distinct look. The new missions will be delivered via a new (as yet unrevealed) narrative system, and will ask you to make choices that will alter the battles faced on that mission. Intriguing.
No trailer, just a reminder that Mechanicus has amazing music with soul-shaking bass.
I'm also happy to say that the problems that Nic Reuben brought up in his Mechanicus review here (mostly bugs and a difficulty curve that falls off too quickly) have largely been addressed. While not officially deployed yet, there's a major update available for public testing, with extensive patch notes here. The biggest addition to the game is extremely customisable difficulty (plus presets), plus an Iron Man mode, optional permadeath for your tech-priests, and a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. Replaying the game is easier as you can skip the tutorial missions, too.
Those are just the big bits. The patch notes since launch are very long, and even include a series of hidden missions, plus sweeping balance changes. Bulwark seem fully committed to making this the best game it can be, and I honestly hope there's more than one expansion planned. I love my horrible cyborg spider-monks, and want them to go on more scientific space adventures.
The Heretek DLC launches this summer, although no price or date has been pinned down yet. You can find it here on Steam. The base game is available on Steam and Humble for £23/€30/$30. It's published by Kasedo Games.