We are arguably in the golden days of the incredibly longstanding Warhammer franchise. In particular, the 40k Universe is a treasure trove of games, ranging from Owlcat’s Rogue Trader to the instant classic of Space Marine 2. It feels like every month we are getting something big from the Warhammer 40k Universe, and now it’s Mechanicus 2’s turn. 

If, like me, you don’t know all that much about the absolutely vast universe that is Warhammer 40k  and its many, many, factions, worlds, and oddities, be prepared, as Mechanicus 2 will throw you right into the middle of it without much context. This might sound like a problem, but it lets Mechanicus 2 start strong and not spend its opening on extensive world-building, and it’s actively pushing me to delve deeper into the universe itself. If you are already familiar, it will help, but it’s not necessary to enjoy.

Necrons are a welcome addition.

After turning the planet of Hekateus IV into a Forge World, the Adaptus Mechanicus accidentally unleash an ancient Necron tomb deep underground. In an effort to reclaim their planet, the Necrons, led by Varguard Nefershah, unleash a full invasion of the surface in order to reclaim their home. 

After a brief tutorial that will let you play around with some of the Adaptus Mechanicus and Necron gameplay styles, you will make your first major choice. Do you take charge of the Mechanicus, or do you control the Necrons? This gives Mechanicus 2 two separate campaigns to play through, both of which have faction game styles that vastly differ from each other. Once you’ve done both campaigns, a final epilogue will unlock, giving you a good enough reason to play through as both factions here. The story itself isn’t exactly thrilling, and I can’t even recall a single character here, but the world is what gives it life. 

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 is an isometric turn-based tactics game, similar to XCOM but with some major differences. If you’ve played the original Mechanicus game, you will absolutely be familiar with the game here and most likely be incredibly happy with the changes on display as well. You will take control over your entire unit with their own distinctive skills and abilities in a timeline system that will force you to adapt to different enemies. 

World At War.

At the start of each mission, you are able to select different strategies to give you boosts, which include bringing in more units or extra rewards throughout the mission. Although, this comes at the cost of increased vigilance, where once it’s maxed out, more enemy units will be introduced on each encounter. Not only that, vigilance will be increased during key choices throughout each mission, which can completely change how each mission plays out. It’s a constant battle of risk vs reward, as each beneficial bonus can bring the risk of making your life harder in the next combat encounter. 

Combat encounters known as Skirmishes will pit you against a wave of enemies, and you’ll often have the objective to either kill a high-ranking enemy, wipe out all the enemy forces, or simply survive for a set amount of rounds. There’s nothing mind-blowing here, and the similar smaller arenas that Mechanicus 2 offers will feel familiar. Though there are some key changes that really help differentiate the two games. 

Of course, there are the Adeptus Mechanicus and Necron factions that have their own units and styles of progression. As a whole, with different resources, Mechanicus 2 feels more iterative in its changes than making bigger, bolder ones. Cover is a more prominent addition to the game, and the two factions provide distinctive campaigns. 

XCOM give it to ya.

You will have a variety of objectives to complete. Whether that be from assassinating a single target, wiping out everyone on the field, or simply surviving until the timer runs out. There’s just enough here to keep the game feeling fresh from mission to mission, but eventually it starts to wear out as the smaller scale of the battles and arenas doesn’t really push Mechanicus 2 to the next level. 

Knowing this wasn’t like XCOM, where you want to get every single soldier out, missions shifted from trying to keep my squad alive through multiple escalating encounters to throwing as many units at the enemy as possible until the timer ran out. Despite not wanting to send out a unit to take damage, it might be the only path to success. Mechanicus 2 isn’t afraid to kick your ass early in the game, and the game’s default difficulty manages to keep things tense throughout each encounter without becoming a tedious chore. If you fail, you can restart the skirmish or go back to the start of a mission to make different choices.  

Between missions, you will be spending time at the world map screen. Here, you will be preparing for your next mission by upgrading units and commanders with the resources you gain throughout the main campaign. If your leader took damage during the mission, they will be put on a cooldown alongside any units you lost in the midst of battle. This can be rushed using specific resources, otherwise, you will need to select another leader for the mission.

Mechanicus 2 adds just enough to differentiate itself.

On an RTX 4070, performance in this game is rather underwhelming given the visual fidelity it’s pushing. Without DLSS, running this game at higher settings is brutally demanding for no apparent reason, so DLSS is pretty much a requirement here. Thankfully, the game supports ultrawide resolutions without stretching, though in 16:9 cutscenes you’ll see the game behind that layer at the edges. It’s a shame the technical aspects are underwhelming, as the visual style of Mechanicus 2 is just wonderful to behold. The dark and depressing world of 40k is on full display here, and the Necron designs look immaculate. 

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 builds on the original game by introducing the Necrons as a fully playable race with its own separate campaign to go through. The same old turn-based tactics gameplay is here and is incredibly satisfying and rewarding, though the game needed a little bit more time in the oven to turn it from good to great. 

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 is available now on PC.

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 4070, Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32GB RAM.

A Copy of Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 was provided by the publisher.