I’m admittedly a newcomer to the “Warhammer” franchise as a whole but, from what I’ve experienced so far, I love it. There’s nothing like a hyperviolent pendulum swinging between harsh social commentary and degenerate power fantasy. “Mechanicus II” is just the third “Warhammer” title I’ve been able to play (my processor heartbreakingly can’t handle the majesty that is “Space Marine II”) but I can’t wait to play more of it and others like it going forward.

To me, what sets “Warhammer” games apart from others is not just the fantastic world they’re able to build from new and existing stories, but the polish each game has. I played the first “Space Marine” title, originally released in 2011, and it felt just as good as any other third-person action game that’s been released since. “Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor – Prophecy” somehow does the “Diablo” formula better than “Diablo.”

Hell, even “Tacticus,” a mobile game, manages to put together a deeper battle system than some full-fledged releases and scratches the itch of being able to control an army of big, beefy space marines in combat.

All this is to say that while I’ve been a longtime admirer of the “Warhammer” series going into this experience, “Mechanicus II” stands out as a truly superb tactical RPG that will appeal to any fan of the genre, from the most diehard “Warhammer” enthusiast to someone who’s never heard of the series.

Story

Spoilers ahead – read at your own risk!

“Mechanicus II” takes place after the events of the first game, where the Adeptus Mechanicus succeeded in creating a foothold on Silva Tenebris, a hostile world full of Necron, an alien species of robotic skeletons who, surprise surprise, have unmatched levels of technology at their disposal, ripe for the taking.. The Adeptus Mechanicus are a subsection of the Imperium of Man who make up most of the army’s scientists, engineers, and technicians.

These “tech-priests” guard the sacred wisdom used to construct the Imperium’s technology. They’re also seemingly never satisfied with what they currently know and are always on the hunt for new information — for better or for worse.

Players once again assume the role of Magos Dominus Faustinius of the Adeptus Mechanicus. According to the game, players will, “atone for past failures as Faustinius in his ongoing war against the ancient Necron species, and follow the inexorable rise of Vargard Nefershah, the sleeping leader of the Necron on Silva Tenebris, as she seeks to reclaim the dynasty’s crownworld from the Adeptus Mechanicus.”

That’s right — in “Mechanicus II,” you’ll be able to control the Necron, led by Nefershah. Players will get to meet this mysterious new character and control her throughout a dedicated Necron campaign.

I don’t want to spoil too much more of the story, but I will give it additional praise. It’s compelling and speak to many of the same topics “Warhammer” hits on so well. Note the similarities between the Tech-Priests droning on about furthering technology without regard to humanity and the ongoing AI shitstorm occurring around us thanks to guys like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. (By the way? Fuck those guys.)

Gameplay

“Mechanicus II” functions as a pretty standard turn-based strategy RPG. Players take turns with opposing forces to move them into position and defeat them. Players can utilize environmental mechanics, such as cover, to avoid damage, or blow through it to overwhelm the opposition and defeat them.

The named characters feel important in “Mechanicus II,” as not only are they the win (or lose) condition in most battles, they boost your supporting characters’ stats. Sometimes they’re not as strong as you’d like them to be, but that’s where the upgrade system comes into play (more on that later)

The Cognition system returns, albeit a little different from the first game. Each unit “class” now has its own way of gaining Cognition, rather than trying to grab powerups from the map like an old arcade game — a “no duh” change in my estimation. It makes sense to reward players for using the characters the way they’re meant to be used. It also makes it easy for your supporting characters to generate Cognition for your big beefy guys to use their more powerful attacks.

Between battles, there are interesting story bits that include these “Choose Your Own Adventure” segments. Early on, these bits come down to “take a damage risk to skip a battle” or “play it safe and get stuck fighting enemies” but as you progress through the game, your choices will have pretty tangible effects on your playthrough. It’s a cool feature I wish more games had.

You can also upgrade your named units through an expansive upgrade system. This will let you build your named characters the way you want, which is a relief because I felt like Scaevola was a little underwhelming at first. But after upgrading her to my liking, she feels much more valuable on the battlefield.

I think my favorite part about the gameplay is how different the two races feel. The Adeptus Mechanicus are more cunning and utilize cover and their technology to deal with their foes. The Necrons can revive themselves after a few turns, hastened by Nefershah’s ability.

(Don’t tell the Emperor of Man, but I kind of like playing as the Necrons more than the Adeptus. Nefershah is more fun to use than Faustinius and their revive feature makes battles a little more forgiving.)

Graphics and Audio

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — a “Warhammer” game looks fantastic and has an incredible soundtrack. “Mechanicus II” executes the “Warhammer” artstyle perfectly. The dull, gritty grays, blacks, and browns are interspersed with bright glowing greens and purples.

The character models and environments are a clear upgrade from the last game, where I felt like fights happened on an actual tabletop sometimes, rather than an entire planet.

Unfortunately, the game in its launch state suffers from extreme framerate slowdowns and poor optimization. Obviously, this should be fixed over time, but it’s happening now even on powerful rigs.

Guillaume David returns as the game’s composer and delivers another knockout soundtrack. It perfectly mixes “Warhammer’s” usual industrial metal-adjacent sounds with the religious overtones to play up the Tech-Priest aspect of the story. Even the title track stirs something up inside me, let alone the actual combat tracks:

The Verdict: 4.5/5

“Mechanicus II” stands on its own as a “Warhammer” title and a strategy RPG. It’s the complete package — fun gameplay, compelling story, interesting characters, great music, and stellar visuals.

Unfortunately, those visuals come at a cost, causing the framerate to dip randomly and the game to run poorly. However, slight gameplay hiccups are just drops in the bucket of what is otherwise a super compelling and interesting strategy RPG.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more “Mechanicus II to play.”