Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus – Heratek DLC
Bulwark Studios/Kasedo Games
Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 IP has been getting a lot of love recently, at least when it comes to video game adaptations. Fortunately, unlike games in the past, these days there are some really strong titles that represent the long-running franchise well.
For gamers who like turn-based strategy along the lines of Civilization (sans the diplomacy), there’s Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War; and Diablo lovers can’t seem to get enough of Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr. Bulwark Studios’, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, debuted just this last November 2018 and quickly became a favorite for strategy fans.
Mechanicus’ combination of letting you take command of a lesser-explored faction within the Warhammer 40,000 (the Adeptus Mechanicus), along with its XCOM-like, turn-based tactical combat, was a brilliant concept. Pitting the super-high-tech engineer priests up against the undead terminator legions of the Necron was another great move, as many fans of the franchise would consider this a dream match-up whether in digital, or miniature form.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus – Heratek is the first expansion for Mechanicus. It’s still in the same storyline where your Ark Mechanicus ship is fighting to stop a Necron awakening on a distant world, however, it addresses one of the main issues that the base game suffered from. Some people began to wonder if there were more enemy types than the rather limited number of Necron units that were presented in the first game.
Heratek throws a curveball at the Cult of the Machine by adding heretic Tech-priests and their various minions in the mix. These traitors to the Imperium of Man have fallen to the seductive power of unearthed Necron technology and have turned their back on their brethren.
Playing Heratek reminded me a lot of XCOM’s now classic expansion, Enemy Within. Instead of offering an entirely new standalone campaign, both expansions weave their new additional content into their respective games seamlessly. In other words, if you’ve already played through Mechanicus’ campaign, when you begin a new one with Heratek installed you’ll get a very different experience.
Heratek offers a lot of new content, including new weapons, classes, missions, and other features. These factors help to change things up a lot, as opposed to players having to launch mission after mission into redundant-feeling Necron tombs.
The most standout addition to Heratek (at least in my opinion) is the new Xenarite class, which you can choose at the beginning of a campaign. Xenarites are part of a secret, morally ambiguous division of the Adeptus Mechanicus that have dedicated themselves to learning everything they can about alien technology, so that they may utilize it against xenos.
For example, one of the things that they’ve assimilated from Necron tech is the ability to be able to engage the Necron’s renowned, self-repairing protocols. In game terms this means restoring themselves back to full health upon being killed.
Along with the new class are several weapons and pieces of equipment that may be unlocked by both the Xenarites as well as all of the original classes. These include potent melee weapons that can destroy enemies with a single blow and different types of ranged weapons based on Nercon Gauss technology.
Finally, with regards to new enemy types, the additional units in Heratek are basically traitorous versions of the same roster the player uses. These include heretical Tech-priests, their various robots and cyborgs, and other cult members. On the player-side of things, the new Runstalker and Sicarian Infiltrators have to be my absolute favorite additions, allowing you to sneak behind enemy lines and execute devastating ambush attacks.
The Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus – Heratek DLC breathes new life into an already excellent, XCOM- like game set in the grim dark of the 41st millennia. It offers a new way to utilize your party of characters as well as equally new ways to progress throughout the game. If you’re looking for a new high-tech challenge, this may be exactly what you seek.
SCORE: 81%
The Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus – Heratek DLC has some pretty nice looking graphics that make its tactical gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:
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