Warhammer: Chaosbane

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Warhammer: Chaosbane
Developer(s)Eko Software
Publisher(s)Bigben Interactive
Director(s)Jean-Georges Levieux
Designer(s)Franck Delfortrie, Brice Poncet
Programmer(s)Joel Grégroire, Jérémy Lafontaine
Artist(s)Eric Chantreau
Writer(s)Mike Lee
Composer(s)Chance Thomas
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, PS4, XONE
  • WW: 31 May 2019
Xbox Series X/S
  • WW: 10 November 2020
PlayStation 5
  • NA/OC: 12 November 2020
  • WW: 19 November 2020
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Warhammer: Chaosbane is an action role-playing game developed by Eko Software and published by Bigben Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 31 May 2019. Players choose to play as one of six character classes from the Warhammer Fantasy setting: a human soldier of the Empire, a High Elf mage, a Dwarf slayer, a Wood Elf scout, a Dwarf engineer, or a human witch hunter. The character must help save the Empire against the demons of Chaos. Downloadable content featuring a storyline around the undead Tomb Kings was released on 16 December 2019. An enhanced version of the game was released for Xbox Series X/S on 10 November 2020 and for PlayStation 5 on 12 November 2020.[1]

Setting

Chaosbane is set just after the "Great War Against Chaos", two hundred years prior to the setting of Warhammer Fantasy. The player character is a personal champion of Magnus the Pious, slayer of the Chaos Everchosen Asavar Kul, and soon to become Emperor of the fractured Empire. The player selects one of six characters with their own unique skill sets. Four were included with the base game: Konrad Vollen, an Empire Soldier (specializing in sword and shield); Prince Elontir of Ulthuan, an exiled High Elf Archmage (specializing in magic); Bragi Axebiter, a Dwarf Slayer (specializing in twin-weapon melee); and Elessa, a Wood Elf Waywatcher (specializing in archery). Two more characters - Keela Gunnarsdottir, a Dwarf Engineer (using firearms and technology), and Jurgen Heider, an Imperial Witch Hunter (using pistols and blades) - were added in DLCs.

Main Campaign

A Chaos sorceress and her cultists enter Magnus' tower in the Imperial city of Nuln, and places him under a curse. The player character is initially accused of the crime by Heinrich Voss, Magnus' chief witch hunter, before the High Elven archmage Teclis, High Loremaster of Hoeth, intervenes. Fearing the Empire's collapse if Magnus dies, Teclis tasks the player with hunting down a cult dedicated to Nurgle, the Chaos God of disease and decay, in Nuln's sewers. The player confronts the cult's leader, Friedrich Kessler, who gloats that the "Harbinger", the sorceress who cursed Magnus, had promised to help him become the successor to Asavar Kul. However, he is instead sacrificed to summon the Great Unclean One, the Greater Daemon of Nurgle.

Voss reports that Uthgrim Redaxe, a Champion of Khorne, the Chaos God of war, has surfaced at the city of Praag in Kislev, which had fallen to Chaos during the war with Asavar Kul. Using a magical waystone, Voss, Teclis, and the player teleport to the outskirts of Praag. The player fights through Praag's warped streets and into the halls of Redaxe's citadel, the Tower of Skulls, only to find he has escaped to summon the Bloodthirster, the Greater Daemon of Khorne. Before his death, Redaxe reveals that the Harbinger made the same offer she made to Kessler, which he refused, and that the Harbinger had gone to seek out Vigrun Skraeling, a Champion of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of excess.

Vigrun had served in Asavar Kul's army, and fled to the Forest of Knives in the frozen wastes of Norsca after Kul fell. In the ruined Elven city in the forest, the player seeks out scholar Waldo Erlanger, who was captured by Vigrun's men. Erlanger aids the player in locating the key to the secret entrance of the ruined temple where Vigrun is based. Entering the temple, Vigrun reveals that the "Harbinger" is Helspeth Bale, a native of Nuln. As with Kessler and Redaxe, Vigrun is sacrificed to summon his patron god's Greater Daemon, the Keeper of Secrets. After the Daemon is defeated, "Erlanger" reveals himself to be Helspeth, a powerful Sorceress of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of magic and deception. She teleports away, taking Voss with her. Teclis suspects that Helspeth used the player to eliminate her potential rivals, and has collected their artifacts - the Eye of Argoth from Kessler, Redaxe's battleaxe, and Vigrun's gauntlet - which had been claimed by Voss.

Returning to Nuln, Teclis dispatches the player into Tzeentch's domain within the Realms of Chaos, where Helspeth hides in a fortress guarded by the Daemon Prince Axarath the Desecrator. After traversing the fortress' winding pathways and breaching its defenses, the player destroys the Fane of Forbidden Secrets, source of Axarath's power, and defeats the Daemon Prince. With the way open, the player enters Helspeth's tower, a twisted reflection of Magnus' tower in Nuln. Within the Harbinger's sanctum, they discover that Helspeth is in fact Voss' sister, and that she has orchestrated events to take possession of Magnus in order to rule the Empire. Voss, deceived into thinking Helspeth would make him Asavar Kul's successor, mortally wounds her; in her last act, she uses both of their bodies to summon Tzeentch's Greater Daemon, the Lord of Change, which is then defeated. With Helspeth dead, the curse is broken, and Magnus is proclaimed the new Emperor.

Reception

Warhammer: Chaosbane received "mixed or average" reviews for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5, and "generally positive" reviews for Xbox Series X/S, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[2][3][4][5][6]

Writing for IGN, Leana Hafer gave the game an 8.7 out of 10, writing, "This action-RPG has it where it counts, with fun classes, good boss fights, and a decent loot system. It trips up on presentation in some places, including some terrible voice acting, but it manages to get the feel of Games Workshop’s dark fantasy setting right."[7] PC Gamer and Push Square compared the title unfavorably to Diablo III while criticizing its dull combat, uninteresting loot, repetitive content, and lack of innovation.[8][10] Iain Harris of PCGamesN called the game "...an endearing celebration of its influences", and praised the Warhammer references, streamlined character progression, and power fantasy experience.[12] Shacknews' Greg Burke gave the title a 9 out of 10 and heavily praised Chaosbane's co-op integration, attention to detail, frantic combat, and an expansive endgame.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition launches November 10 for Xbox Series and PC, November 12 for PS5". Gematsu. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  2. ^ a b "Warhammer: Chaosbane for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Warhammer: Chaosbane for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Warhammer: Chaosbane for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Warhammer: Chaosbane for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Warhammer: Chaosbane for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b Hafer, Leana (May 31, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane Review". IGN. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Hatfield, Tom (May 31, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane review". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Burke, Greg (May 31, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane video review: Lawlessness and despair". Shacknews. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Cal McCormick, John (June 4, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Dolce, Daniele (June 3, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane - Recensione" [Warhammer: Chaosbane – Review]. The Games Machine (in Italian). Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Harris, Iain (May 30, 2019). "Warhammer: Chaosbane review – a fun but familiar homage to Diablo 3". PCGamesN. Retrieved May 22, 2022.

External links

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