Warhammer: Chaosbane

Warhammer: Chaosbane is a fun and satisfying hack-and-slash with enough combat variety and hokey charm to make this casual Diablo-like worth a look.

While there are some noticeable limitations compared to other games in the genre, Chaosbane is a worthy addition to the ARPG realm for Warhammer fans.

I’d by lying if I said that I haven’t been having some fun with Warhammer: Chaosbane, though it’s far from being a great game. The lack of enemy and level variety makes it feel like a slog at times, and the drip-feed of new features while failing to explain them is irritating. But the hard-hitting action and addictive character development go some way to make up for its issues. It’s enjoyable killing screens full of enemies like an unstoppable machine, then scouring the floor for loot that might just possibly make you even more powerful. And each character offers a wildly different experience,...

It may not knock everything out of the park, but the gameplay foundation is there, and I could easily see this growing into something people will love. It just needs more content, variety, and much more interesting loot. For now, if you're looking for an action-RPG, I would probably still suggest getting Diablo III or Path of Exile first. That said, give it six months and that tune could easily change.

So, if you feel like switching your brain off for a bit and doing some serviceable mulching then....maybe? I feel like Eko Software had a chance to bring back some of that dread and foreboding to the Diablo formula that Diablo 3 did away with. Warhammer is baroque and silly but it’s also rich with detail and tragic heroes, and Chaosbane plays the whole thing a bit straight, storywise. The environments, lavishly detailed as they are, lack any real sense of place. The forces of chaos themselves lack personality, or even much differentiation. It's still very well made for what it is, though. Some...

Warhammer: Chaosbane can stand proudly alongside some of the best games that have used the foreboding, Gothic Old World as a setting. Action RPGs like this live and die based on fun combat and well-designed classes, and developer Eko Software really hit it out of the park on both of those counts. I look forward to hacking, blasting, and sniping my way through the daemonic masses with three of my favorite warriors whenever I get the urge. And maybe I’ll give Vollen another shot at some point, too. You know, he seems like a good kid.

Only you can save the newly-crowned Emperor's life in this Diablo-like action RPG that stays true to the Warhammer license.

Will Warhammer set in the Old World finally see a good RPG production that cannot be faulted? There is a good chance of this happening, but in the hazy future. The present is highly unsatisfactory.

Chaosbane is a new action RPG set in the world of Warhammer that you can play solo, with a local friend, or in online co-op. I personally love the genre so I wanted to see if Warhammer: Chaosbane was worth my time.

A by-the-numbers Warhammer action RPG.

Imagine a fantasy action role playing game in which you must guide a wizard or warrior on a heroic quest through dozens of wonderfully realised locales, battle a cavalcade of foul creatures, loot their rotten remains for rewarding new gear, and eventually go toe-to-toe with fearsome and challenging bosses. And then imagine you can play the whole thing in co-op with a friend; a rare example of a meaty cooperative experience that you can sink your teeth into for hours upon hours.

Warhammer Chaosbane sets out to take players through an action filled adventure in the heart of the Old World and, baring technical difficulties, it mostly succeeds.