Sanctus Reach review

To many it will seem incredible, but there are very few pure turn-based strategists dedicated to the king of 3D wargames, or Warhammer 40,000. In reality, digging well is found, but the genres with which the Games Workshop universe has been exploited most are action and derivatives.

Evidently, many people like the scenery rather than the game itself. To fill the gap, the developer Straylight Entertainment, who with Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach wanted to realize a pure turn-based strategy, with very simple rules, but with different layers of complexity given by the characteristics of battlefields and units.

The game features the eternal conflict between orki and space marines, in this case the legion of the Space Wolves, which this time is played in the system of  sanctus reach.The orks, led by Grukk Face-Rippa, attacked Sanctus Reach and took control of all the planets that comprise it.

Except one: Alaric Prime. Losing the last bastion of the human race would be to permanently lose the whole system, for this reason we must not allow it. In terms of game this translates into two large campaigns for solitary players, consisting of twenty missions the first and twenty-five the second, in which we must achieve different objectives, from time to time indicated in the initial briefing phase.

In reality there are three campaigns, since there is also that tutorial, but the latter is really short and only serves to learn the basic rules of the game.

The single player content does not end here anyway, because if you want you can take part in skirmishes on procedurally generated maps ,

of which you can define many parameters such as the size, the size of the armies in the field, the shift limit and so on; or you can use the included editor to create customized campaigns. Finally there is the multiplayer mode, which allows you to take part in skirmishes against human opponents, played asynchronous.

We reviewed Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach, an excellent strategic turn-based PC game

THE BASIC RULES

Start  sanctus reach game is very simple: each unit, made up of one or more soldiers, has a certain amount of action points that he can spend to move, to attack or to warn.

The maps, completely three-dimensional, are divided into square boxes, with the various objects of the scenario that act as obstacles and covers. The standard turn sees the expense of a certain amount of action points for the positioning of the units, so, depending on the equipment, you can choose how and who to attack.

For example, those who have melee weapons must approach an enemy unit to use them, while, to bring another case, those carrying grenades must be careful not to involve the explosion, which is spread on more boxes, even units girlfriends.

In case you do not have enemy units in sight, or you implement a more wait-and-see strategy, you can warn the units, making them shoot in case an enemy enters their range of action. Does it seem too simple? Do not be deceived, because it is not like that. Indeed, warhammer 40000 is a very difficult title, with missions that take so long to complete. As we mentioned, the level of complexity of the game increases exponentially when advanced units come into play.

Each of the armies has a large number of troops, often very different from each other, that must be purchased at the beginning of most of the missions with the points accumulated in the previous ones. Obviously the best units are the ones that cost the most, so we have always fought between quantity and quality,

that is, between creating a strong army made up of weaker units, or one that is drier but made up of more resistant troops. In any case, the experience must also be considered, because with the growth of the level the units unlock skills that can come in handy, regardless of the initial values.

In short, the factors to be taken into consideration are very many and the planning phase, although not very long, is crucial. Space marines and orks have a total of thirty types of units each, including Dreadnoughts, Rhinos and Gorkonaut.

Leaders, the army’s command units, all equipped with special abilities, make history to themselves. Among those of the sideral wolves stand out Krom Dragongaze, Ragnar Blackmane and Jarl Logan Grimnar, while the orks can count on the aforementioned Grukk FaceRippa and Mogrok from Mangla.