Warhammer III. Comrade Bear Strikes Back! – review addiction

Let’s go east!

The original Total War: Warhammer was set within the boundaries of the Old World, the fantasy counterpart of Europe. In the sequel, the action shifted to new continents: Lustria (America), Nehekhara and the Southern Lands (Africa). In turn, the plot of Total War: Warhammer III starts on the northeastern borders of the human universe, in the snowy kingdom of Kislev and the harsh steppes of the Kathai Empire. These valiant warriors have protected the human lands for centuries, holding back the advance of the Hordes of Chaos, but the time has come for a counterattack: one of the ancient gods is on the verge of death. To take possession of his unthinkable power, Kislev and Katay go to the Domains of Chaos, and they are opposed by the armies of four demonic masters. Khorne carries the flames of war, Nurgle rules the plague, Tzeentch threatens change, and Slaanesh tempts souls.

In total – six starting factions; although, of course, the studio is already promising further expansion of the game world in the DLC. Creative Assembly had to independently work out new sides of the conflict in cooperation with the authors of the original wargame from Games Workshop… For a second, in the previous parts, a “national team” of demons played for Chaos, Kislev was an insignificant NPC nation (his units were based on the standard Empire roster), and Kathai almost did not appear even in the desktop version of Warhammer. Now they all got their own style, signature abilities and tactics.

And the territories under their control are in no way inferior to the neighboring ones. The studio assures that the Total War: Warhammer III map is twice as large as all continents from the sequel combined. At the same time, the owners of the previous parts will be able to transfer familiar lands and races to the new game, albeit in a slightly truncated version. At the presentation, we were shown only one location – the copper citadel of Khorne. Hellfire bursts out of crevasses, impregnable black walls bristled with thorns and chains, and the sky is covered with thunderclouds. And Katarina, the fearless queen of Kislev, arrived to storm the fortress, moving on an ice floe to heighten the effect. The contrast is extremely spectacular: ice and fire, people and demons, a miniature princess and a giant god of Chaos.

However, the solemnity of the moment is slightly drowned out by the laughter of the players from Russia. After all, the prototype of Kislev is medieval Russia, or rather countless myths and stereotypes about “Maza Rush”. The concentration of clichés turned out to be so dense that at some point Kislev’s “cranberry” begins to seem cute in its own way. Behind the scenes, the obligatory male choir rumbles, the crazy empress commands the rifle regiments and combat patriarchs. “Comrades, let’s defend Orthodoxy!”

But as soon as it comes to fighting, the laughter dies down because Kislev is a powerful and balanced faction with a wide variety of units. The winged cavalry skillfully chases the devils along the far lines of the map, the archers carry not only guns, but also axes for defense in close combat. And the giant ice bear (what kind of Russia is it without a bear) scatters enemy infantrymen lightly and does not retreat even under the most dense fire.

Ivan Vasilievich shows aggression

The tactical flexibility of the Kislevites comes in handy, because the siege of the Copper Citadel takes place as part of the Battle of Survival, the new mode of Total War: Warhammer III. The battles in it are longer and more difficult than usual, and for an ordinary strategist they can easily take an hour and a half. However, they are found only at key moments of the plot, when the developers need to add epic character and put a particularly powerful boss against the player. So, Khorne, for example, will not leave his abode for just anyone. First, you need to sequentially clear three areas of the location; at each – on a control point, which gives the defenders one or another useful buff. New frameworks are driving the gameplay familiar to the series into more linear, but at the same time, exciting framework. We made our way to the height – repelled a counterattack – opened access to the next stage and control point.

But there is a nuance: opponents do not stop attacking the lost territories. In the rear of the player, portals are regularly opened, sending more and more hordes of demons to the assault: you have to fight on several fronts, simultaneously moving forward and protecting the already occupied lands. The task is slightly facilitated by the ability to erect barricades and defensive towers of various specializations at a controlled height. By themselves, they will not make the weather, but at least they will help to drive the enemy horde into a tactically advantageous “corridor”.

In turn, construction requires resources. Calling reinforcements also requires resources. Healing, repairing armor, upgrading characteristics – everything requires resources. And you can get them only by capturing new points, which forces the player to constantly move and make increasingly difficult decisions. Reinforce the rear with a powerful tower with fireballs instead of a frail (but cheap) tower with archers? Or is it better to save the currency and summon a couple of fighting bears to the assault, accompanied by the Tsar Cannon?

The developers clearly spent a lot of time honing the dynamics of the battles. Ordinary chaos die often and easily enough to give the player a sense of self-confidence at first. But the longer the battle lasts, the more enemies crawl out of the portal, and when the second control point is captured, doubts begin to plague: how to establish a defense with the minimum number of units? The higher the suspense when Khorne finally leaves his hideout and, towering over the poor Kislevites, begins to methodically trample them in the mud. No matter how many people reach the final checkpoint, the god of Chaos is guaranteed to take out most of the vanguard. It is necessary to again weaken the defense and throw everything that is in the final battle.

But in the end – a vivid and memorable sight. However, let’s be honest, any battle is remembered for a long time, when the patriarch-demon, the winged demon, the snow queen and the cannon that shoots the fiery skulls of the defeated enemies converge in it. The spirit of Warhammer, harsh and slightly insane, the game conveys brilliantly. It remains to be hoped that the plot will not disgrace the universe: in the final of the trilogy, Creative Assembly intends to link the entire cycle into one gripping narrative.

The developers still have a lot of cards hidden up their sleeves. The game for each of the gods of Chaos will surely bring its own surprises, and the authors also hint at changes in ordinary battles, especially when capturing settlements. A new multiplayer mode, “Domination”, has also been announced, but what its essence is, we, alas, do not yet know. Everything has its time. Still, the release of Total War: Warhammer III will take place a long time ago – according to rumors, closer to the end of 2023 – and the authors can afford to keep their trump cards.

After all, if the demo version we saw teaches anything, it is the need to consistently consolidate successes. And the fact that it is useful to have a giant war bear in your allies.