Titans Fall on Steam – Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus hitting Early Access

PC •

Say what you will about the fire-sale mentality of Games Workshop licenses being granted thither and yon, the dividends are paying out rather nicely. We’ve got grand strategies coming online, decent approximations of the tabletop in the mix, starship combat deftly effected and the list goes on. Tickle me pink that the colossi are seeing their day, too. Just announced? Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus. Fantasticus.

Like most of Games Workshop’s specialist range, something like Titan Legions was incredibly difficult to source in the Antipodes, and I’m still counting my lucky stars that I caught the tail end of Battlefleet Gothic before it was withdrawn from your garden variety outlet. As such, the digital era bears fruit and Titan Legions strides the land again, or at least thumps out into Steam Early Access under Adeptus Titanicus very soon.

Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus, the 3D turn-based strategy PC game adaptation of Games Workshop’s classic Titan Legions tabletop game, puts you in control of the greatest weapons available to the Imperium of Man, the mighty Titans of the Adeptus Titanicus!

Coming soon to Steam Early Access, Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus features a Skirmish mode against an AI opponent for single-player and an online multi-player mode. Upon full release, the game will also offer an exciting single-player campaign.

Control a force of Titans
In Dominus, choose to control a force of Titans from the loyalist Legions of Astorum (Warp Runners), Gryphonicus (War Griffons), Crucius (Warmongers) or Osedax (The Cockatrices), or choose from the traitorous Chaos Legions of Mortis (Death Heads), Vulcanum (Dark Fire), Damnosus (Lords of Ruin) and Fureans (Tiger Eyes).

I’m still trying to ascertain the chewier elements of the adaptation, but it’s smelling wonderfully WEGO. And if there’s one thing we love around here, it’s WEGO*.

[*citation needed]

Futuristic warfare
Utilising the tabletop Titan Legions rules system as its foundation, Dominus features an easy-to-play yet deep strategic and tactical experience via its streamlined command system, which sees you and your opponent giving activation orders to your Titans, resulting in fast-paced battles. It successfully marries this strategic play with action sequences as the gargantuan Titans exchange volleys of cannon shots, blistering laser blasts and other epic, super-powered weapons of the far off future!

Easy to play, challenging to master
While luck will play a part as you trade blows with your foe on the futuristic battlefields of the 41st Millennium, your path to victory lies in your army list building and how you manoeuvre your units upon the battlefield. As a commander, you will have access to the most classic, iconic Titan units from the Warhammer 40,000 universe: Warhounds, Reavers and the gigantic Warlord, for both the Imperial and Chaos factions. Each of these Titans will have multiple variants available, featuring different weapon configurations, thereby enabling your Titans to fulfil the battlefield role your strategy demands.

A living battlefield
Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus will feature a “living battlefield” that employs unit and battlefield animations to show players the Warhammer 40,000 universe they know and love.

Magnificent liberties are being taken and developers are running riot with Games Workshop’s franchise, from Vermintide 2‘s top shelf hack-and-slashery to the inbound Neocore ARPG, Martyr. But games like the upcoming Gladius and here in Adeptus Titanicus Maximus Decimus Meridius make me very intrigued. Titles that aren’t too far from the tabletop, and are inflected with just the right balance of reverence and kick-in-the-pants invigoration. Being able to command a Titan with codex crunch, but with the book-keeper comforts and pizzazz of the digital era. It’s poor form to beg for asynchronous multiplayer, too, but…giant robots? Multiplayer focus? Laser Squad Nemesis? Tighter fit than a Nurgle bodice.

I played developer Membraine Studios‘ last game, one Exodus Wars: Fractured Empire. While not the prettiest nor the most accomplished, it was a real tabletop grog’s affair, and though Exodus Wars has since been delisted, Adeptus Titanicus fits that same mold. Bodes very well.

We’ll keep you in the loop when Adeptus Titanicus: Dominus hits Steam Early Access.

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