Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

Armada is tactical, unforgiving and at times difficult, but incredibly fun and gives a great feeling of victory when things go your way. It's a side of 40K that I don't see explored that often, and it does so in an incredibly astonishing way.

67%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, grinding

67% User Score Based on 4,005 reviews

Critic Score 79%Based on 14 reviews

Platforms

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About

"Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a real-time strategy game based on the tabletop game of the same name, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players can customize and command fleets from four factions, upgrading ships and crew through battles. The game uses the Unreal Engine 4 for visceral space combat with a focus on ship management and strategic decision-making."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,005 reviews

story327 positive mentions

stability103 negative mentions

Visually stunning with beautifully crafted ship models and detailed battlefields.
Tactical depth in battles requiring strategic thinking and resource management.
Engaging narrative with branching storylines that immerse players in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Steep learning curve with limited tutorials, making it challenging for new players.
Repetitive missions and limited multiplayer options, leading to a lack of variety.
AI can feel unfair, often leading to frustrating experiences in certain mission types.

story
2,322 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
77%
9%
The story of "Battlefleet Gothic: Armada" is generally praised for its engaging narrative set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, featuring a well-crafted campaign that follows the 12th Black Crusade. However, many players criticize the repetitive nature of the missions, which often feel like variations of a few core types, leading to a grindy experience. While the cutscenes and voice acting are well-received, the mission design is frequently described as frustrating, with some objectives being overly difficult or reliant on luck, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the story.
- “The campaign mode features an engaging narrative with branching storylines.”
- “Based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the narrative uses its original material in the best way possible, creating an interesting story, even if sometimes some characters may appear bland.”
- “The story is also captivating.”
- “The campaign is a mix of shitty escort missions and 3-5 ship engagements where the enemies just warp out if they get below half health.”
- “The missions are overly repetitive and the factor of randomness in how hard a mission is to achieve is far too much to be fun.”
- “The story missions are arduous and its saving systems means you have to do every pre-mission cut scene.”
gameplay
881 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The gameplay of "Battlefleet Gothic: Armada" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its strategic depth and engaging mechanics, particularly in ship customization and tactical combat. However, numerous reviews highlight issues such as steep learning curves, repetitive mission design, and frustrating mechanics that can lead to a punishing experience, especially for newcomers. While the game captures the essence of the Warhammer 40k universe and offers rewarding moments, its execution often leaves players feeling overwhelmed or dissatisfied with the overall gameplay experience.
- “Once you get a handle on the mechanics, the game is very rewarding.”
- “The gameplay is focused on real-time naval battles, where players must manage resources, issue orders, and make tactical decisions to defeat their enemies.”
- “The gameplay is solid and engaging, though the most enjoyable aspect to me is the fact that ships gain experience and level up which unlocks more upgrade slots to utilize however you want.”
- “Once you crack the code, the gameplay is simplistic and extremely boring - before that, it is a frustration fest.”
- “Absolute nonsense mechanics that make it needlessly difficult to succeed in missions coupled with overly complex mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is terrible; the ships act more like fighters than actual spaceships meant to be up to 5km long or bigger. They feel like they have no mass and just circle each other; there is no tactics to this game, just move towards the enemy and attack the nearest ship.”
graphics
479 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
35%
4%
The graphics in the game have received widespread praise for their stunning visuals and attention to detail, effectively capturing the grimdark aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe. Many players highlight the impressive ship designs, beautiful cutscenes, and immersive environments, although some note that performance issues and graphical glitches can detract from the experience. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a significant strength, contributing to its appeal among fans of the franchise.
- “With its gorgeous visuals, deep gameplay mechanics, and faithful adherence to the source material, it is sure to satisfy fans of the series.”
- “The graphics are simply superb, the sound and visual effects top notch.”
- “The game's visuals are impressive, with detailed ships and environments that truly capture the epic scale of space battles.”
- “It is just a bad looking game with really bad voice acting, music, and graphics.”
- “The graphics are quite outdated by some 10+ years, but I guess nobody would buy this game to be awed by the visuals.”
- “The game takes far too long to load for the quality of graphics, and there are very few options for graphics settings.”
music
138 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
47%
2%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its epic and atmospheric qualities that align well with the Warhammer 40k universe. However, several players noted the soundtrack's repetitiveness, citing a limited number of tracks that can become monotonous over time. Overall, while the music enhances the game's immersive experience, its lack of variety detracts from its overall impact.
- “The game's sound design is also noteworthy, with a dynamic soundtrack that changes to reflect the intense action on screen.”
- “The music is amazing, possibly my favorite game soundtrack.”
- “The cutscenes, graphics, voice acting, and soundtrack are excellent; I will give Tindalos Interactive that.”
- “It is repetitive and only one soundtrack played throughout the game.”
- “Speaking of repetition, get ready to hear the same 'intense epic' score over and over because this game features one song with multiple replaceable parts repeating ad nauseam.”
- “Music is alright until you realize there are only about five tracks in the entire game and this gets very grinding very fast.”
stability
109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. While some users have experienced minimal issues, the overall consensus is that the game is plagued by instability, particularly in mission design and user interface, making it frustrating and often unplayable. Despite occasional patches, many feel that the game remains a "buggy mess" that detracts from its potential enjoyment.
- “Tindalos seems like a really great studio and it's just a really great game, and it's bug-free for me at 115+ hours.”
- “It was at least not buggy; it ran well enough on my system.”
- “For reference, I'm running Windows 8.1 Enterprise on my primary system with an i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, and a GTX 980 Ti GPU, and the game runs great with no issues.”
- “Buggy as hell (e.g. win the planetary assault as attacker just by restarting 5 times), if you lose some functions (e.g. seeing your own ships move), then you'll have to quit, close Steam, and start again.”
- “This is a buggy, unfinished product that would need major bug fixing before it could be recommended.”
- “Unfortunately, this game is buggy, with (for me) two fundamental problems: a 10-minute wait for the game to initially load (on multiple attempts and despite my system exceeding the recommended specs), and an inability to interact with the game UI using the mouse (on every play attempt).”
atmosphere
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
29%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its authentic capture of the Warhammer 40k universe, with many reviewers highlighting the impressive visuals, immersive audio, and strong voice acting that contribute to a grimdark ambiance. Fans of the franchise particularly appreciate the attention to detail and the overall presentation, which evoke the lore and aesthetic of the 41st millennium. However, some players note that while the atmosphere is exceptional, it can be undermined by gameplay issues, leading to a mixed overall experience.
- “The atmosphere is the best done in a 40k game to date by far, the universe feels fantastic.”
- “A true example of how to make a very good Warhammer 40,000 universe game with a proper atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere created in the game through its visuals, art, music, characters, and story is simply awesome.”
- “The repetitive character makes it a bit boring and sadly there you lose the grip in the atmosphere.”
- “Now you're probably wondering how this is a 'mixed' review when it sounds so bad... well I'm a major 40k fan and this game hits the atmosphere right... and in missions where you have a small number of ships and few or no goofy special conditions... the game can be quite fun.. here's hoping they spend some time on fixing this game up.”
grinding
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many missions feeling overly drawn out and lacking variety. While the initial gameplay can be enjoyable, the campaign quickly becomes a slog due to the repetitive nature of missions and the necessity for extensive micro-management. Many reviewers express frustration with the grind required to unlock content and the limited diversity in enemy and mission types, leading to a generally unsatisfying experience.
- “The main campaign is composed of procedurally generated missions with a few special enemies sprinkled about; fun at first, bland and tedious as the game drags on and refuses to end in a timely manner.”
- “Tldr - basic concept is a good one but poorly implemented making for a drawn out and grindy feeling which is made worse by lack of variety in enemy type, mission type, and ship design.”
- “You feel like you are grinding, just that there is basically nothing to really grind for, because you get your mightiest ships after like half the game.”
replayability
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
Replayability in the game is a mixed bag, with many players noting that while the single-player campaign primarily focuses on the Imperial Navy and offers limited replay value, the skirmish and multiplayer modes provide significant opportunities for varied gameplay through different factions and strategies. Some players appreciate the depth and complexity of the game, which enhances replayability, while others feel that the campaign's linearity and lack of diverse faction play diminish its long-term appeal. Overall, the game is seen as having good replay potential, especially in multiplayer and skirmish modes, but the single-player experience may not satisfy those seeking extensive replay options.
- “Game is a very fun space combat, filled with an engaging campaign and almost endless replayability through the skirmish and multiplayer, when using each of the 4 (6+ if you have the DLCs) factions.”
- “There's a ton of replay value and the developer seems to be set on producing more and more content and adding features, so what's not to like?”
- “You level up fleets for each of the factions individually, so there's a lot of replay value.”
- “The single-player campaign only allows you to play as the Imperial Navy, and, while compelling, has little-to-no replayability.”
- “At its current price of £29.99 with very limited single-player replayability and a bungled multiplayer causing the multiplayer presence to be very low; I simply can't recommend it.”
- “When in this game you can defend only 1 system out of 2 and you have to choose what you don't want to lose more - more expensive upgrades or less renown earned - it's not replayability in my book.”
optimization
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting solid performance on various systems, while others experience significant loading issues, crashes, and poor optimization, particularly on laptops. While a few users noted that the game runs well on higher-end hardware, many expressed frustration over unskippable cutscenes, stuttering, and overall performance inconsistencies. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a major concern, with calls for improvements to enhance the experience across different platforms.
- “Game is well optimized and has a decent learning curve, well thought out mechanics and the different tactics to employ are satisfying and viable in single-player.”
- “Performance is rock solid on a GTX 980 and I had no issues with the multiplayer.”
- “Good optimization, well graphics, interesting gameplay!”
- “Buyer beware, the game is probably great when it runs, but it might not run on your machine due to poor optimization and likely bad coding.”
- “Game is also terribly optimized with very slow startup and lots of unskippable cutscenes.”
- “The game often crashed for no reason, making single-player unplayable. I don't know if it is just poorly optimized for AMD or Intel, but I was really looking forward to the game and it let me down.”
humor
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely derived from the exaggerated characteristics of its factions, particularly the orcs, whose antics and dialogue provide a comedic contrast to the more serious elements of the narrative. Players find the voice acting and over-the-top scenarios amusing, with many moments eliciting laughter, whether through absurd gameplay mechanics or the ridiculousness of the factions' interactions. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with its strategic elements, creating a lighthearted experience amidst the chaos of battle.
- “I really wanted to play orks because they're hilarious!”
- “Fights are well executed and really funny.”
- “A very very funny and artistically well done space battles game, set in the world of Warhammer 40000, in one word: epic.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
11%
78%
The monetization aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with players feeling it is a cash grab due to unskippable ads and a lack of meaningful content. Many reviewers express disappointment over the game's focus on monetization strategies, such as hidden microtransactions and a rushed development process that prioritizes profit over player experience. Overall, the game's monetization practices detract from enjoyment and authenticity, leading to a perception of it being a poorly executed attempt to capitalize on the market.
- “Don't worry, there are no microtransactions.”
- “Was going to buy BFG 2, but after playing this, it just feels like a cash grab.”
- “Warning: this was abandoned early on and is now just a cash grab.”
- “Just overall no fun involved at all, just a quick cash grab.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the emotional depth of the game, particularly through its impactful cutscenes and storytelling, which evoke strong feelings despite a relatively straightforward plot. The experience of commanding a fleet resonates deeply, especially for fans of the genre, creating a nostalgic and immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall enjoyment.
- “I wasn't even worried about dialogues and blah blahs between characters, and I can't even reiterate the plot, but still, the cutscenes and emotional touch of this armada galactic game are superlative.”
- “Being a 40k fan and a video gamer (and there has to be like a 90% overlap) puts one in an emotionally fragile position.”
- “That said, human emotional response is tied quite intrinsically with connections to past, pleasant events.”