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Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

A Warhammer 40K spaceship RTS of epic proportions. Great visual design and an engaging story make for a unique dip into the sci-fi behemoth. Deep and intricate progression systems ensure there is always something to improve in your fleet. Unfortunately Tindalos Interactive haven’t taken advantage of 3D space, leaving skirmishes and strategies to feel more like sea-battles.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Game Cover
69%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, grinding
67% User Score Based on 4,121 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Game Cover

About

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a single player and multiplayer tactical real-time strategy game with warfare and science fiction themes. It was developed by Tindalos Interactive and was released on April 21, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"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
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada screenshot
+4
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67%
Audience ScoreBased on 4,121 reviews
story330 positive mentions
stability103 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning visuals and detailed ship designs that capture the essence of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
  • The campaign offers an engaging story with well-written dialogue and voice acting, immersing players in the lore of the Gothic War.
  • The gameplay mechanics allow for deep tactical decision-making, with a variety of ships and customization options that enhance the strategic experience.
  • The game suffers from significant balance issues, with certain missions being frustratingly difficult due to overwhelming enemy forces and poorly designed objectives.
  • There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience.
  • The AI is often unhelpful, leading to frustrating gameplay where allied ships behave erratically and fail to support the player effectively.
  • story
    2,381 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Battlefleet Gothic: Armada" is set against the backdrop of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, focusing on the 12th Black Crusade led by Abaddon the Despoiler. While the narrative is engaging and features well-crafted cutscenes, many players find the campaign missions repetitive and frustrating due to limited mission types and unbalanced gameplay mechanics, particularly in escort and data retrieval missions. Despite these issues, the story's connection to the lore and the immersive atmosphere keep players invested, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the franchise.

    • “The game’s narrative-driven campaign unfolds in the gothic sector, weaving a story of political intrigue and relentless conflict that adds weight to every battle and decision.”
    • “The campaign story is good and the gameplay itself is fun, but after the first few missions, you are up against ridiculous odds.”
    • “The campaign is a decent length, the story (full of Warhammer 40k biliousness) has some twists and surprises to keep you engaged, and the thrill of victory is all the sweeter for how much you have to sweat for it.”
    • “The campaign is just a couple of variously frustrating missions (around 5 mission types in total), most of them have one approach to accomplish.”
    • “The pacing of the single-player campaign can feel uneven, with certain missions dragging due to repetitive objectives or prolonged battles that test player patience.”
    • “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.”
  • gameplay
    900 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Battlefleet Gothic: Armada" is characterized by its deep tactical mechanics and strategic ship management, requiring players to master positioning, abilities, and weapon arcs for success. While many players appreciate the engaging and immersive experience, they also note a steep learning curve, repetitive mission design, and some frustrating mechanics that can detract from enjoyment. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning adaptation of the Warhammer 40k universe, but its execution can be polarizing, with some players finding it rewarding and others feeling overwhelmed or dissatisfied with the gameplay depth.

    • “The RTS gameplay is deep without being overwhelming — positioning, abilities, and weapon arcs matter more than raw numbers, which makes victory feel hard-earned.”
    • “The gameplay is exceedingly fun once you get the hang of how the ships control - be it narrowly missing an Ork ram via quick maneuvering and stances, or landing a long-distance torpedo shot from halfway across the battle, it never fails to satisfy.”
    • “The gameplay features are really nice, lots of customization, skirmish mode for those who want to play solo outside the campaign, an interesting campaign mode as well.”
    • “Gameplay is both boring and frustrating, and I don't mean difficult.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely shallow - it's an RTS where you usually only control 4 units (2 capital ships and 2 escorts) with no base or building mechanics.”
    • “I want to like this game, but it is let down by the interface and the gameplay is a bit hit and miss due to the control system.”
  • graphics
    491 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning detail and faithful representation of the Warhammer 40k universe, utilizing Unreal Engine 4 to create visually impressive starships and environments. Players appreciate the intricate designs and atmospheric effects that enhance the epic scale of space battles, making it a standout feature despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics and balance. Overall, the visuals are considered a major strength, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.

    • “Graphically, Battlefleet Gothic: Armada impresses with detailed, intricately designed starships rendered using Unreal Engine 4, giving them a sense of scale and presence rarely seen in space RTS games.”
    • “The graphics are simply superb, the sound and visual effects are top-notch.”
    • “The game's visuals are impressive, with detailed ships and environments that truly capture the epic scale of space battles.”
    • “Everything else is worse: graphics, campaign, story, voice acting, ship control, models, etc...”
    • “It is just a bad looking game with really bad voice acting, music, and graphics.”
    • “The graphics feel a little dated, even considering the grim-and-grimy theme of the game (and especially considering the engine).”
  • music
    144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its epic and atmospheric quality, effectively capturing the grimdark essence of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. While many players appreciate the stirring soundtrack and sound design that enhance the gameplay experience, some have noted that the limited number of tracks can lead to repetitiveness. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere, despite occasional issues with audio balancing.

    • “Sound design plays a pivotal role, with a stirring soundtrack and detailed audio effects that heighten the drama and intensity of battles, reinforcing the grimdark tone of the Warhammer 40,000 setting.”
    • “The music is glorious and the sounds of combat are engaging like no other.”
    • “The cutscenes, graphics, voice acting, and soundtrack are excellent, making this one of the best portrayals of the Warhammer 40k universe.”
    • “Some points some voices are very loud and everything else is quiet; other times the music is deafening while everything else is quiet.”
    • “It is repetitive and only one soundtrack played throughout the game.”
    • “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

    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, many others describe the game as "buggy as hell," with problems ranging from unresponsive UI to mission failures and freezing during critical moments. Overall, the game appears to be in need of substantial bug fixes and polish to reach a stable and enjoyable state.

    • “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.”
    • “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 spec), and an inability to interact with the game UI using the mouse (on every play attempt).”
    • “This is a buggy, unfinished product that would need major bug fixing before it could be recommended.”
  • atmosphere
    102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its faithful representation of the Warhammer 40k universe, featuring rich visuals, atmospheric sound design, and compelling voice acting that immerses players in its grimdark setting. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to capture the essence of the lore and the overall aesthetic, making it a standout experience for fans of the franchise, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its strongest aspects, effectively drawing players into the vast and dark universe of Warhammer 40k.

    • “The atmosphere created in the game through its visuals, art, music, characters, and story is simply awesome.”
    • “It perfectly captures the grimdark atmosphere by pitting you against stronger opponents, and each round was a challenge for me, around which I enjoyed finding a way.”
    • “The atmosphere is the best done in a 40k game to date by far; the universe feels fantastic.”
    • “The repetetive character makes it a bit boring and sadly there you lose the grip in the atmosphere.”
    • “Tldr: in short, I love the atmosphere and setting, but there are some problems that detract too heavily from the game to make it fully enjoyable.”
    • “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
    78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players noting that missions become monotonous as they often involve the same few tasks repeated ad nauseam. While some find the gameplay enjoyable initially, the lack of variety in missions and enemy types leads to a frustrating experience, particularly in the later stages of the campaign. Overall, players feel that the game suffers from poor design choices that exacerbate the grind, making it feel like a chore rather than an engaging experience.

    • “The game starts off well but quickly becomes tedious and tiresome, with many mid to late game missions being just terribly designed, trying to force each mission to conform to their bland mission structures.”
    • “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.”
    • “The same four missions repeat over and over again, and it's more tedious than fun in my opinion.”
  • replayability
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability in the game is a mixed bag, with strong potential in skirmish and multiplayer modes offering varied experiences through different factions and ship configurations. However, the single-player campaign is primarily limited to the Imperial Navy, which diminishes its replay value despite some engaging gameplay elements. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects that can extend playtime, many players feel the campaign lacks sufficient variety for repeated runs.

    • “The campaign is one of the best RTS campaigns out there, and the single-player skirmish mode allows almost infinite replayability up to elite 100.”
    • “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?”
    • “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
    55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag, with many users reporting significant performance issues, especially on mid-range and older systems, leading to poor frame rates and long loading times. While some players experienced smooth gameplay on higher-end setups, others faced crashes and stuttering, indicating that optimization varies widely across different hardware configurations. Despite these challenges, a few reviews noted good performance and visuals, suggesting that updates may have improved the situation for some players.

    • “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.”
    • “A pretty fun game with very good optimization.”
    • “Optimization is the only con I've encountered; for today's standards, even on a mid-range PC in 2025, game performance can be really poor.”
    • “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 do not know if it is just poorly optimized for AMD or Intel, but I was really looking forward to the game and Total War: Warhammer once I got my new computer, but sadly this game let me down.”
  • humor
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is frequently highlighted as a standout feature, with players enjoying the absurdity of chaotic battles, particularly involving orcs and their comedic antics. Many reviews mention the hilariously cheesy voice acting and over-the-top scenarios that evoke nostalgia and laughter, while also noting that the game's mechanics can lead to unexpectedly funny outcomes. Overall, the blend of humor and epic space battles creates an entertaining experience, despite some technical issues and balance concerns.

    • “Watching your ships tear each other apart never gets old, especially when your carefully plotted maneuvers go hilariously wrong.”
    • “Fights are well executed and really funny.”
    • “I found the voice acting and characters in the single player campaign to be the most engaging of any Game Workshop computer game I've played - striking the best balance yet between ridiculous melodrama, funny moments, and swashbuckling epicness!”
  • monetization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with players feeling it is a cash grab due to unskippable advertisements and a lack of engaging content. Many reviewers express disappointment over the game's focus on microtransactions and PvP elements, which were not clearly communicated prior to release. Overall, the monetization strategy appears to detract from the gaming experience, leading to frustration among users.

    • “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

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be impactful, particularly through its 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 blend of nostalgia and emotional engagement that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “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.”
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80%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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23h Median play time
38h Average play time
9-60h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 37 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a tactical real-time strategy game with warfare and science fiction themes.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 38 hours playing Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada was released on April 21, 2016.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada was developed by Tindalos Interactive.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, BATTLETECH and others.