Eisenhorn: XENOS

Simple combat, poor mechanics, boring voice acting and some unpolished graphics mean that the fans of the book series might find themselves struggling to finish it. For those without an invested interest in the character or the story: this is one to avoid.

50%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

gameplay, stability

53% User Score Based on 367 reviews

Critic Score 40%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

Eisenhorn: XENOS is a single player role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Pixel Hero Games and was released on October 8, 2016. It received negative reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

‘Eisenhorn: Xenos' is a premium 3D action and adventure game based on ‘Xenos', the first book in Games Workshop's best-selling ‘Eisenhorn' trilogy, written by award winning author Dan Abnett. Set in the grim, dark future of Warhammer 40,000. Eisenhorn: Xenos tells the story of Gregor Eisenhorn, an Inquisitor and member of the ‘Ordo Xenos', sent out to fight and protect the Imperium of man from an…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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53%

Audience ScoreBased on 367 reviews

story96 positive mentions

gameplay42 negative mentions

The story is fascinating and closely follows the source material, making it enjoyable for fans of the Eisenhorn novels.
The atmosphere and world-building effectively capture the gothic and grimdark essence of the Warhammer 40k universe.
Mark Strong's voice acting as Eisenhorn is well-executed and adds depth to the character.

The gameplay is clunky and repetitive, with simplistic combat mechanics that fail to engage players.
The graphics are dated and feel more like a mobile game port, lacking the polish expected from a PC title.
Voice acting for minor characters is often subpar, detracting from the overall immersion and experience.

story
312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
65%
4%
The story of "Eisenhorn: Xenos," adapted from Dan Abnett's novel, is widely praised for its depth and fidelity to the source material, making it a highlight for fans of the Warhammer 40k universe. However, many reviewers note that the game's execution is lacking, with clunky gameplay and poor voice acting detracting from the narrative experience. While the story itself is engaging, it often feels rushed and linear, leaving players who are unfamiliar with the books struggling to follow key plot points.
- “The story is great, the environment is great, the graphics are pretty good.”
- “I love how well the developers adapted the source material into the storyline.”
- “The story is pure gold and the visuals enhance it even more (even if the textures could be better).”
- “The storytelling in the game itself is quite mediocre; it is lacking smoothness and is not deep enough, as if you're rushed forward.”
- “However, between various cut scenes and playable sections, fairly pivotal plot points are skipped over, making the story (the only real redeeming feature here) difficult to follow for anyone who hasn't previously read the source material.”
- “The narrative is treated quite poorly, and several important plot points are not explained or expanded on to allow them to be understood by a person unfamiliar with the source text.”
gameplay
172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
66%
24%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being clunky, simplistic, and filled with bugs, often feeling like a poorly executed port from mobile devices. Many players noted that the mechanics are basic and repetitive, with combat lacking depth and exploration feeling more like a chore than an engaging experience. While some appreciated the story and atmosphere, the overall consensus is that the gameplay serves primarily as a means to progress the narrative rather than offering a satisfying gaming experience.
- “The gameplay is varied with mini-games regularly thrown in for good measure.”
- “Its gameplay can be divided into three main sections: exploring the level (this includes running, jumping, breaking doors, some QTEs, etc.), combat (that reminds me of the Batman: Arkham series), and some simplistic puzzles that you need to solve (in order to advance the plotline, open doors, disarm traps, activate portals, etc.).”
- “The combat gameplay is simplistic, yet engaging, and the graphics are suitably moody (grimdark) and grand.”
- “The story and Eisenhorn himself are good, but the gameplay is a badly made buggy mess with poor graphics, simplistic gameplay, and tons of pointless, frustrating padding.”
- “The gameplay is extremely clunky; controls often respond too late or not at all.”
- “The entire gameplay is just filler material to progress the story, and the gameplay that is there is probably only included to avoid making it a walking simulator with cutscenes.”
graphics
164 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
53%
23%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being outdated and reminiscent of early 2000s titles, with many reviewers noting that they appear to be a port from a mobile game. While some appreciate the art style and atmospheric elements, the overall visual quality is described as dull, rudimentary, and lacking polish, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Despite a few positive remarks about specific environments, the consensus is that the graphics fail to meet modern standards, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “The story is great, the environment is great, the graphics are pretty good.”
- “For something that was originally made as a budget title for iOS/Android by a small developer, it has genuinely good 40k vibes to it - lore has been inputted into the game nicely and the artistic style is most definitely 40k.”
- “The combat gameplay is simplistic, yet engaging, and the graphics are suitably moody (grimdark) and grand.”
- “The graphics look like they come directly from Nurgle's rectum.”
- “Graphics are abysmal, gameplay clunky and not fun at all; it feels so stale, unfinished, like it was made by a few fans as a free mod.”
- “The graphics are... underwhelming, to say the least, probably because this is yet another game in a long list of awful 40k console or mobile ports to come to the PC.”
atmosphere
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its immersive representation of the Warhammer 40k universe, with many reviewers highlighting the effective level design and visual aesthetics that capture the gothic and dark themes. However, criticisms arise regarding dated graphics and repetitive sound effects, which detract from the overall experience and immersion. Despite these flaws, the story and atmosphere remain key selling points, appealing particularly to fans of the franchise.
- “The level design, while oftentimes criticized by others, nails the atmosphere I expect from this dark and straight-up depressing universe pretty much perfectly in my opinion, as I never felt like I was not in the 40k setting.”
- “Some of the backdrops and levels are supremely well done and really hammer it home that you are in the 40k universe; you just have to stop and absorb the atmosphere.”
- “The two things they did completely right were the story with some 'alright' voice acting and the atmosphere, which is absolutely beautiful.”
- “The sound effects used are from websites where you can get them for free, or from games a decade old, and are used in so many that when I heard them in this, I was directly taken out of the atmosphere, and that is really the only thing this game has going for it, the atmosphere.”
- “It's true that graphics don't make a game, but it feels like there is no atmosphere at all.”
- “- lack of atmosphere through ambient sounds”
stability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches, freezes, and broken triggers that often require players to reload checkpoints. While some users appreciate the visual design and story, the overall gameplay experience is marred by janky mechanics and frustrating bugs, leading to a perception of the game as a poorly executed title reminiscent of outdated systems. Players are advised to approach the game with the expectation of encountering significant technical problems.
- “The game feels and plays like a tired PS3 movie tie-in, with clunky animation and character models, god-awful sound design, twitchy controls, and unclear objectives that are buggy.”
- “Freezes while moving, missed triggers for story-related events, and a very strange combat mechanic make this game, which has a great story, the most unwelcome game I have played for at least five years.”
- “I will not say that it is bad at all, but there is no fun if you have to repeat difficult parts of the game five, six, or seven times because you can’t proceed forward due to a bug with a broken trigger or animation (broken animations caused most of my problems - freezes).”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as atmospheric and emotionally impactful, while others find it repetitive and forgettable compared to soundtracks from previous Warhammer titles. Despite the strong voice acting, many critiques highlight issues with overall sound design, suggesting that the music often blends into the background rather than enhancing the experience. Overall, while some appreciate the soundtrack as one of the best in gaming, others feel it falls short in memorability and integration.
- “Also, there was some pretty good music; it gave me the chills a couple of times.”
- “Personally, I liked the story a lot, found the voice acting generally to be very good (with some exceptions), and I think the soundtrack is probably one of the best I've heard in any video game.”
- “- The music is bland and boring.”
- “- The audio design is deplorable or just straight out missing. Most of the voices sound like they are read to a laptop microphone from inside a cardboard box by a bored teenager, and there is mostly no background noise, just the music (mostly forgettable) and the voices of the characters.”
- “The music is sometimes atmospheric, sometimes epic, a tad repetitive at times, but overall a good surprise.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
50%
33%
The game's optimization is inconsistent, with players experiencing random stuttering and the need to frequently readjust to varying control schemes across different action modes. While some performances are decent, overall, the optimization does not significantly detract from the experience, though it could be improved.
- “So the game isn't terribly unoptimized.”
- “It's supposed to be some Batman: Arkham-like action-adventure thing optimized for mobile, but with different modes of action having sometimes vastly different control schemes, you're stopped in your enjoyment to readjust to the new mode you just entered.”
- “You can get stuttering out of nowhere.”
- “There's barely a single decent performance among them, bar Eisenhorn himself.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game often arises from its technical flaws, with cutscenes frequently bugging out and creating unintentionally funny moments, such as characters colliding awkwardly during quick-time events. While these glitches can lead to some hilariously bad experiences, they also contribute to an overall sense of frustration, as players encounter broken mechanics and puzzling cinematics that leave them laughing, albeit for the wrong reasons.
- “Some of the cinematics leave you scratching your head and probably laughing... unintentionally!”
- “Most of the time, it feels just bad - other times hilariously bad.”
- “The combat is barely working (I died with full health after a single swing one too many times from a bog-standard enemy, was hilarious though).”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding elements of the game to be tedious and immersion-breaking, particularly during conversations and exploration. This aspect is seen as an artificial means to extend gameplay, detracting from the overall experience and overshadowing the quality of voice acting.
- “This detracts from the good work put in by Eisenhorn's voice actor and brings any possible immersion to a grinding halt every time a conversation takes place between the main character and anyone else.”
- “I was really hoping that they would do something special with KCX-1288; unfortunately not, instead it's the most tedious part of the game.”
- “The exploration part will get annoying in the end, when it's getting absurdly tedious - artificially extending the longevity of the game.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is criticized for being underwhelming, with reviewers noting a lack of depth and poor animation quality that detracts from the overall experience. The character designs are described as minimalistic and lacking in detail, contributing to a sense of incompleteness. Overall, players feel that the character development feels unfinished and unsatisfactory.
- “Feels like a beta version, poor animation, poor character development.”
- “Very bare character design and animation that is painfully bad at times.”
- “Very bare character design and animation that is painfully bad at times.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is hindered by inconsistent voice acting, particularly when contrasting standout performances like Mark Strong's with less compelling supporting roles. Additionally, the lack of meaningful character interactions diminishes players' emotional investment in the story and its characters.
- “Voice acting sounds out of place in a few instances; when you compare the fantastic Mark Strong as Eisenhorn to the voices of supporting actors, you want to cry.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's on-rails design significantly limits its replayability, leading to a consensus among users that it offers very little incentive to play through multiple times.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization approach of the game is positively noted, as the small start-up team chose to focus on delivering a quality experience based on a well-regarded Warhammer 40k story, rather than resorting to typical free-to-play models or cash grabs. This decision reflects a commitment to authenticity and storytelling over exploitative monetization strategies.