Mordheim: City of the Damned

A brilliant strategy game that asks you to think carefully about every decision, pushing your tactical buttons in every conceivable way.

70%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, stability

69% User Score Based on 5,449 reviews

Critic Score 71%Based on 12 reviews

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About

Mordheim: City of the Damned is a single player and multiplayer survival role playing game with fantasy and warfare themes. It was developed by Rogue Factor and was released on November 19, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Mordheim: City of the Damned is a turn-based tactical RPG set in the Warhammer World's ruined Empire city. Command a warband in fierce battles for control of key neighborhoods and valuable Wyrdstone fragments. Customize your warband with unique units, gear, and abilities as you fight for glory and survival in this grim, chaotic world.

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 5,449 reviews

story177 positive mentions

grinding160 negative mentions

Faithful adaptation of the tabletop game with a gritty atmosphere.
Deep tactical gameplay with meaningful character progression and customization.
Challenging and rewarding experience that keeps players engaged.

Unforgiving RNG mechanics lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
AI often feels unbalanced, with enemies having unfair advantages.
Clunky UI and slow enemy turn times detract from the overall experience.

story
2,259 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
85%
7%
The story aspect of "Mordheim: City of the Damned" is characterized by a mix of engaging lore and frustrating mission design. While the game features unique story missions for each faction that add depth to the gameplay, many players find these missions overly long, poorly structured, and plagued by issues such as infinite enemy reinforcements and unclear objectives. Overall, the narrative elements are often overshadowed by the grindy nature of the gameplay and the harsh penalties for failure, leading to a sense of repetitiveness and frustration rather than a compelling story experience.
- “The setting of the game is fascinating, and while most of the missions are procedurally generated, there are some that advance your warband's narrative that are handcrafted, and the mix between the two makes for quite a grand experience.”
- “The storylines are intriguing and give you bite-sized chunks of lore that you can savor as you enjoy the overall tactical strategy experience the game offers.”
- “The story missions are fun and interesting for all factions; the narration and voice acting are really good.”
- “The story missions are just too long; you often have to search through maze-like maps with limited movement.”
- “The story missions can get really frustrating with vague mission details and, worst of all, infinite enemy reinforcements.”
- “The scripted story missions should have been carefully crafted highpoints for each lengthy campaign -- something to look forward to rather than something to slog through.”
gameplay
1,229 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The gameplay of "Mordheim: City of the Damned" is characterized by a steep learning curve and a mix of tactical depth and frustrating mechanics. Players often find the combat system engaging yet punishing, with a heavy reliance on RNG that can lead to inconsistent outcomes, making victories feel hollow. While the game offers rich customization and strategic planning, many reviews highlight issues with unclear mechanics, slow pacing, and a lack of intuitive controls, which can detract from the overall experience, especially for newcomers.
- “Challenging, and sometimes unforgiving for mistakes, but the high stakes gameplay works well for this setting.”
- “The gameplay shines with its deep tactical mechanics, allowing for detailed unit customization and strategic planning.”
- “Every decision you make will have a tangible impact on your warband's success, adding a layer of complexity that keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging.”
- “The mechanics are awkward, you have to confirm literally every decision, the gameplay is boring, stats mean nothing, and you're going to miss almost every time.”
- “The AI and turn style mechanics are incredibly slow (even after turning on speed up AI turns, it's a joke). Set your players to ambush stance, your AI competitors can do the same within your ambush range and not trigger it, while you do. The game's a slog in so many ways and massively one-sided that it's not enjoyable to play.”
- “The gameplay is very repetitive, and gathering wyrdstone as a part of gameplay ends up falling to the wayside because you have to focus on combat.”
graphics
512 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
45%
9%
The graphics of "Mordheim: City of the Damned" receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the atmospheric and thematic representation of the Warhammer universe, particularly the dark and decayed environments. However, criticisms arise regarding outdated character models, technical issues, and a lack of visual polish, leading some to describe the graphics as subpar compared to modern standards. Overall, while the art direction is praised for its immersive quality, the execution often falls short, leaving players with a sense of missed potential.
- “The environment design—oppressive, dark, and steeped in decay—immerses you deeply into the doomed city, capturing the essence of Warhammer’s grim aesthetic.”
- “The visuals are striking, with beautifully rendered environments that evoke the dark and gritty tone of the Warhammer universe.”
- “The graphics are absolutely beautiful, the Warhammer feel and turn-based combat are amazing and I love all of the different units that you can build and play.”
- “The overall quality of this game is trash to be quite honest; this game has terrible UI, graphics are subpar for 2015, and animations are funky at best.”
- “The graphics are poor, music lazy, UI disgustingly terrible, the tutorial does not exist except for a series of click missions that in themselves are poorly thought out and leave a lot to the imagination, leading many to skip them outright and get to playing.”
- “The graphics are distinctly previous-gen but are well themed and stylish.”
atmosphere
262 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
38%
1%
The atmosphere of "Mordheim: City of the Damned" is widely praised for its immersive and gritty representation of the Warhammer fantasy universe, effectively capturing the dark, gothic essence of the ruined city. Players appreciate the haunting visuals, atmospheric sound design, and the palpable tension that permeates each encounter, although some note that the repetitive nature of missions can detract from the overall experience. Despite technical flaws and gameplay frustrations, the game's atmosphere remains its standout feature, drawing players into a world filled with danger and strategic depth.
- “Mordheim: City of the Damned is a gritty, turn-based tactical RPG set in the grim Warhammer fantasy universe, and it stands out as a brutal, unforgiving, and atmospheric experience that rewards careful planning and punishes carelessness with permanent consequences.”
- “The atmosphere created by the music and visuals is on point.”
- “The atmosphere of the game perfectly captures the chaotic and ruined hellscape of the ruined city of Mordheim, where you play as one of four warbands in your quest to plunder the city's riches.”
- “This is only compounded by the grimdark atmosphere that makes every map feel fairly same-y.”
- “However, while the atmosphere is impeccable, some technical issues—such as occasional bugs and outdated visuals—remind players of the game's modest budget.”
- “The atmosphere, whilst very, very immersive, is ruined by the combat mechanics in that the overly-punishing RNG elements detach the player from the game, disallowing immersion as the player is dragged out of the Warhammer universe and into their room, study or basement of choice, becoming a spectator and interloper to the combat as opposed to an active participant.”
grinding
162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and slow, with many players expressing frustration over clunky interfaces, repetitive missions, and the punishing nature of character progression. Players often feel that the time invested in grinding does not yield satisfying rewards, leading to a sense of boredom and frustration, especially when hard-earned characters can be easily lost in battles. While some appreciate the tactical depth, the overwhelming consensus is that the game suffers from a lack of engaging content and an over-reliance on grinding mechanics.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The early game is absolutely horrendous and needlessly tedious for absolutely no reason.”
- “Grinding in this game is so tedious, you will be doing it for hours to level your characters up and it ended up being a huge boring waste of time.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay never really evolves and it is a fairly tedious grind.”
stability
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of freezing, glitches, and AI issues that significantly hinder gameplay. Players frequently experience crashes during loading and combat, alongside pathfinding problems and unresponsive mechanics. While some users note improvements in later stages, the overall consensus is that the game remains unpolished and frustratingly buggy, making it difficult to recommend to new players.
- “It is a fun game to play and is not too buggy anymore.”
- “Bug-free and very stable (Windows 10 x64)”
- “The game freezes up on loading and in combat.”
- “It's worse than most early access games even with all their bugs and glitches.”
- “Personally, I think it’s morally wrong to recommend to new players a game that is no longer supported, riddled with bugs and glitches that will never be patched, and suffers from a well-known ‘lag’ gremlin that will freeze and in some cases even crash the game throughout your playtime.”
replayability
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
50%
3%
The game boasts exceptionally high replayability, with players praising the variety of warbands, customizable builds, and procedural generation of maps that ensure unique experiences in each playthrough. Many reviewers highlight the enjoyment derived from experimenting with different factions and strategies, making it easy to invest 50-100 hours or more. While some note that the reliance on RNG and limited factions may eventually restrict replay value, the overall consensus is that the game offers immense replayability and is highly recommended for those seeking a challenging and engaging experience.
- “Endless replayability via making lore-based parties.”
- “With 4 (6 with DLC) different warbands, each packed with their own unit classes that approach the game differently, the replayability is pretty good.”
- “Fantastic game with near-limitless replayability.”
- “There are not a lot of factions, so I imagine at some point replayability will be limited, but if you are looking for a few good hours of fun, this is great.”
- “I understand that the mechanics changes are for the sake of having the game last longer and possibly having more replayability, but it's been stretched out too far.”
- “It doesn't have the replay value that you'd expect a title like this would.”
music
93 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
55%
10%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its atmospheric and immersive qualities that enhance the overall experience, while others criticize it for being repetitive and dull over time. Many agree that the soundtrack effectively captures the dark and eerie tone of the game, although some wish for more variety and better pacing to match gameplay dynamics. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, it may become tiresome for extended play sessions.
- “The atmosphere created by the music and visuals is on point.”
- “The music is suitably dark considering the setting and lends an appropriate 'doomed' quality to the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is just awesome with a soundtrack that plays along perfectly well with that atmosphere.”
- “This game looks awesome, I love Mordheim, then you play this game. Not only is it unbelievably dull with its grating atmospheric music and milky brown textures, it's also catastrophically unfair to play with a horrendously long play time to get anywhere near having a competent team to play with.”
- “Overall a sleep-inducing gameplay, with a boring soundtrack and low-quality sound effects that unfortunately didn't help in keeping me engaged.”
- “You'll tire of the music and the maps long before you complete a campaign.”
optimization
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
56%
28%
Overall, the game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, long loading times, and AI-related slowdowns, even on high-end systems. While some users experience smooth gameplay, the majority find the game poorly optimized, leading to frustration and a lack of polish. There are calls for improvements, particularly in AI performance and graphical optimization, to enhance the overall experience.
- “The performance is quite good and the graphics won't blow you away but they are pretty decent and set the tone nicely.”
- “Surprisingly optimized for an early access game.”
- “After some refinement, general optimization and tweaks to the flow and meta of Mordheim, I can see this becoming a great game.”
- “The biggest downside is the optimization: AI turns take a long time, especially with full warbands.”
- “I have been playing Mordheim for a long while and I can say I love the game even if the entire thing seems to be so unoptimized and bogged down that it actually makes you not want to play it.”
- “My computer is so far over the recommended settings I don't even know where to start, but this steaming pile is so badly optimized that I was getting 5 frames per second.”
humor
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from its dark and absurd situations, such as characters suffering ridiculous injuries or the AI's comically poor decision-making. Players find themselves laughing at the misfortunes of their warbands, especially when they encounter unexpected mishaps like losing limbs or being outsmarted by one-legged enemies. Overall, the blend of dark humor, quirky character interactions, and the game's challenging mechanics creates a uniquely entertaining experience that keeps players engaged despite its frustrations.
- “Hilarious when some of my warband pick up so many injuries that I start to feel sorry for them.”
- “After the fifteenth time you get ambushed by somebody trying to charge them, you start laughing at the misfortune as opposed to being upset.”
- “There are moments in this game that are brilliantly funny, like seeing the enemy caster blow him or herself up… it's not so funny when it happens to you.”
emotional
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of "Mordheim" deeply impactful, primarily due to the permadeath mechanic and permanent injuries that foster strong attachments to characters, leading to feelings of heartbreak and frustration when they are lost. The game evokes a rollercoaster of emotions, encouraging players to invest in their warbands while navigating the harsh realities of combat, which can result in both triumph and devastating loss. Despite some technical flaws, the emotional depth and sense of accomplishment resonate strongly, making it a unique experience in the gaming landscape.
- “The permadeath mechanic and permanent injuries add emotional weight to every encounter, creating an attachment to your units that few other games manage to replicate.”
- “My trying of Mordheim was an emotional rollercoaster.”
- “Eventually you form a bond with them, swear when they mess up, smile when they dominate, and shed a tear when they die.”
character development
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and customization options, allowing players to tailor characters to their play style and enhancing replayability. The combination of RPG elements, permadeath, and a well-designed progression system creates a compelling experience, although some players find the complexity overwhelming. Overall, the character design and development mechanics are highlighted as standout features that significantly contribute to the game's tactical and emotional engagement.
- “Character development for all characters allows you to customize to your play style or alter for a new playthrough.”
- “Character development/progression is one of the best systems I've seen, and the turn-based combat is extremely well done.”
- “The sheer amount of customization and character development can be a bit overwhelming, but what you get is a very solid turn-based strategy with RPG character development.”
- “Further, the concept of frequently unavoidable permanent injuries in a game which revolves around squad/character development is just a bad idea.”
- “Now the carrot on the stick is there, character development and gear upgrades... it's pretty heart-rending when you lose one of your best warriors, developed over time with specific skills.”
- “The sheer amount of customization and character development can be a bit overwhelming to those that come to the game blind, and normally I would not recommend this, but watching a 'YouTuber' play this game before attempting a playthrough will be of use to mitigate some of the complexity.”
monetization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
92%
The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized, with users labeling it a "cash grab" due to overpriced DLCs and misleading advertising that does not reflect the actual gameplay experience. Many reviewers express concern that the developers are unlikely to address player feedback, further fueling fears of exploitative practices. Overall, the sentiment suggests that the game's pricing and monetization strategies detract significantly from its value.
- “This is not just another game designed to profit from viral marketing and microtransactions.”
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players into spending money.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers plenty of content without requiring additional purchases.”
- “This is not another crap game for the masses made to live off viral marketing and microtransactions.”
- “Do not buy this game at its current price; to me, it is a cash grab hands down. The devs will not listen to you at all for your feedback regardless of your support!”
- “For the price of the game, just forget it. The game is not worth buying; for me, it was as if the game was a cash grab regardless.”

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71%Critics’ scoreBased on 12 critic reviews

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45h Median play time

124h Average play time

15-160h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 70 analyzed playthroughs

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Mordheim: City of the Damned is a survival role playing game with fantasy and warfare themes.

Mordheim: City of the Damned is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 124 hours playing Mordheim: City of the Damned.

Mordheim: City of the Damned was released on November 19, 2015.

Mordheim: City of the Damned was developed by Rogue Factor.

Mordheim: City of the Damned has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Mordheim: City of the Damned is a single player game with multiplayer support.

Similar games include Necromunda: Underhive Wars, Battle Brothers, XCOM 2, Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation, Skyshine's BEDLAM and others.

Mordheim: City of the Damned

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