And that’s fine, but if you’re not familiar…it’s kind of like if you played Infinity Blade 2 ($6.99) without reading the novel that took place after the first game. Eisenhorn: Xenos knows its audience, it’s specifically for the people who want an adaptation of a 15 year-old book in a universe with tons of licensed properties as it is. Trying to do some research on the game, what I saw were some people who appreciated the Easter eggs and lore that are present in the game that I otherwise glossed over. You’re along for the ride, just hope that everything makes sense. However, the fallout from this, and clues hinting at some bigger plot leads Eisenhorn and his crew down a trail that has him traveling across the galaxy, dealing with people up to no good, and just generally yelling sternly at other people who are also yelling sternly about their place in this wacky, too-serious universe.įrankly, if you don’t have a familiarity with the source material, Eisenhorn: Xenos does not care. The game starts off by chasing some ne’er-do-well named Eyeclone through…some kind of people vault, basically? Eyeclone wakes a bunch of hibernating people up way too early, and they pretty much all die, and Eisenhorn executes Eyeclone.
The plot of Eisenhorn: Xenos is…well, incomprehensible if you don’t have a good grasp on Warhammer already, or with Inquisitor Eisenhorn. The game doesn’t hold its action up in very high esteem, and gives you long narrative sections, along with lengthy portions where you’re wandering around, scanning items, or solving basic puzzles to advance the story. The strengths are clearly in the performances, dialogue, and the world-building, why not make that the center of the game? As it is, the whole thing feels weirdly balanced between being an action game and being a narrative experience, and not doing well at either. Honestly, I think this would have been better as something of a Telltale game (with Telltale becoming to narrative adventure games with limited interactivity what Kleenex is to facial tissue) instead of an action game. The game incentivizes these assassinations by giving you more coins than for engaging in normal combat. See, you can play stealthily, and use psychic abilities like Provoke to draw enemies to different spots, and take them out with stealth kills. And what’s hilarious is that the game itself seems to encourage you to avoid it as much as possible. I admit to expecting something more akin to a God of War type game on iOS, but instead I got a game where combat is limited and dull. Plus, the camera makes it tough to see in combat, so you’re fighting visibility as well as the enemies. At best, you don’t have a lot of options, so it’s not very engaging to play with. The problem with the combat is that it’s so limited and clunky. Also, you can trigger “Pause for Breath" mode, which is basically like VATS in Fallout. A dodge roll can be used to get out of the way of attacks. You have a psychic knockdown attack that you can deploy, which is kinda useful if you’re in trouble. Your projectiles have limited ammo, but killed enemies drop additional bullets, so you can fire with impunity, pretty much. You can attack with your sword, but nothing fancy as far as combos go that button mashing that button won’t do for you.
As an action game? Eh.Įisenhorn: Xenos‘ combat plays a lot like something that would have released on consoles 10 to 15 years ago, and I don’t mean that in a good way. And if Warhammer lore is your bag, this is a game for you. Instead, this is about telling the story from the novel, featuring Mark Strong as Eisenhorn, while presenting some gorgeous backdrops, with you at the controls driving the narrative. So, you thought you were getting a technical marvel of an action game in Eisenhorn: Xenos ($5.99)? Wrong! This adaptation of the 2001 novel set in the ever-expansive and convoluted Warhammer universe, starring inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, has disappointing combat, and the game largely tries to hide it and convince you that it’s unnecessary.