Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena

Few fictional universes are as bloody and violent as the Warhammer universe, especially the 40K version. War is an obvious component in many similar realms, otherwise games like Warcraft and Starcraft would be a lot more boring. Warhammer takes the cake in many regards, on the other hand, especially when it comes to the sheer thickness of the lore.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena is an attempt to submerge the said universe into the muddy waters of MOBAs, although with a few new ideas and concepts integrated for good measure. The game is a lot more action-oriented than your regular MOBA, but unfortunately this also makes it much more chaotic and difficult to enjoy at first. Chaos may be a powerful force in Warhammer 40,000, but it’s not the most appropriate element for a video game.

To begin with, the heroes are called veterans in this case, and they come from a variety of factions. There aren’t too many of them at the moment, but since the game is still in a very early development stage, it’s to be expected. Orks, Chaos and the Necrons are well represented by illustrious warriors, as are the Space Marines and the Sisters of Battle. Each one of them features unique skills and abilities, but it is up to you to use them as efficiently as possible.

The defining gameplay characteristic is the veteran control, because it’s much more active and hands-on. As such, every blow or shot must be directed precisely at the enemy, otherwise it’s just a waste of energy. This means that evading attacks is possible and even encouraged, since you are not as exposed as in most other MOBAs. On the other hand, it also means that most players will be out for themselves, disregarding team play entirely.

There are many other inconveniences and bad decisions as well. No tutorials or guides are included at the moment, so you’ll be rather lost in the beginning, especially if you are not familiar at all with the universe in question. The matches can get erratic and unbalanced at a moment’s notice, because it’s difficult to win 4v4 matches when you are missing a team member due to quitting or a bad connection.

In the end, the interface itself can give you a bit of trouble as well, although it is obviously designed to stay out of your way and let you enjoy the match without distractions. Hence, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena still has a chance to get better in time, but a lot of effort is needed to fix the current issues. It would be a shame to see this flop as well, given the fact that the Warhammer 40,000 universe is weakly represented at the moment, ever since the Dawn of War series has been more or less forgotten.