If you’ve ever painted people with tiny brushes, then you’ll know how much a Games Workshop hobby can hit you in the back pocket. It makes it all the more remarkable, then, that the newest Games Workshop game, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, is out, day one, on Game Pass (Console, Cloud and PC)! Yeah, we know it’s not free, but it feels like a gift nonetheless. And that’s not all, marine – 5 other games join it.
We are also getting some other releases in the form of Lawn Mowing Simulator (Console, Cloud and PC), Rubber Bandits (Console, Cloud and PC), Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Console and PC), ANVIL (Console and PC) and Archvale (Console, Cloud and PC).
Games Workshop games tend to fall into two camps. There are those that play fast and loose with the rules of the source material, capturing the worlds and their characters rather than giving you a one-to-one approximation of the original. And there are the games that DO attempt to convey the dice, long red measuring sticks and army point systems. Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is very much in the latter, simulation camp.
It’s got a few ways to play. First up is a twenty-mission campaign that takes place after the Devastation of Baal, during the Age of the Crimson Dawn. You will be helping Sergeant Carleon to purge the Tyranid infestation on Baal Secundus, and preserve the honour of the noble Blood Angels. Then there’s a Skirmish Mode, which lets you play both sides of the war and gives you full customisation over the armies. Finally, there’s live and asynchronous multiplayer, with hotseat modes available. Time to carve through your mate’s Tyranids like there’s no tomorrow.
We shouldn’t overlook the other games that have arrived today. First up is ANVIL, a slick and lavish twin-stick shooter that’s giving us real Halo: Spartan Assault vibes. It’s been getting strong reviews on PC and mobile, so let’s see what it can do for console.
Humble Games relationship with Game Pass continues with the introduction of Archvale. Like ANVIL, this is a twin-stick shooter, but the flavours couldn’t be any more different. Rather than be a narrative-fuelled shooter, focusing on clearing rooms of enemies, Archvale is a bullet-hell shooter through and through. You’re going to die, and that’s A-OK.
A little more laid back is Lawn Mowing Simulator. It’s for those of us who have fantasised about riding on a seated lawnmower, which is pretty much everyone. Don’t lie, you’ve watched jealously as you’ve driven past. This is the base game of Lawn Mowing Simulator, so you will have to shell out more if you want to groom Stonehenge in the Ancient Britain DLC.
They’re still coming! Rubber Bandits is an arena party game that looks like utter carnage. It’s a little bit of Gang Beasts here, a little bit of Power Stone there. Basically, arm up with flamethrowers and whacking great spiky sticks and chop up your mates.
Finally, the middle-quel of the Final Fantasy XIII series is launching onto Game Pass for Console and PC. We have hazy memories of it being the best of the three, ditching some of the linearity of XIII and stirring in some time-manipulation gubbins. So, if you have a hankering for some old school JRPGing, then Game Pass has you covered.
Microsoft have kindly informed us of the other games coming in December, as it’s Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator (Console, PC and Cloud) on December 7th; Halo Infinite (Console, PC and Cloud) on December 8th; One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 (Console, PC and Cloud) on December 9th; Among Us (Console) and Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Console, PC and Cloud) on December 14th; and The Gunk (Console, PC and Cloud) on December 16th. Destiny 2: Beyond Light is leaving on December 8th.
So, which one tickles your pickle? Let us know in the comments below. We’re on the usual social channels too.
