Horus Heresy (Fantasy Flight Games) - Initial Impressions
When Horus Heresy was announced I was filled with excitement since Fantasy Flight Games was giving their treatment to the epic battle in the 40k cannon that set the tone for the grim and dark future that is Warhammer 40,000. As photos started to pop up showing the components and the production quality I frothed even more at the mouth. There was no question that HH was a game that I had to play. The day finally came where Deacon’s copy arrived in the mail and soon after the date was set where we ourselves were going to determine the path of mankind in this landmark battle. But then we started playing…
The first thing I noticed after we started to play was that this game was more FFG than GW. Charm and character are words that I use to describe the boardgames of Games Workshop. Fairly straight forward rules with simple, intuitive and quick gameplay were traits to many of their titles. Outside of the 40k theme, FFG removed these intangibles and instead went in the FFG direction which is intricate and interwoven mechanics and procedures. Which in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, but for me I quickly sensed that my personal peak in terms of interest and enjoyment had already passed during the discovery phase of the game. Now that I had it in front of me and was playing I realized that what I wanted from the game was a GW game updated to modern game design standards through FFG’s resources. What I realized was that HH was a FFG design with a 40k theme and for me that was not what I wanted - It just felt like more of same. The “innovation” that was touted in the promotional material felt very similar to mechanics in their other games like Red November and StarCraft: The Boardgame although some twists had been added.
For me this game was a flop - mentally there was a point where in my head a sound echoed that could only be described as a large-mouth bass slipping off of your hook and hitting the wooden dock creating a thud that was hollow with a hint of a smacking sound from the fish’s slime coat. That sound was my hope and optimism for this game dropping as I realized that the game is not what I was hoping or wanted it to be. With opaque gameplay and layers that I felt were more bloated than Nurgle’s gut, my interest and enthusiasm waned.
Horus Heresy is a fine game and I was expecting it to quickly become one of my favorites and perhaps that is partially to blame for the downfall in my personal opinion. The rules and mechanics work and there are tons of options for players to pursue during the course of the Assault on Terra. And from what I can tell everything functions well and for all practical purposes work. For me though the bloat from things like the strategic map and the piles of piles of cards were just too much. Had the older GW design characteristics like dice and charts and a general lightheartedness been captured it would have fallen more inline with my expectations but as it stands, outside of the 40k theme, there is nothing in the game that really kept my attention or interest. Perhaps with a dozen or more plays this opaque feeling I get from the game would thin out or the cumbersome nature would disappear but even if I committed that much time and effort into this game I just do not think that it would inject any fun into the game which I feel is sorely lacking.
At this point I will admit that I have only played one full game and one partial game so you can take what I said with however many grains of salt you want, but truth be told I just don’t know if I’ll ever summon up the enthusiasm to play the game again. After my first partial play I felt that the only thing pulling me back was the 40k theme and after the full game even that was gone especially when I noticed my mind wandering less than a third of the way through the game to the game we were playing after HH. What I will say about the game is try before you buy as it will likely not meet your expectations if you enjoy the intangible traits that GW games used to have like I do. I wish I had it in me to play the game some more and offer up a full review, but I just don’t.
‘Til Next Time - Happy Gaming
LvT
