Daemon Hunters

[Ozie Melzer]

Theplayer commands a squad of Grey Knights in a fight against the forces of Nurgle who are attempting to release a plague on the galaxy called the Bloom. It is a reboot of the 1998 game Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate and was released 5 May 2022. The game was developed by Canadian studio Complex Games and was published by Frontier Foundry.[2]

The Grey Knights are a secret order of the Imperium of Man. They are a chapter of Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) composed of psychics created by the Emperor of Mankind and Malcador the Sigilite for the purpose of combating the daemonic forces of chaos.

In the game's prologue, Captain Agravain of the Grey Knight Strike Force, Xiphos, battles on the fallen planet of Gaheris against a Khornate warhost, led by the Bloodthirster, Ere'khul. Agravain manages to banish Ere'khul, but he and most of his squad die in the process. Ectar, a Grey Knight Purifier aboard the strike cruiser, the Baleful Edict as part of punishment detail for reckless actions in a previous mission appoints one of the survivors of the campaign as the strike force's new commander. Ectar and the Adeptus Mechanicus Dominus, Lunete, travel to their home base of Titan (one of Saturn's moons) for debriefing and repairs when they are intercepted by Inquisitor Kartha Vakir of the Ordo Malleus. Coming aboard their ship, the inquisitor requests their service to aid in her investigation of a sector-wide plague known as "The Bloom".

Their investigations lead them to an Aeldari Craftworld that has long been lost to the corrupting influence of Nurgle, the Chaos God of Disease and Decay. Vakir accompanies the squad of Grey Knights to the Craftworld's infinity circuit chamber, and a dormant Avatar of Khaine explains to her that The Bloom is being spread by five Champions of Nurgle known as the "Reapers". The Reapers intend to spread the Bloom until the entire sector is infected, and thus allowing a being known as the "Morbus" to be summoned. As Vakir tries to obtain a sample of a bloom seed, she and the squad are attacked by Death Guard traitor astartes, led by a Daemon-Prince of Nurgle called Kadex Ilkarion (said Daemon-Prince had once been encountered by Vakir and was successfully banished many years ago).

During the battle, the Supreme Grandmaster of the Grey Knights, Kaldor Draigo, appears and manages to fend off the Death Guard whilst Vakir and the squad escape to their ship. Vakir proposes to hunt down the five reapers and trap their essences in a book known as the Codex Toxicus and save the sector. After dealing with three of the five reapers, Kadex Ilkarion attacks their ship and manages to destroy the Codex Toxicus before being captured. Vakir scries Kadex's mind for a way to locate the remaining Reapers and stop the bloom, but discovers to her horror that defeating the Reapers is not enough. The Bloom's roots are connected to the Garden of Nurgle, located within the Realm of Chaos itself. Kadex gloats that the bloom cannot be stopped, but when he mentions Kaldor Draigo, Vakir believes that Draigo and his sword, forged by the Emperor himself, can destroy the roots and finally put an end to the Bloom.

Kaldor Draigo has been cursed to wander the Realm of Chaos for centuries, and can only return to real-space for a short period of time before returning to the Warp. The Baleful Edict travels to a planet with a high level of warp energies, and Vakir manages to summon Draigo to inform him of their plans. As Draigo heads to the Garden of Nurgle, Vakir once again enters Kadex's mind and discovers that Kadex had tricked them into luring Draigo into a trap. Kadex's master, the Daemon-Primarch of the Death Guard, Mortarion, intends to ambush Draigo and take his vengeance upon him for the events that happened on the planet of Kornovin (where Draigo had carved the name of his slain master on Mortarion's heart before banishing him back to the Warp). It is revealed Mortarion is the Morbus, and he intends to use the sector as a base to launch an assault on the Grey Knights.

Enraged by this deception, Ectar almost slays Vakir before he is stopped by Lunete. Vakir claims that they can still save Draigo from Mortarion's trap by going to the Garden of Nurgle itself. Vakir proposes to infuse Kadex with a psychic beacon before slaying the Daemon-Prince, and following his returning spirit to the Garden. Before Vakir finishes her spell, she reveals that she has sacrificed her soul to Kadex so that she can act as the beacon. Once the spell is finished, Kadex's soul returns to his master, with the Grey Knights following suit.

The Grey Knights follow Kadex's soul to the Garden and manage to reinforce Draigo. As the Grey Knights battle Mortarion and his minions, Draigo cuts all five of the Bloom's roots. Once the final root has been severed, Mortarion flees. The Baleful Edict returns to real-space whilst the Grey Knights who fought Mortarion remain in the warp to accompany their Supreme Grandmaster. Ectar and Lunete return to Titan, where Ectar, impressed by Vakir's loyalty and bravery, recommends she has a memorial made for her.

The Ordo Malleus of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition battles against 'The Threat Beyond', in other words, the daemons of Chaos. There could be considered two branches of this organization, one with the mortal Inquisitors and their retinues, and the proper Ordo Militant, the Grey Knights. The Inquisitors are heavily policed within their own ranks to look for any signs of corruption as mortals are especially vulnerable to the whispers of the Warp. The Grey Knights are specially trained and equipped Astartes for the purpose of hunting daemons.

Following the path of the Inquisition will has a focus on the mortal followers of the Emperor. You will get access to Stormtroopers and other human troops and some unique vehicles. In Tier 2 you have the option to also acquire aid from the Grey Knights. However, there is a sub path that will have them reject you, if you take the temptation.

If you decide to follow a more radical path, you can force the powers of Chaos itself against it, giving you access to additional special units, including the possessed Daemonhost. To create a Daemonhost, first recruit an Oblationist Acolyte, then have your Inquisitor Lord perform the ritual. This will grant you a Lesser or Greater Daemonhost, a powerful unit under your control. Owning a Daemonhost of any kind will cause any existing Grey Knights in your army to abandon you, and be unable to be trained. Though not Radicals themselves, Inquisitor Adrastia and Inquisitor Astor Sabbathiel will be available to recruit once you've created a Daemonhost so they can ensure your Inquisitors do not stray into the path of Chaos. Only one of these Inquisitors can be recruited at a time. Be warned, there is a chance, however small, that your Daemonhost will be Rogue, and will fight against you. (The rogue daemonhost is no longer deletable and cannot be slain)

The Marines of the 666th Chapter Astartes are specialized and equipped specifically with the hunting of daemons and their followers. Their advanced armor, weapons and training make them very powerful, at the price of being more expensive than standard Space Marines.

I've never been one for playing aggressively in turn-based tactics games. I will hug and skulk between half and full height walls like nobody's business, creeping up the map inch by inch lest one of my precious party members accidentally sets off an entire warren of alien nasties by blundering too far ahead or, heaven forbid, one of them gets nicked by a stray bit of shrapnel. To say I'm overprotective is an understatement.

Thankfully, the Grey Knights in Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters are made of sterner stuff. I mean, just look at these brutes. They're enormous. Even the Gears Of War lads would be jealous of the kind of muscle these big robo boys are packing, I'm telling you now. They're by no means invincible, of course, but they can hold their own out of cover, and pick themselves back up again when your best laid plans inevitably start going down the drain. It may not be my most natural style of tactical manoeuvring, but man alive is it liberating.

It's a good thing, too, as the foes in this corner of the Warhammer 40Kverse are anything but a walk in the park. After encountering a strange plague unleashed by everyone's favourite chaos god Nurgle, you and your fellow knights (aboard the wonderfully ornate Baleful Edict) must patrol the depths of space and purge the plague from existence. You'll do this by fighting Nurgle's diseased agents of chaos down on the ground in isometric turn-based battles, and by researching the seeds of this demonic plague back on your ship as you attempt to track this deadly 'Bloom' to its source and be rid of it once and for all.

Now, I'm no Warhammerer, so much of its lore and character references have gone right over my head. Still, regardless of where you stand with either Warhammer or the dark, futuristic warfare of 40K, Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is a compelling tactics game in its own right - and those early preview takeaways of "XCOM in space" do hit pretty close to the mark now that we've been let loose with final game. But Complex Games haven't just put Firaxis' colossal strategy epic up on a fancy gothic pedestal here. Instead, they've added their own thrilling adornments to it, encouraging players to not only attack enemies head on with their tough as nails Knights, but also to get up close and personal with their misshapen quarry, thanks to its combat system that puts just as much weight on devastating melee attacks as it does on ranged potshots from afar.

Indeed, Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters leans hard on that first word of its subtitle. With missions spread out all across your doomed star system, you simply cannot be everywhere at once. As time moves on, planets will inevitably start slipping through the cracks, and you'll need to choose where best to deploy your efforts. Completing a mission will halt the Bloom on that planet for a time, but the more you let somewhere fester, the harder those missions inevitably become.

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