Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2's massive space battles look amazing

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2’s space battles look absolutely ridiculous. This time, it’s living up to the name, letting you field a proper armada of cosmic cathedrals and grotesque alien hives, not just a few ships. The fights shown off in the latest video, then, are big, messy and teeming with ships. And explosions by the boatload.

All 12 of the tabletop factions are duking it out this time, each with their own quirks. Their ships, movement, even how they sneak up on their foes differ depending on who you’re playing.

“Be it unique ways of moving through space or weird, alien weaponry and ships, each faction feels distinct from its peers,” reads the post accompanying the video. “Even those that share similarities such as the Aeldari Corsairs and Asuryani Craftworlds or the Tau Protectorate Fleet and Merchant Fleet have differences in what they can field. This makes your faction selection, and choice of ships, armaments, admiral skills, and fleet upgrades totally customisable and massively impactful.”

It looks like a lot to manage, so I’m wondering how Tindalos Interactive has tweaked things like the pace, balance and UI to make up for the big jump in scale. It looks faster, but that might just be for the purposes of the video. I really enjoyed the first one, despite being once again disappointed that the Space Marines got top billing and their own campaign, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the admiral’s seat. Or throne of bones.

A beta is coming next month, and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is due out on January 24.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.