Battlefleet Gothic: Armada gets a "narrative trailer" and preorder bonuses

YouTube

The Battlefleet Gothic: Armada narrative trailer is, as the name suggests, all about the story. In short, it goes like this: A huge Chaos fleet is massing, and you are the one tasked with doing something about it, even though your bosses don't seem to have a whole lot of confidence in your ability to get the job done. “Are you sure of this man?” the Supreme Grand Admiral asks his most trusted adviser. And the answer comes back, “Well, you know, not really. I guess we'll see how it works out.”

It all looks very gothic, in the pre-Renaissance sense, and so I like it (I dig archways and towering spires) even though there's nothing to see in the way of gameplay. Focus Home Interactive said cinematics like these, “astutely mixing game sequences with artwork created by talented artists,” will depict the progress of the game through good times and bad, which you will have to deal with as simultaneous events (and let's be honest, they're all bad) demand your attention and your effort.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada preorders went live today on Steam, at ten percent off the regular $40/£30 price. The preorder bonus is interesting: “Early adopters” will get the Space Marines faction, playable in multiplayer modes and Skirmish mode against the AI, which will be available a few weeks after the game comes out. What makes it unusual is that the “Early Adopters Edition” will continue to be offered for two months after the game launches. In other words, you can wait for it to come out, see how it fares in reviews, and if you like what you see, still take advantage of the extra faction.

Preordering will also net access to the multiplayer beta which will take place a few weeks ahead of launch, so obviously you'll miss out on that if you wait. Even so, it seems to me like a pretty solid deal. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is set to come out later this year.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.