The next Total War: Warhammer expansion calls up the Beastmen

They're beasts! They're men! They're Beastmen! And they're coming to Total War: Warhammer in the Call of the Beastman DLC that's set for release later this month.   

The Warhammer Wiki paints a disturbing portrait of the Beastmen. “From deep within the twisted forested woodlands of the Old World and beyond, the Beastmen are a violent, war-driven race that seeks only to plague and destroy the civilizations of Mankind. They prey on the weak and defenseless, striking at lonely settlements without warning in a rampage of destruction before disappearing into the protective darkness of their dark wilderness, running away from the dire retribution that fails to follow,” it says. “To underestimate the Beastmen is a fatal mistake. The Cloven Ones are creatures of violence and conflict, and they are far more cunning than the Empire believes. Worse still, the more noble and haughty the foe, the more the Beastmen are driven to prove their own supremacy by casting him down from his lofty pedestal and trampling his body beneath blood-encrusted, filthy hooves.” 

Steam describes Call of the Beastmen more precisely as offering “a uniquely aggressive horde-style campaign game, carrying their infrastructure as they travel and never settling in the conventional fashion.” Their passive Resistance ability makes them immune to attrition caused by infighting when two or more Hordes are in close proximity, while Chaos Corruption brings attrition and destabilization to enemy forces. But Beastmen armies must maintain the Bestial Rage that drives them forward, lest they fall prey to infighting that could lead to losses and even mutiny. 

Call of the Beastmen will add the Beastmen race to the Grand Campaign, along with a new story campaign called “An Eye For An Eye,” which Creative Assembly says will add roughly ten hours of new gameplay. It will also feature two new playable Legendary Lords, and “hordes of new unique units, monsters, heroes, magic and game features.” It's set to come out on July 28, and is currently available for preorder on Steam for ten percent off the regular $19 price.

Andy Chalk

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.