The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth is the latest game from indie developers and publishers Steel Wool Studio. Based on the board game Betrayal at Calth, the game details the events of the Ultramarines being betrayed by the World Bearers on Calth, which then caused a schism in the Imperium. In this game, you will take control of Magos Sarc and a squad of Ultramarines in an attempt to recover from the attack on Calth.
The game is soon to be released in early access and it shows. It has user interface is a mix of standard 2D overlay and semi-transparent 3D overlays that comes across as dated. Hopefully it is changed in the final release, but right now it is not the best. There is also very little information about units and abilities It is clear that the game is still early in development, and given that the early access release was delayed, it makes me suspect that the developers realized it is not ready yet. There are no tooltips or information screens like you would expect, and a lot of the game is trial and error.
Another issue is the animations of the game. They are somewhat lackluster and have no variations. Attacking feels lifeless and underwhelming, and just shows how unfinished everything is. Again, I realize how this is soon to be an early access title, but a game like this just feels too soon for early access, and I am glad the developers delayed the planned release. Calth just feels empty at this point, when it should be a fully realized part of the Imperium. It doesn’t feel like there was just a major attack, and in truth, it doesn’t give any real impression which is not good for a WH40K game. This isn’t even mentioning the camera issues and graphical glitches of which there are many.
The worst part is that the game doesn’t feel optimized at all yet. I have a decent computer rig and yet the game caused several issues with overheating and more than one CTD. This interfered with the gameplay available and made it difficult to continue. Speaking of the gameplay, the outdated methods of control are an issue, but so is the fact that the game is just not fully reliable yet. Doing the actions required is more of a chore than it needs to be, which made me want to stop playing.
I know I sound harsh, but I do want to praise the developers for realizing the game had issues and delaying the early access launch. Hopefully this can be fixed and the game can truly flourish because there are seeds of a good game here. It just is unpolished right now, but can be good.. I will post more impressions as updates come, leading to a full review.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.