Hi All,
Like many people I was curious to see what the implementation of Warhammer + would mean for the hobby. Now, one month after the service went live I think it’s a fair time to review what is on offer and how Games Workshop’s first foray into streaming.
Overall Experience
To be completely honest the lack of content is one of the first things that jumps out to you. Although you can definitely tell they are trying to cover it up by adding a lot of gaming tutorials and trailers and learn-to-plays. The interface is okay but a little annoying to navigate and the interface is somewhat cluttered (which I suppose is somewhat ironic). The interface is also adequate but it takes a few too many clicks to get to the actual episodes.
Animations:
For me this was one of the things I was most excited for. As of now there are only two options: Hammer and Bolter and Angels of Death.
Hammer and Bolter:
This show is a traditionally animated anthology show. I found the stories interesting although there are times you can tell they cut corners with the animation. The episodes are getting better as they go along ( I thought the mentoring Ork episode was quite amusing). The plots are pretty decent and the animations mostly match the thematic feel of each episode. I am hoping the best episodes are still to come as I would hate to feel they started with their strongest ones. I did appreciate that, for the most part, the show steers clear of mindless bolter-porn.
Angels of Death:
When I signed up for Warhammer + this show was one that I wasn’t particularly interested. However once I started watching it grew on me quickly. The voice acting is good, though some of the character animations are needlessly exaggerated. While it doesn’t always work perfectly, I think the style of animation and the theme are used effectively. The story is engaging and has a number of cliffhangers that keep you hooked. The only complaint I have is that the episodes are released slowly.
The Rest:
As I said before, many of the videos are learn-to-plays for the ancillary games like Bloodbowl and Underworlds. There are some video battle reports, which have very slick overlays and visual effects. However these reports are just missing something as they don’t have a compelling story behind the battles nor are they particularly competitive armies. The painting tutorials are very good and make me wish I cared more about painting lol. I’ve watched some of the lore series but it hasn’t offered much that I didn’t already know.
Final Opinions
All told my reaction to Warhammer+ is: It’s okay. There is a lot of promise in the shows and I am excited to see where they will take the stories. However, there is a gaping lack of content and new material is slow to come out. I really wish they would have delayed the launch until it was more filled out (sadly this seems to be there M.O. with digital products). One of the saving graces of this service is the relatively low price compared to other streaming options, plus it gets you full access to the app (something I have admittedly yet to try out). While the cost might still be a little steep you could always take a Netflix approach if you have family members or good friends who also enjoy Games Workshop’s content.
What are your thoughts? Have their been any episodes or content that you have enjoyed on Warhammer+?
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