Mechanicus 2 is a decent strategy game, but the original was a vibe, as the kids say—if the kids spent a lot of time playing turn-based tactics games where cybernetic zealots fought robot mummies. PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware. What is it?: A follow-up to an excellent 40K strategy game.Expect to pay: $36/£31.50Developer: Bulwark StudiosPublisher: Kasedo GamesReviewed on: Windows 11, Intel Core i9, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 4060Multiplayer?: NoSteam Deck: UnsupportedOut: NowLink: Official site Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus was an evocative turn-based tactics game, accentuating the spookiness of 40K and the hypocrisy of its heroes through both writing and mechanics. You sent your tech-priests into tombs to recover lost knowledge and high-powered weaponry, with lesser cyborgs in front to soak up attacks from the necrons who lived in those tombs. There was no cover system. The necrons attacked whoever was closest, so you'd shove a skirmish screen of robotic zombies and work-experience kids out front, your overpowered tech-priests with force axes and plasma guns waiting safely behind. As well as doing away with cover mechanics, Mechanicus introduced a cognition system where you'd earn points by learning things—studying monoliths, examining enemies, letting your servitors take hits to better understand the enemy's guns—then spend those points to activate more powerful abilities. If you got the balance right you could steamroll missions, powering up gloriously busted combos. But it only let you play as the tech-priests. Mechanicus 2 has two campaigns, and after the prologue introduces the two factions, it lets you play as either the Adeptus Mechanicus or the necrons. Getting to see things from the necron side stops them from being faceless robots—you get to know these dynastic intrigue-loving immortals at th