Sega’s The Creative Assembly revealed the Skaven rat faction as the fourth playable race in Total War: Warhammer II. And it’s a logical question as to whether this faction is going to be overwhelming.
I went to a preview event for the game, which debuts on Steam on the PC on September 28. I played the beginning of the campaign for the Skaven, and I captured a number of videos of the gameplay. And I spoke with Al Bickham, communications manager at The Creative Assembly, who noted that the Skaven can spread in a stealthy way. That’s because they can build their underground cities in the ruins of other cities. Other players won’t know what is happening until they actually move onto that ruin. To them, it looks like any other abandoned city. But when they move into it, they may find a huge fortress and an army of rats awaiting them.
In battle, you can think of the Skaven as orcs. They multiply and their numbers are overwhelming. They attack in waves and don’t worry about losses. I watched the opening cinematic for the Skaven campaign, played a tutorial battle, and then launched a campaign against the High Elves. And at the end, I fought a battle between the Dark Elves and the High Elves.
Here’s our videos of gameplay.
This is the opening cinematic for the Skaven campaign.
This is a battle for the Rod of Corruption. The Skaven use the Doom Wheel to roll over the High Elves.
And here’s the Destroyer battle between the Dark Elves and the High Elves. They had me surrounded and I didn’t realize it.