The heroes of Warhammer Quest: Darkwater are either unhinged, or they have nerves of steel. If I'm completely honest, I'd take one look at the pulsating mass of "nope" its setting has become and run for the hills. I'm sure the Jade Abbey was very nice back in the day, and I know it's filled with treasures untold. But - and I cannot stress this enough - fuck that. There are gribbly boils poking out of the ground, and monsters to turn your stomach. Evil abounds at every turn. In other words? Hot damn. It's gonna be one hell of an adventure.
Warhammer Quest: Darkwater is Games Workshop's latest foray into the best board games, and it challenges you to cleanse an overrun dungeon in a series of one-off missions or a longer campaign. After being sent a copy early, I have to say: I'm impressed. This is leaner but punchier than its predecessors, letting you dive headlong into the good stuff with less of the faff.
The latest Warhammer Quest board game is now up for pre-order, but the question is, where on earth will it still be in stock by the time you read this? If the previous instalment is any indication, it'll sell out fast. I'd recommend making a beeline for indie retailers Miniature Market in the US (it should be live soon if it isn't already) and Wayland Games in the UK as a result, because they're both very reliable in my experience. You can also get it from Warhammer direct, of course, but I suspect stock there is gonna evaporate faster than you can say "critical hit." Games Workshop has promised that more copies of Darkwater will be made available down the line, so we shouldn't have a repeat of the Cursed City shortage on our hands. But in the here and now, all you can do is move fast.
It's immediately obvious when you crack open the box that this is a streamlined take on the system previously seen in the last Quest game, Cursed City; it feels as though there's less 'stuff' to wade through, which took me by surprise at first. You don't need to worry about a lack of depth, though. While a few rough edges have been sanded away, my tester session suggests that's to Darkwater's benefit. My colleague, GamesRadar+'s very own Will Salmon (who has many Warhammer Quest campaigns under his belt) has been taking a look at the game for our sister publication SFX, and he has the same feedback. This is a tighter, arguably better experience all-round.
Although it's not as ingenious as the Gloomhaven system, Darkwater does remind me of it too. You have three primary action cards per character (move, aid, and attack), but you'll need 'energy' to use them. The only way to get energy is by expending one of those cards, meaning you've got to plan out your moves very carefully.
You can still be screwed over by dice, of course, and I'm not keen on movement being dictated by dice for most heroes (as demonstrated by my poor sorceress who kept rolling 1s or 2s on her movement d6), but it's a solid system that's easy to get your head around. I was off to the races after the merest glance at the quickstart menu, for example.
I'm still digging into the missions and campaign system, but so far? Signs are good. The same is true of the much-anticipated 'board book,' which goes a long way to removing the mountain of components older Quest games used. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a massive A3 tome with thick, glossy pages that serve as your battlefield - the idea being that you don't need to find space for countless tiles. While time will tell how hardy it is, having every map securely tucked away inside really does help in terms of storage. It's a great idea.
I'm similarly positive about the game's stars - the models. Any time that hasn't been spent battling the forces of Chaos is dedicated to constructing and painting these blighters, and seriously, the sculpts are gorgeous. Well, disgusting. Gorgeously disgusting? I'd say so. Anyway. Games Workshop has a real knack for making gross Nurgle miniatures as is, but they've outdone themselves here. Darkwater's predecessor, Cursed City, offers some of the best undead kit the company has ever put out (in my opinion, at least), and these pestilent beauties do the same thing for Chaos. There's a truly unsettling vibe to them. They're nightmare fuel, and I love that. They feel like a legitimate threat.
They're incredibly distinct too. We're contending with more of the hulking, classic plague warriors, yes, but they're outnumbered by entirely new units. These don't just feel like Nurgle by rote; they match the waterlogged aesthetic of the game brilliantly, be it the sodden Mire Kelpies or the Pox-Wretches that look unsettlingly like drowned corpses. It gives the game a very strong visual identity, one only enhanced by the endearingly retro heroes who seem to have leapt straight from the pages of an '80s choose-your-own book.
With this year's Black Friday Warhammer deals and various discounts eating up a lot of my attention this month, I've not had a chance to provide a full review of Darkwater yet - that'll come later. Nonetheless, I'm very eager to play more... and I think that's probably the best sign you can get from a new board game.
For more tabletop recommendations, why not check out the best card games or the best tabletop RPGs?
