Warhammer Plus streaming app works, but has quite a bit of content

Warhammer Plus, Games Workshop’s new subscription streaming service, launched on Wednesday. Overall, things went smoothly, which is quite a gimmick considering the scope of this endeavor. But the amount of content on offer feels light, and although Angels of death it definitely lives up to the hype, not all of its new shows are a huge hit.

This is what we found the first day.

The big draw for fans of Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar is Warhammer tv, which will eventually include 11 different animated series. But, on the first day, there are only two available: Angels of death, a grim exploration of the Blood Angels Space Marines, and Hammer and Bolter, a kind of Black mirror anthology that covers the entire range of the Games Workshop catalog. Between those two series, only four episodes were released on the first day: an episode of Angels of death, and three episodes of Hammer and Bolter. I saw them all in less than two hours.

Angels of death is the featured series here. Helming the project is a team led by Richard Boylan, the creator of beloved fan movies. Helsreach and Guards. Rendered in deep blacks and bright reds, with lens flare for days, it’s the prettiest look I’ve ever seen of a space marine on a television screen. That said, the artifact, partly due to compression, I imagine, is distracting. The fact that the service launched without HDR support doesn’t help either.

Hammer and Bolter, on the other hand, not bad at all. The show is much more traditionally animated, with bright, vibrant colors and great action sequences. Its first three episodes involve risky risks, like telling a story entirely through the eyes of a group of orcs. If you just want to dip your toe in water, check out these programs. The $ 5.99 monthly subscription is a small price to pay for a few hours of action.

However, the question remains how long GW is going to drag things out. They have publicly stated that “new animations are scheduled to arrive almost every Wednesday, “But if we will have to wait a whole year for Angels of death completing your story arc is an open question. Polygon has reached out to GW for clarification.

For fans of the hobby itself, there are two more shows available at launch. Citadel Master Class, hosted by Louise Sugden, it’s extraordinary. It takes a bit of prior knowledge, like how to build and use a wet palette and mix your paints into an enamel. But his 20 minute exploration of how to paint a Space Marine’s face is something I will return to for years to come. I just wish the camera angles were a little tighter; less torn cuticles and more accurate images of the brush hitting the thumbnail please.

Battle report It is, unfortunately, the least entertaining show of the mix. The service launched with two one-hour episodes, one each for Warhammer 40,000 and Sigmar Age, both with miniatures of the most recent collector’s edition boxed sets. But the camera work leaves a lot to be desired.

Most of the program is fired directly from above and spends most of the time zooming in on the dice being rolled. Why there are no more table-level shots on Earth, showing these beautifully painted miniatures, is an absolute mystery. The lighting and costumes aren’t doing the hosts any favors, either. The only advantage, in my opinion, is Toby Longworth – the same voice actor who reads the audiobook versions of the Eisenhorn trilogy and the Gaunt’s Ghosts novels – who handles the introductory narration.

Technically speaking, my experience with Warhammer TV was pretty good. The iOS app I used has built-in hooks for streaming to my TV, and my colleagues with Roku smart TVs got everything up and running with that platform’s native app without a hitch. It works fine in my browsers on Windows 10 too.

The only issues I had, as I mentioned earlier, were with Angels of death And that nasty, nasty artifact and compression. Also of note is the fact that the iOS app has an option to download most programs (not Angels of death, however), but you can’t actually play them without an internet connection of some kind. It’s an odd choice, and I look forward to hearing from GW on whether that’s the desired functionality or not.

Warhammer Vault is another offering included with Warhammer Plus. It is a curated collection of digital print materials. Right now, most of the time it includes history books that inform readers about important scenarios and events in the Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar universes.

There are also 30 issues of Warhammer: Visions, a luxurious now out of print magazine that’s packed with great photos of the White Dwarf team. There are also 10 back issues of White Dwarf, dating back to January 2020. It’s a nice touch as they pack a lot of content for a host of different games. The standout is number 458, which includes an abbreviated Codex for the Tome Keepers chapter of Space Marines, a house faction devised by the magazine’s staff.

Also part of the Warhammer Plus subscription at launch is a handy little army-building app, available for iOS and Android devices. Called Warhammer 40,000 – The app, it has been available for some time as a subscription. It’s a great add-on, especially considering it only cost users $ 4.99 a month when it launched last year.

Overall, Warhammer Plus has value, but not because of what it was released for. It’s a tool for learning more about the hobby, a kind of database for lore, and a source of dripping from really good cartoons. But instead of focusing on the four episodes it launched with, consumers should focus on what’s coming later this year.

GW has promised 11 animated series in total, plus additional content in Warhammer Vault and another documentary-style show called Loremasters. There is also a companion app on the way to Sigmar Age, designed and built to work exactly like Warhammer 40,000: The App. For those who opt for a full year subscription, there is also an exclusive thumbnail that they will receive in the mail. That alone is literally worth the annual price of $ 59.99.

Finally, Games Workshop is running a special introductory promotion. Register before August 31 and you will receive a $ 10 bonus to use online. That brings the total cost for the first year down to $ 49.99.