Warhammer Chaosbane is currently on sale for $2.99 (£2.49) from Steam and $2.39 (£1.99) from Fanatical, with the upgraded Slayer edition available for $3.19 (£2.79) on Fanatical. Chaosbane is an action RPG that we would describe as “like Diablo”, “similar to Diablo”, and “extremely reminiscent of Diablo”.
Wargamer’s chums at PCGamesN called Chaosbane “a fun but familiar homage to Diablo 3” in the site’s Warhammer Chaosbane review, and it has a spot on our list of the best Warhammer fantasy games on PC or console.
If you’ve played Diablo you know what to expect here – you’re equally at risk from slavering monsters and carpal tunnel syndrome as you click on baddies until they explode into a shower of gore and loot. It’s just a fun way to spend some time in the Warhammer Old World, solo or with friends.
YouTuber Thyworm’s retrospective review, above, gives a more up-to-date analysis of it, after years of updates. The core good-guy Warhammer factions are represented among the character options, with a Wood Elf Archer, High Elf Mage, Human Imperial Soldier, and Dwarf Trollslayer.
While we can’t say that the Dwarf Trollslayer is the most powerful character, they might be the most fun. Trollslayers are dwarves who’ve committed some terrible sin and have sworn an oath to seek an honorable death in battle – as a result, they don’t wear armor. Does that mean they get fewer loot drops than the other characters? Nope – they get beards instead. Honestly, is there anything better than killing a boss and having it drop a legendary beard?
The base game pits you against the cultist, mutant, and daemonic forces of the Warhammer Chaos gods. The Slayer edition bundles in the Tomb Kings expansion, which adds dusty bone-boys, mummies, and giant scorpions to the mix. Slayer edition also comes with the Witch Hunter class, who we have a lot of affection for (admittedly, that’s from fond memories playing as Saltzpyre in Vermintide 2).
The price is hard to beat here: the game costs about half as much as White Dwarf magazine. If you’ve got a bit more cash to burn, or a subscription to Microsoft Game Pass, we recommend Warhammer 40k: Darktide; patch 13 has polished it up into a truly excellent cooperative looter-shooter. Check our patch 13 playtest article to learn more.