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arhammerWarhammer Plus, the new subscription streaming service from Games Workshop, launched on Wednesday. The launch went without a hitch. This is remarkable considering the scale of the project. The content is not overwhelming, and Angels of Death definitely lives up to its hype. However, not all of the new programs are a hit.
Here are our findings from day one.
Warhammer TV
The big draw for Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar fans is Warhammer TV, which will eventually include 11 different animated series. Only two episodes are available on day one: Angels of Death (a dark exploration of the Blood Angels Space Marines) and Hammer and Bolter (a Black Mirror anthology covering the entire Games Workshop catalogue). Only four episodes were available on Day One, including one episode of Angels of Death and three episodes of Hammer and Bolter. They were all watched in under two hours.
Angels of Death stands out as the best series. Richard Boylan, the creator of Guardsmen and Helsreach fan films, is the man leading the project. It’s stunning, in bright reds and deep blacks, with lens flare that lasts for days. This is the most beautiful Space Marine I’ve ever seen on a TV screen. However, the artifacting is distracting, partly because of compression. It’s also unfortunate that the service launched without HDR support.
Hammer is a decent alternative. This animated program features bright, vivid colours and great action sequences. The first three episodes are risky, with the story told entirely through the eyes and perspectives of an entire group of works. These programs are great for those who want to get their feet wet. A $5.99 monthly subscription will get you a few hours of fun.
It remains to be seen how long GW will keep things going. Although they have publicly stated that animations will be arriving almost every Wednesday, it is unclear if Angels of Death will need to wait to complete its story arc. Polygon reached out to GW for clarification.
Two more shows are available for hobbyists at launch. Citadel Masterclass, hosted by Louise Sugden, is extraordinary. This class assumes some prior knowledge, such as how to use a wet palette, mix paints into glazes, and make them. Her 20-minute tutorial on how to paint the Space Marine’s face is something I will be revisiting for many years. The camera angles could have been a little more focused. I would like to see better images of the brush striking the miniature and less torn cuticles.
Battle Report may be the most boring show in the bunch. Two hour-long episodes were launched for Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar. They featured miniatures from the latest collector’s edition boxed sets. The camera work is a bit lacking.
Most of the program is shot directly overhead. It spends most of its time zoomed on the dice being rolled. It is a mystery why there aren’t more shots at table level to show off these exquisitely painted miniatures. Costuming and lighting do the hosts no favours. Toby Longworth, the same voice actor that reads the audiobook versions of the Eisenhorn trilogy and Gaunt’s Ghosts books, does the introductory narration. This is the only positive, according to me.
My experience with Warhammer TV was good from a technical standpoint. The iOS app I used had built-in hooks to cast to my TV. My colleagues with Roku smart televisions were able to get it up and run quickly with the native app. It runs great from my Windows 10 browsers.
Like I said above, the only issues I had were with Angels of Death and that horrible, nasty artefacts and compression. Notable is that you can download most shows from the iOS app (not Angels of Death) but cannot actually play them without an internet connection. It’s a strange choice, and I hope to hear from GW about whether that’s the intended functionality.
Warhammer Vault
Warhammer Vault, another product included in Warhammer Plus, is also available. It is a carefully curated collection of digital print materials. It mainly features fluff, lore books that provide information about the settings and important events within Warhammer 40,000 or the Age of Sigmar.
