Every time we see anything from Frontier Foundry and Complex Games' upcoming turn-based tactical RPG, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters, we get a bit giddy with excitement. The game not only looks fun, expansive and deep, but it looks dark. And yeah, sure, most Warhammer outings are pretty dark, but there's just something about Chaos Gate that's grabbing our morbid attention, and today's new developer diary only helps to strengthen that interest.

Including a little tease at the end, this video is all about the Bloom and what it means for players. Of specific interest might be that different locations will be affected by the Bloom in unique ways, meaning each confrontation in and around the plague-like spread will be tactically different.

Players are once again greeted by Complex Games’ Creative Director Noah Decter-Jackson and Lead Designer Peter Schnabl. They are joined by Senior Programmer David Reimer to introduce the campaign’s main antagonists and how players will battle against the Bloom itself across individual missions and the entire sector.

In the second of a three-part video series, “Episode 2 – Seeding the Bloom” takes an in-depth look at the Bloom and how it mutates the forces of Nurgle, challenging players to evolve their strategies throughout the game. When a planet is infected, unpredictable warp surges can occur during missions, summoning enemy reinforcements or strengthening their abilities. Not only do enemies evolve throughout the campaign, but so does the Bloom itself, with a variety of ‘strains’ which further increase the danger of combat missions the longer the plague is left to corrupt a planet.

Iconic Black Library author Aaron Dembski-Bowden also joins the developers to provide additional insight into Nurgle, his minions and the fearsome Death Guard. The developer diary concludes with the introduction of a familiar face as the driving force behind the Bloom, the Prince of Decay and Primarch of the Death Guard, Mortarion. As well as the Pale King, the Complex Games team preview the unique challenges posed by each of the game’s boss encounters; towering Greater Daemons and cunning Daemon Princes which must be overcome in their own domain, between Realspace and the Warp.

This is hardcore stuff, which is just the way we like it. Watch the new dev diary embedded below.

Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is slated to release on PC in 2022.