Review: Hammer and Bolter Episodes 1-3

It looks like we got ourselves a new contender in the streaming wars. This time, it’s Warhammer+, which continues the never-ending trend of adding plus signs to every famous brand. What’s next, Sony+? This new streaming service is the home to everything related to the popular fantasy franchise consisting of table-top games and video games. One of the latest shows exclusive to Warhammer+ that I’ll be looking at is an animated anthology series that explores the history of Warhammer like never before.

Hammer and Bolter released its first three episodes that depict the events set in the same universe as the franchise. Its first episode, “Death’s Hand”, sees Inquisitor Kiamoro attempting to prevent his impending death while encountering an alien-like assassin named Aeldari. It reflects that no matter how much we try to avoid it, death is inevitable. The second episode, “Bound for Greatness”, takes place in a library on the Imperial world of Antioth, where an adept named Neath makes a startling discovery during his duty. Finally, the third story, “Old Bale Eye”, involves a Runtherd called Dursnang reciting a tale of a rivalry between the great Warlord Ghazghkull and Imperial hero Commissar Yarrick, aka “Old Bale Eye”.

Each episode represented a plot relating to a quote that’s shown in the beginning. The quotes relate to death, knowledge, and even success. These episodes had a way of capturing the lore and spirit of the franchise’s characters and history. However, they might not do much to lure in newcomers who are unfamiliar with the brand. I wasn’t a huge follower of the fantasy franchise, so it was a challenge for me to grow more attached to the characters and worlds that were shown. Nevertheless, it was a good enough start for the Warhammer animated series.

Out of the first three episodes, I would have to say that I enjoyed “Bound for Greatness” the most. It remarkably resembled a psychological horror film, complete with some disturbing imagery and atmospheric frights. My second favorite episode so far was “Old Bale Eye”. Not only did it stray away from the grim formula that’s represented in the first two episodes, but it also provided plenty of style in its violent action scenes. Plus, it had a suitable balance between light-heartedness and adult-rated violence, with the comic reliefs being the two orc bullies. The “Death’s Hand” episode was pretty weak regarding its storytelling, characters, and themes.

Farside Features provided the show’s animation, and it somehow represented the style of many anime-influenced animated shows that came before it. While the animation worked wonders in its character designs and stylistic action scenes, it wasn’t something that will change the industry. At times, it looked like something that you would find on Youtube in terms of its cheapness and choppy frame rate. To have a cheaply-made animated show be released on a platform that costs six dollars a month was very hard for me to ignore.

Overall, the first three episodes of Hammer and Bolter offered enough style, storytelling, and violence to impress plenty of Warhammer fans. They didn’t do much to influence the newcomers to jump into this world regarding its cheap animation and characters. Still, the episodes worked as a decent start for the show itself and the future of Warhammer+.