It's not bad, is it?
I mean, it's not going to set anyone's world on fire. It's a basic game of dice-rolling, plastic-moving action. But, and this is the key bit, it's accessible. Teaching someone this game is much simpler than under previous editions. You can even make a casual army in seconds by pulling a bunch of squads out and adding up some single or double-digit numbers for a vague indication of how good the army is. All you need to say is 'this is how units work, these are the phases, go.' And that goes a long way.
Since the last time I actually used this blog, I have now acquired all five of the initial Indices for 8th Edition. I intend to keep these and use them as a self-contained ruleset that should hopefully all be balanced against each other, plus any datasheets from later units (like the Myphitic Blight-Hauler I just picked up for the Death Guard force).
Given the increasing level of detail and customisability of the model kits, Warhammer is essentially just an excuse to be able to use your Citadel Miniatures in a game, and this honestly seems like the best way to judge it. On this basis, I'd say it succeeds.
...That was short, wasn't it? I mean, it was longer than the first sentence implied it was going to be, but I really can't write reams of text about it. It doesn't need that. It's achieved what it needed to. And now I guess I'll keep playing it. I won't need to stress about keeping up-to-date. Everything I have is valid and usable.
That suits me just fine.