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The setting of Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most compelling fictional universes out there.
It’s grim, there are no good guys and there are these guys called Space Marines who carry machine guns that fire missiles and people idolize them like gods. It’s not the happiest place. Demons, orcs, and aliens of all kinds abound, and in many ways humanity is among the worst of all warring factions. From the tabletop to the screen, it’s often a somber affair.
But it’s fun to play games, because the world Games Workshop has created lends itself to both tabletop and video gaming, from wars on unimaginable scale to all-out skirmishes. There’s an absolutely massive selection of games out there from countless nooks and crannies of the 40K universe, and if 2022 is any proof of that, their spread shows no signs of slowing down. Here are some of the best of the series released so far.
9. Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition
Space Hulk: Deathwing is a first-person survival shooter released in 2016. You and an AI (or a live player) pilot a squad of Dark Angels chapter Terminator Marines as they launch not-so-abandoned Space Hulks (huge derelict starships often twisted by The Warp, a realm of unreality). looking for artifacts. This may interest you : The most powerful versions of Zeus in video games, ranked. From vast rooms to labyrinthine corridors, you’ll wield bolt and blade through hordes of Tyranid Genestealers who have taken refuge in the Space Hulk for you and your team to explore. It’s by no means a perfect Warhammer 40,000 game, but it’s a first-person shooter with wrist-mounted weapons and chainswords, so it’s still a blast (often literally) a good time.
Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC.
8. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr
Do you like Warhammer 40,000? do you like diablo If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr (it doesn’t get points in the naming department) is the game for you. To see also : Stray Review – A Pawfectly Meowtiful Adventure (PS5, PS4, PS Plus).
This 2018 game puts you in the role of an Imperial Inquisitor (a sort of armed galactic superpriest) as you battle across the universe in familiar action RPG fashion. It’s a Diablo-like game through and through, with loot and deep character building. Admittedly, it’s a bit chaotic – glitches, bad microtransactions, an unforgettable story and a boring endgame keep Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr from being anything special. But it’s an exciting time nonetheless, and it throws in a wrinkle that helps it stand out from other ARPGs: its cover system. With a focus on ranged combat, particularly with certain classes, the cover system helps provide a more tactical ranged combat experience. It works better than you might think, and will make for some seriously memorable ARPG encounters.
Warhammer 40,000: Inquistor – Martyr is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
7. Warhammer 40,000: Regicide
Warhammer 40,000: Regicide by Hammerfall Publishing, released in 2015, is just pure heavy metal chess. What if the king piece had a boltgun? What if a tower had a chainsword? Regicide answers both of those questions in gory, often hilarious ways. It’s a shockingly simple game that uses the eight-by-eight chessboard as a vehicle to engage the player in some small-scale tactical skirmishes. To see also : NBC SPORTS KICKS OFF 2022 NFL SEASON AT HALL OF FAME GAME WITH FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA ON PLACE IN CANTON FOR THE FIRST TIME. It’s a bit like Kill Team with no real cover or story. It’s a deceptively simple game with a low skill entry but high skill cap (PvP, when this game was at its peak, often ended with me losing miserably to various The Queen’s Gambit but Regicide players) . Available for both PC and iPhone/Android, Regicide works incredibly well as a game on the go as you can pause it after each round. Want a little bite-sized Warhammer 40,000 in your life? Then try Regicide.
Warhammer 40,000: Regicide is available for Android, iOS and Windows PC.
6. Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
Oddly enough, what initially drew me to the Warhammer 40,000 universe wasn’t the tabletop game or the miniatures. It was the novels.
I really do adore a lot of the Warhammer 40,000 and Horus Heresy books (I could talk about this stuff for hours), so my interest was piqued when Tin Man Games’ Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion was released in 2015. It’s a choice-based piece of interactive fiction that manages to tell an interesting story, treat the ramifications of certain choices unforgivingly, and be visually compelling. You see the text and gameplay (minor combat encounters) through a simple, green-tinted screen meant to resemble a universal pict screen. Herald of Oblivions is a decidedly simple game that in many ways is almost too tiring. You control the decisions and outcomes for a Space Marine in the dark future where there is only war, so don’t screw it up.
Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion was released on Windows PC but is currently unlisted.
5. Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate
Do you remember the 1990s? Surge, Sam Goody and the third edition of Warhammer 40,000. This was the world where Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate was released in 1998. And thankfully it’s still available through GOG, and there’s even a newly released quasi-sequel/sort of remake of the game.
It’s a classic turn-based strategy game with some light RPG elements, in which you play as the time-honoured Ultramarines of Ultramar (they’re not the most creative bunch) as they wage war against a demonic Chaos Lord. With multiple scenarios, a custom mission generator, a timeless art style, and the ability to let players command space marines and vehicles alike, bringing the classic tabletop wargame to violent life, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate is classic for reason. And luckily it still holds up. While it might be a bit odd around the edges, this game is just as fun today as it was when it started. I also really can’t say enough about the art style and how much it really evokes that grandiose and hyper-Gothic Warhammer 40,000 feel. There’s even a Pre-Horus Heresy artifact to search for!
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate is available on Windows PC via GOG.
4. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
Tindalos Interactive’s Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is one of the best video game adaptations of a Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Battlefleet Gothic, the tabletop game, focuses on large-scale ship battles in space that are in many ways similar to those in a naval battle game. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 borrows from that in every way.
It’s a slow game that often requires thinking three steps ahead. The real-time strategy of ship-to-ship combat, positioning, and overall warfare is endlessly rewarding even if you lose. It never feels unfair though – if you broadside an enemy ship and it opens up on you before you can shoot it, you’ll take damage. But everything has been said: the right planning and tactics pay off. And the sound design and packaging of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is bombastic, terrifying, gritty and over the top as only a 40K game can be.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is available for PC.
3. Space Hulk: Tactics
Space Hulk is one of the most famous and popular Warhammer 40,000 tabletop games. Unfortunately, the latest edition – the fourth edition – is more or less out of print, hard to find and always overpriced.
Fortunately, Space Hulk: Tactics exists. It’s a terrifyingly faithful and lovingly detailed adaptation of the board game. It also adds its own flavor through a card system that allows for the use of additional abilities and adds even more depth to squad customization. The story, while barebones, can be played through the eyes of Terminator Space Marines or Blood Angels Genestealers, and each turn-based encounter is cramped, incredibly tense, and increasingly difficult in a way that never feels unfair to the player. At face value it seems easy. But that simplicity belies depth and a compelling strategy loop. If you’re like most of us out there and don’t have the Space Hulk board game, then Space Hulk: Tactics is the next best thing.
Space Hulk: Tactics is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
2. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2
An absolute classic. Relic’s 2009 real-time strategy masterpiece, Dawn of War 2 takes a unique approach to classic RTS gameplay, particularly in its core campaign, where you control a small squad of Blood Angels Space Marines instead of an entire army . Dawn of War 2 also features a surprisingly compelling, if somewhat boring, Warhammer 40,000 storyline.
It also features a Diablo-like loot system, giving players the ability to outfit their Space Marine squads with various armor and items. And it is through this system that Dawn of War 2 feels most in line with the tabletop game Warhammer 40,000. One of the most compelling aspects of the source material is the customization, personalization, outfitting, and painting of the miniatures. Dawn of War 2’s loot system and squad customization offer a taste of that. However, the tabletop game it most closely resembles is Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team.
Small to medium-sized skirmishes that are intense, loud, and incredibly brutal define both Kill Team and Dawn of War 2. Lines of sight, cover, lines of fire, weapon types, and loadouts all add up to make the difference between victory and defeat. They also add up to endless replayable fun. Whether you play the single player mode, the DLC campaigns, or the PvP multiplayer, Dawn of War 2 never gets boring. There’s a reason it’s still popular and that most Warhammer 40,000 fans have many memorable war stories from this game. I know I do
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 is available for Linux, Mac and Windows PC.
1. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Ah yes. The 2011 third-person shooter that gave us Captain Titus and the game we’ve been waiting for for over a decade to see the sequel. And we’re finally getting one! For my money, Relic’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is the best Warhammer 40,000 game.
A third-person shooter and brawler with no cover system, Space Marine is an exercise in grandiose violence. Space Marines are the Emperor’s angels of war, so they don’t need a cover system; Ceramite power armor will do. Controlled by Captain Titus of the Ultramarines (the blue bores, sorry Ultramarines players), players will wander through a forge world in the clutches of a planetary siege by the Orcs. Combat is hard-hitting and over-the-top, and Titus is a unique Space Marine in the sense that he holds onto some aspects of his former humanity. This will be tested as the game enters its third act and new threats emerge; everything ends with a hell of a cliffhanger. And finally, it looks like we’ll see the rest of Captain Titus’ story in the recently announced Space Marine 2.
While the story mode in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is incredibly memorable, the multiplayer was an absolute blast at its peak. The Space Marine customizer in the game’s multiplayer suite was incredibly detailed and robust, the gameplay looping went well with the PvP modes, and they even added an incredibly fun survival mode after launch. It plays best on PC as there is still a marginally active multiplayer community. Ultimately, it’s a game in which you can control a Space Marine at the peak of his power. You wield bolters, chainswords, bolt pistols and lightning claws. What more do you want?
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is available for PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Xbox 360.
