The opening missions of the campaign at least capture the dark and dingy atmosphere of a space hulk well, and as you plod through a mix of tight corridors and vast rooms, complete with high vaulted ceilings draped in shadows, it can feel quite unsettling, mainly due to the signature Warhammer 40K architecture that mixes the futuristic and gothic.

Packed full of Warhammer 40k terminology – that’ll only make sense to those with more than a passing familiarity with the setting – the story isn’t particularly engaging, failing (despite some personal stakes for the Deathwing themselves) to make you care one iota how it’s going to play out.

With a campaign spanning nine missions, you’ll guide a squad from the Dark Angels Deathwing Company as they explore the mysteries of one particular space hulk, all the while assailed by wave after wave of alien attackers. Handed down over millennia, these power suits are rare and extremely powerful – they’re essentially walking tanks – and as a result, only veteran members of an Adeptus Astartes chapter are allowed to wear these legendary sets of gear. Based on Games Workshop’s board game of the same name, this new release doesn’t stick to its turn-based roots, instead choosing to shift the action into the first-person, putting the player directly in the shoes – or power armour – of a team of Space Marines on a mission to purge a genestealer infested space hulk.Įntering these massive clusters of derelict spaceships is extremely dangerous work, and as a result, those teams sent to explore their superstructures are often equipped in Tactical Dreadnought Armour – more commonly referred to as Terminator Armour. With a steady stream of Warhammer 40K titles coming out in recent years – mainly on smart phones – Space Hulk: Deathwing is the latest to make its way onto PlayStation 4. With its galaxy spanning conflicts, rammed full of fascinating factions, it's mind boggling that there’s only been a small number of great games that’ve made good use of its expansive lore. The Warhammer 40K universe represents a ripe source of inspiration for video games.

Space hulk deathwing