The whole combat affair became as robotic as a Techmarine, and became less and less satisfying as the campaign moved on. There’s no guarantee of progression, no new lore to unlock, and nothing new to learn. There’s no other real reward from the experience. Sure, it may have been fun to try out a few of your new psyker abilities, but when it’s said and done, they’re just all dead. That said, there’s nothing that satisfying at the end. There’s something refreshing about shooters offering more than one approach to dealing with hordes of enemies. Normally, I would not consider this a bad thing. When you are, it’s usually because there is a boss fight or you’re waiting on some calculations to take forever to load. You’re rarely locked in a room, as you would be with most shooters, forced to stay put until everything is dead. Part of this is because each level’s map is so large that you have a lot of options of maneuvering through or past swarms all together. Unlike DOOM, defeating a horde doesn’t instantly create progression. The Genestealers will come from all directions, but there’s no real motivation to kill them all. You’re either walking around, minding your own business and exploring a/k/a looking for relics or defeating hordes of Genestealers. In many ways, Space Hulk: Deathwing has this undeniable inspiration from DOOM. Purge the Xenos, Or at Least Try toĪnd yes, there are plenty of xenos to purge. You’re there to purge xenos and chew bubblegum. Perhaps there’s more than one reason why the above Imperium quote flashes at nearly every load screen the game wants you to have that blessed small mind to not question your purpose. It’s one thing to have mindless soldiers running through the Hulk, but when you have a Librarian at the helm, there needs to be more than PURGE THE XENOS as a motivation. I’d believe Thorpe helped ensure that the campaign stays true to the Dark Angels, but I can’t believe he’d write something as dull as this. It simply goes through the motions of what the Deathwing company would do on a Space Hulk such as this. Popular and excellent WH40K writer Gavin Thorpe helped pen the campaign, but the writing is as lifeless as the Space Hulk itself. It’s, in a way, typical WH40K faire as far as a Space Hulk exploration would go, but it has none of the zest and flair a Dark Angels story is known for. The deeper you go, you learn a bit more about how precious the Caliban’s Will truly is and why none of the Genestealers can be left alive (like there was any doubt you weren’t going to kill them all). As the Librarian with his two battle brothers (one thankfully being an Apothecary) make their way deeper into the Hulk, they will have to purge the filthy xenos within. This particular Hulk, named Olethros, has become a hive for Genestealers, the most vile of all the tyranids. Of course, Space Hulks randomly traveling through the Warp and space attract all kinds of xenos vermin. Who knows what Heresy secrets they could reveal if another Chapter finds them. As an Epistolary Librarian for the Company, it is the player’s job to lead a team of two other battle brothers to find out what happened to this ship and recover all Dark Angel relics on board. This particular Space Hulk includes the lost Dark Angels ship, Caliban’s Will, lost thousands of years ago. The 1st Company of the Dark Angels (the Deathwing) found a Space Hulk drifting in the Immaterium, which could hold a treasure trove of history and technology if recovered.
However, it’s a good thing that the lore explored within is somewhat sound, because the gameplay doesn’t appear to have made as sound of a jump from the Warp.
SPACE HULK DEATHWING XBOX ONE REVIEW PC
I was even more excited to learn that it would hop from PC to console. I nearly squealed with glee when I learned that this tale of the Dark Angels was going to be a first-person shooter instead of the typical real-time strategy treatment this franchise receives. Space Hulk: Deathwing delightfully takes on both purposes for this particular story.