Warhammer 40k: Dawn Of War IV is everything I could have possibly dreamed of as a Warhammer fan, FOR THE EMPEROR!
As a big fan of all things Warhammer I feel remiss for not having played the Dawn Of War games. Unfortunately I’m not a PC player and despite giving it a good go I don’t think a Steam Deck is the definitive way to play real-time strategy games.
However that doesn’t mean I don’t know what a good RTS game should be, and I definitely know what a good Warhammer game should be (although Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 raised the bar significantly on that front). My all-time favourite for better or worse is the first Halo Wars, and Warhammer 40k: Dawn Of War IV felt familiar but still fundamentally Warhammer.
My demo was spent amassing a force of Blood Ravens to fend off wave after wave of Orks. The Green Tide’s numbers were relentless, and regularly interfered in my plans to bolster my army and invest my resources in more powerful units.
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RTS games always feel like a balancing act and can often be overwhelming for players not familiar with the genre, but despite not having a tutorial as part of my demo everything felt pretty intuitive.
One of my favourite parts of the demo was just how close you could get on a zoom-in, and you definitely want to take advantage of that as the attention to detail is incredible. In melee combat you can see your units make tactical decisions based on the number of enemies around them, for instance my dreadnought charged right into a horde of Orks and just went to town. Squishing combatants under foot, throwing them, crushing them in its giant metal hands, it was a sight to behold and really added to the immersion.
While I didn’t get to experiment with every unit the game has to offer I could see what my options would be and any fan of the tabletop game would be pleased. Even better is there are four campaigns to playthrough. Blood Ravens, Orks, Necrons and the Adeptus Mechanicus all get their own story, and I’m very excited to let out a “WAAAGH!” during the Ork campaign.
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Warhammer 40k: Dawn Of War IV feels like exactly what fans have been waiting for, and I’m legitimately considering buying a PC or laptop solely to play it again.
Fans of the tabletop will love what’s on offer but even those who aren’t familiar with the Warhammer 40k universe can still give it a go without being too overwhelmed.