Space Hulk: Deathwing Reviews
It's surprising how thoroughly I ended up enjoying Space Hulk: Deathwing. Its bulky, typical Warhammer 40,000 design is noticeable throughout, even though it implements a welcome sense of atmosphere that is rather rare within the franchise.
Space Hulk is amazingly lore accurate
Space Hulk: Deathwing is a solid title. It's got a fun cooperative mode and a decent single-player storyline on top of it. It just unfortunately suffers from some issues, like semi-useless teammates and random online disconnects. The collection of weapons and sheer feeling of power stomping around the darkened corners of the hulk are worth at least a look for fans of Warhammer 40k.
Space Hulk: Deathwing is a collection of opposites. Its attention to detail is both astonishing and flawed, its shooting hit and miss, and its co-op gameplay both satisfying and frustrating.
Thunder-hammers, chainswords, bolters, flamethrowers and plasma cannons are just a few of the many pieces of your futuristic toybox, and boy do they do the job of slaying Genestealers.
With a PS4 and Xbox One release scheduled for some time this year, there is still room for this game to fulfill its potential. Yet, the console audience is even less forgiving than PC gamers when it comes to technical problems. We can only hope that the development team will learn from the mistakes made with the Steam release, use us PC gamers as guinea pigs for as long as it takes (we're used to it anyway), and then bring forth a more solid package on consoles.
Sadly, Space Hulk Deathwing is very much a one-trick pony, a trick which others have done much, much better.
Space Hulk: Deathwing is that paradoxical game that's hard to dislike, but also hard to love. The glorious moments of fervent xeno-purging are too fleeting, and often left me standing in dark corridors, surrounded by my slain foes, looking for any kind of context or sense of lasting accomplishment. There is somewhere in it the embryo of the ultimate Space Marine game, but despite a lot of potential for simple, squad-based fun in multiplayer, it never moves beyond being a stripped-down and poorly running prototype for the kind of game I wish it had been. "So close, yet so far" will be the slogan etched into this terminator's hulking shoulder pads.
Space Hulk: Deathwing is a game clearly developed without care and passion: the only two positive features are the storyline and the beautiful mood of the series.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An accomplished piece of fan service, but the excitement fades fast and performance problems spoil it for some.
Space Hulk: Deathwing boasts the best, most stylistically accurate Warhammer 40,000 visuals yet created, bar none. It's precisely how the grim darkness of the far future should look and feel. However, the incredible eye-candy of this new FPS is not enough to disguise its lackluster story, indistinct gameplay, and stability issues.
Space Hulk: Deathwing is a squad-based shooter, like Left 4 Dead or Vermentide, but its gameplay lacks innovations and the AI is not cooperative. The situation is saved thanks to the atmosphere and the graphical component.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As a fan of Warhammer 40,000, it's a shame that Space Hulk: Deathwing has these issues that impede what should have been a great game.
While it still could be saved the technical state of the game is so bad that it cannot be seen for what it does right. Even the good parts of the game are plagued by the negatives and the frequent FPS drops make gameplay vomit inducing.
It's a simple enough formula consisting of shooting and completing objectives—usually by shooting
Space Hulk: Deathwing can't seem to win on either front. As a solo experience, the gameplay is mediocre, the AI is rather inconsistent, and the objectives lack imagination. As a multiplayer game, it is pretty much dead. There's stuff in here for a dedicated Warhammer 40,000 fan to be excited about, especially how the game looks, but it certainly isn't the best outing for the license.
A fun horde-based entry in the Warhammer universe, Deathwing is marred by technical issues and an overall lack of polish.
Not even the Emperor's finest would be able to withstand such an uninspired level design and repetitive gameplay
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Space Hulk: Deathwing promised a lot - close quarters tactics, bulky combat, and the ever awesome delights of the dark 40K universe. However, while fulfilling in some of those respects, lacklustre AI and some buggy multiplayer ultimately diminished this experience.
In all honesty Space Hulk: Deathwing is a good solid game with plenty to keep you shooting and stabbing your way through wave after wave of aliens for a few good hours at least. Maybe with a little more polish and a few gameplay changes we might have had a real contender in the world of co-op shooters but unfortunately with titans like Left 4 Dead and Gears of War still showing us how it’s done years later, Deathwing just doesn’t bring anything fresh enough to really stand out as anything more than a gimmick. By all means give it a try and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed, but unless you’re a huge fan of Warhammer 40K I just don’t think you’ll be wowed.