The die is cast If Warhammer 40,000 rings any bells at all, then the name of probably the longest-enduring game born of the IP – Space Hulk rings one too. Fleshed out before the setting of WH40k itself, the venerable 2-player board game has seen multiple PC adaptations over 35 years since its release back in 1989, with Space Hulk: Tactics being the most recent. Curiously enough, this latest iteration of Space Marines fighting against an alien menace adds a few own ideas to the original board game rather than merely bolster the classic with updated visuals. While the novelties do surprisingly good job at livening up the main campaign, there is one glaring red flag which needs to be addressed before one even considers venturing into claustrophobic depths of the titular Space Hulk . Multiplayer servers of the game have been shut down mere months after its initial release, making it exclusively single-player title, a fact which store page doesn’t bother mentioning. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221517223 Tactical Dreadnought Armour On an off-chance you would waltz into Space Hulk: Tactics without any prior knowledge of what to expect, here’s the setup. From the depths of space, a millennia-old amalgamation of fused-together spaceships emerges in a close proximity to an industrial world of Gorgonum – set on the direct collision course. To prevent the valuable planet from being shattered by a cataclysmic collision, a small band of Space Marines boards the Space Hulk seeking to destroy the derelict. Clad in finest terminator armour, a squad of Blood Angels sets out to explore narrow corridors of countless vessels composing the hulk. To their peril, a dormant nest of Genestealers infests the ship, waking from hibernation as this new threat enters their domain. At least a dramatization of Space Hulk session could go along these lines. In more game oriented-terms, the player has a campaign of turn-based tactical skirmishes to play through, with varied objectives, mazes of narrow corridors and numberless alien menace to keep company. Already in the campaign selection menu, Space Hulk: Tactics sets itself apart from the other board game adaptations, remembering it is a dinner for two. The player gets a choice of playing as either Blood Angels or Genestealers. It will come as no surprise that Space Marine campaign is the “primary” one, nonetheless having an option to play the “villain” as well is an enjoyable touch. Ace of 2d6 Regardless of whether you favour power-armoured breeches or alien things in life, I strongly recommend playing the Space Marine campaign first. It consists of the main narrative arc, involving certain impassive inquisitor and playing as the Emperor’s angels of death provides a significantly more forgiving experience with dice-based combat. Like a squad of lumbering Goliaths against a horde of nimble Davids – Space Marines rely on careful placement and establishing defensive perimeter. All the while Xenos attempt to encircle your squad – all that fancy armour will be of little use in close combat, Genestealer claws cut through like it is paper. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221517850 Before we get to things up-close and personal, let’s take a peek at gameplay mechanics. Every mission includes a pre-determined set of corridors and an objective. The latter of the two is quite varied: extermination, reaching the extraction point, planting a bomb or hacking a terminal. Depending on the mission type Marines deploy in close formation or are scattered across the map. Upon entering the field of battle, the player needs to carefully manoeuvre each unit, dividing precious few action points between movement, environment interaction, attacks and most importantly – overwatch. Every mission being a primarily defensive battle for Emperor’s finest, ability to end a turn with continuous “kill on sight” command quickly becomes the default state. If only it didn’t cost half the AP available... Depending on your approach to tactical games, the RNG element can either spice things up with unpredictability or break the deal altogether. Fully embracing the game of chance, Space Hulk: Tacticus couples the dice with a deck of cards. This is also where Tacticus’ twist comes into play – while original board game did include the cards, the adaptation makes them a key resource. Every Space Marine comes with a set of unlockable cards, allowing the player to tailor their squad bit by bit as they progress throughout the campaign. Furthermore, the cards may be traded for additional AP, adjusting to the flow of battle. Purge the alien Taking into account that the campaign at its core is a chain of 13 rounds of Space Hulk against AI, this title makes a valiant effort of turning its premise into an immersive experience. Story of the struggle for Gorgonum is a fully voiced and effective, if somewhat basic, tale of battle and peril. On top of that, cutscenes present throughout the game do well to highlight the pleasantly detailed visuals, something that could be overlooked during the regular gameplay. In order to provide further scale to exploration of the Hulk (grand words for moving a dot from point to point), the game throws in a number of random encounters which yield extra resources upon completion. The campaign does attempt to create a sense of urgency by increasing the frequency of random encounters the longer player takes to reach the next story mission. However, I was there to fight Xenos in the first place – a little extra combat and spoils on the side is hardly a deterrent. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221518355 Deserving a separate mention is the Genestealers campaign. Space Hulk being the home turf of Xenos, the aliens don’t explore the vessel, instead getting a choice of story mission objectives. Rather than offer an alternative conclusion to the tale of Blood Angels, Genestealers get to recall past memories, answering where all these Space Marine corpses already present in the Hulk came from. To be frank, while campaign itself is streamlined, Genestealer gameplay is much more complex – which is exactly why getting to know the basics as Space Marine is so highly recommended. Xenos experience is far more unrelenting as well – seeing how they rely on circling manoeuvres and deception, especially the latter doesn’t make much impression on AI. To make matters worse, the dice roll odds seem to be stacked against the player. While it isn’t that much of a problem during Space Marine gameplay of few against many, as the aliens, most of the game is spent setting up a single “do or die” pincer attack. Having to save scum and delay my perfect encirclement for a turn because the enemy team scores the best possible throws all across the board wasn’t very fun. Blessed be the mind too small for doubt All things considered, Space Hulk: Tactics is an extremely niche title with a few kinks behind its belt to narrow the target audiences even further. Despite being a mixed bag, I was able to enjoy the game as a smaller title, providing me with several evenings of tactical combat set in my favourite universe. However, this a perspective of a die-hard fan of the setting who, on top of that, loves turn-based games. If you are anything less than that you may want to think twice before picking up this title, especially with its online content entirely gone, save for a pool of community-created missions. This is quite a shame, as this game would’ve been the best Space Hulk adaptation around for providing a genuine PvP experience with playable Genestealers. Alas, this defining quality has been swiftly cut down along with the servers, making this position recommendable only to unequivocal fans of Warhammer 40k content.
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