Review: Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition

Title: Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4 (reviewed)
Developer: Streum On Studio
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Release date: Out now
tl;dr: It’s like playing Doom on a Betamax.
Price: Â£35/$45 (Across All Platforms)
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

Space Hulk Deathwing Enhanced Edition is an enhanced port of the 2016 First Person Shooter on the PC, the game is set in the Warhammer 40K universe which I know very little about. So without further adieu let’s find out what I thought.

This game is garbage, sure, it’s enjoyable in places – but it’s mostlyÂ garbage that I am struggling to muster up words that won’t make the game totally unappealing even to fans of the Warhammer 40K Universe. To say the game is slower than a dead seagull is an insult to the dead seagull, with its lifeless feather gently dancing in the wind quicker than how the characters in this game move.

I couldn’t tell you what the narrative of this game is in great detail as the majority of the time dialogue would cut out as the game insists on sending about a billion enemies your way so you don’t have time to read the text boxes on the screen. Apparently, we’re trying to obtain something called a Geneseed to keep it away from alien lifeforms known as Genestealers or else they’ll do something to bring about our end, which quite honestly isn’t the worst idea when playing through this.

As for gameplay, your AI partners don’t just stand in front of your fire, preventing you from defeating the enemies that they don’t actually help in fighting, they also eventually die because you’re inadvertantly shooting them. On top of that, the game is so clunky and slow that whenever the objective appears at the other side of the map you’ll find yourself openly weeping as you can’t be bothered to waddle your chunky space armour ass over there… Plus, I’m sure all of the enemies you’ve previously slain have bred like rabbits to hinder your stroll and no doubt one of the partners will stand directly in front of you and 0 very unhelpfully – die whilst you try to aim around their fat ass. Sorry… This game has frustrated me beyond belief and I find myself in the final stages of the game unable to listen to those things sprout the same stilted dialogue over and over again whilst they continue to stand directly in front of me in tight narrow corridors.

Graphically, Space Hulk is a mid-range PS3 or Xbox 360 game which is disappointing as the game was initially released in late-2016 on PC and this is apparently the enhanced edition but it doesn’t feel or look like a current generation game. Graphics aren’t usually something that I look for when looking at a new game, I generally look for interesting gameplay and a gripping narrative with the graphics being a nice little bonus piece of wrapping paper that seals the game, but this game doesn’t deliver on any of those factors making it flat and unappealing.

Overall, Space Hulk Deathwing Enhanced Edition is a boring and broken game that needs to go back to the drawing board and try again. I hope they release a patch to fix the broken AI and tune down the number of enemies that appear on the screen. I would have attempted the online co-op to see if that made the experience any better but unfortunately, all the games were either private or I got kicked by the host and when I set up my own lobby, nobody joined and I wasn’t going to allow my friends to waste money on something that may potentially suck more on multiplayer.

The Good

Shooting aliens can be satisfying when you get the chance.

Punching aliens can be satisfying when you get the chance.

Turning the game off can be satisfying.

The Bad