Since Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine came out in 2011 I’ve been waiting for a sequel or a new shooter that scratches that same itch. So when the FPS Space Hulk: Deathwing was announced, I was incredibly interested to see how it would turn out. At E3 2016 I had the opportunity to be present during an off hands presentation of the game, and I like the way it’s looking so far.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Warhammer 40k mythos, space hulks are masses of space debris, made of anything from mangled asteroids, derelict ship wrecks and random bits of space debris. They sometimes grow to be as big as moons and often contain loads of treasure and other ancient things that could be of use. As with anything else that involves treasure, Space Hulks are full of dangers, including infestations of lethal Genestealers. I won’t go too much into what Genestealers are, but needless to say they will be your main enemy in Space Hulk: Deathwing.

In Space Hulk: Deathwing you will need to explore the derelict remains of space hulks, and oure demo specifically took place within a derelict ship. Initially, we walked down a narrow corridor, as you would expect in any ship, and came to an open area. This open area is where things started to go wrong, as we came across our first Genestealers. As we fought through waves of enemies, it quickly became apparent that they were not going to stop and this is when we were told that they really wouldn’t stop. You won’t be able to kill every enemy because they don’t stop spawning. Genestealers are a swarm, and the developers wanted this to come across within the game. Instead of killing everything, the game is about flow mitigation and stopping the streams of enemies from being able to get to you. This will involve closing gates and doors, but also means that the more you explore the space hulk, the more avenues enemies have to come at you from. This results in a real risk vs reward analysis as you make your way through space hulks and leaves you wondering if going into one more room really is worth the possibility of death.

In the demo we took control of a Librarian, which is much cooler than the name suggests. In Warhammer 40k a Librarian is a highly trained Space Marine who also has access to a range of psychic abilities. What this means is that in addition to being a tank on legs, you also have a bunch of special abilities to use during battle. The abilities we saw used were an area of affect push back that damaged enemies around you, perfect for when you’re rushed by Genestealers, and a chain-lightning attack that bounced between enemies.

Overall, Space Hulk: Deathwing is looking like a promising FPS and a faithful representation of the Warhammer 40k universe. Space Hulk: Deathwing is scheduled to release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One towards the end of 2016.