Deep Silver has released a trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV, rekindling my nostalgia for the series’ epic battles. Though I was less impressed by the latest instalment, I have big hopes for this one. All I ask for is a long campaign story, preferably covering other factions, and more of the spectacular CGI cutscenes we’ve become accustomed to.
This first trailer was entirely captured from in-engine gameplay, indicating that the game is in the advanced stages of development. Dawn of War IV sees us return to Kronus years after the events of Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, once more commanding troops from a top-down, real-time strategy perspective. Most notably, the game is seemingly bringing back base building, which I missed in Dawn of War II. Dawn of War III tried to fix this but fell short of the experience offered by the first instalment. It felt hero-focused and less in the spirit of an RTS. Thus, I was quite excited to learn that I can once more spend two hours building my base before rolling over the enemy camp.
From the looks of it, the game will return to the good old massive battles with less focus on per-unit control. While I don’t mind some amount of tactics, I feel like Dawn of War is better when massive armies fight to the last. Talking of which, the game is set to launch with four factions; humans (aka the Space Marines), good old Orks with their brutal-looking vehicles, the undead Necrons, and the Adeptus Mechanicus, who mark their first appearance as a controllable faction. All will be showcased in some form during the 70+ mission campaign, replayable Last Stand, Skirmish, and 4v4 multiplayer modes. Each faction grants you total control of a unique collection of commanders, units, buildings and mechanics that alter the feel and flow of gameplay.
Unlike Dawn of War III, this time the development was handed to KING Art Games, the same studio behind Iron Harvest, another game that I liked. And looking at the trailer, they have nothing to envy Relic Entertainment. The gameplay looks smooth, the fights seem action-packed, and the UI is clear – albeit a bit simplistic. Assuming no drastic changes are made between now and the 2026 launch, the trailer should give interested players a good idea of what to expect from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV. After a long hiatus, I’m excited and ready to get back into the action.
