Well, obviously... Deathwatch is an iOS game ported to PC. "Enhanced" means just better looking (still far from PC standards). So, don't except any high concept... it's a simple turn-based game. If you need comparison - XCOM, but faaaaar more basic. Is it any good? Well, it's decent. Still, there are things you need to know about Deathwatch before you buy.

This is a grindfest. Missions give you XP, you unlock new "cards" - marines, new gear. You'll be encouraged to reply every mission to farm more items or better squadmates. I've managed to reach almost 70% of the game without any farming, but ... i got to a point where my best marines were slaughtered like sheep. So, farming XP and better gear was a necessity. In the iOS version you could buy equipement packs for real money - here you need to replay most lucrative missions to the point of complete boredom. Tactics, planning - not really important here.

So, waste of time? Well, i know that some people enjoy that kind of gameplay. Collecting "cards", filling that equipement checklists, getting all the possible Space Marines. I'm not really into that. If you're searching for a deep, tactical expierence, check elsewhere.

Still, i'm giving it a thumbs up. It's a competent little game, just not for me.

The game has fine art assets but seriously lacks in features. This was a mobile game and it shows. The fact that this costs over 20€ is absurd. Only get this if you're a die hard 40k fan boy/girl. It's really a shame because this game has a good vibe. The devs clearly know their lore and are enthusiastic about the universe. If only this was made with a bigger team and a bigger budget.

The Good:
- Nice art. The planets look and feel different. The space marines look bad ass.
- Functional turn-based combat. It's really basic, but works fine.
- All weapon classes are significantly different and have synergies with individual space marines.
- The chapters look and feel different. Sometimes they even banther with each other during a mission. You get different results depending who you have with you. Rank also matters.

The Bad:
- XP system is flawed. You can basically farm experience on many maps. Enemies spawn endlesly and can be killed before they do any damage. Without farming, progress is really slow. Also Marines come in 4 ranks. Higher ranked marines are just plain better than your lower ones. But you need to level them up from the beginning if you want them to shine. This pretty much mean you need to grind xp if you want to upgrade your squad. You get 1 random marine in a card pack. More on this subject on the looting topic below.
- No sound options. DansGame
- Game breaking bugs on launch.
- Loot system is really bad. This was originally a mobile game with microtransactions. You bought packs that gave loot with real money. This game has those packs as well, but you get them by completing a set of missions. The packs and mission rewards are random so you can get the same ♥♥♥♥ over and over. That means you have to grind if you want the good stuff. You can also buy those packs with an in-game currency, but the economy for that is horrible as well.
- Animations are really slow and cannot be skipped. This applies to cut-scenes as well. Enemy animations can be made to go faster, but your's can't. This will get frustrating later in the game.

This could have been something.

Another lazy mobile port from iOS. Interface remains mobile (tap, swipe) and no UI changes were made that I can tell.

Graphics are great for Ipad or Iphone. For PC, its just muddy, dark, and uninteresting.

During my time with the game, I only heard one track of music that was on a constant loop. Since publishing this review, the person who worked on the music for this game has commented and also linked his site with some clips of the audio. I stand corrected, as its quite good, and really sets a nice atmosphere for the game. While it doesnt help the rest of the port, I cant fault the music at all.

Link to some clips posted with permission (Thanks Mattock):
http://www.whitewallmusic.com/warhammer-40k-deathwatch-ost/

I have refunded my copy of this game. If you see it on sale for $5, and you dont have expectations, give it a shot. At this price, its certainly not worth it.

A VERY lazy and obvious port of an IOS game. The UI is ♥♥♥♥♥, the gameplay is incredibly simplistic, and the music is just a boring, generic background track on loop?

If they actually, you know, ENHANCED the base game, built on it, this could have been a really great game. An XCOM style game set in Warhammer 40k with Deathwatch Spehs Mehreens? Hell yeah, I'd love that.

This, though, is just lazy. There is little in the way of tactics, enemies just run at you. The UI is unintuitive and very clearly taken from IOS.

Come on Games Workshop, you're sitting on a GOLDMINE of an IP in Warhammer 40k. How about making some GOOD video games with it?

As someone who played through and enjoyed the mobile iOS game all the way through the first two difficulty levels and mostly through the last, I'm disappointed by this port. It feels incomplete in some sense, and almost lazy.

For those not in the know, in the mobile version, kit/unit expansion was done through requisition purchases and in-app purchases (hereforth to be referred to as IAP), to buy cards packs. These packs allow for you to get 3 cards, one marine and 2 items (with the chance for rare/epic cards). This system made sense with IAP being a potential option for people who don't have the time to endlessly grind levels and get a chance at getting better marines or gear.

I agree with the exclusion of in-app purchases, let me say that right here. But without them, the way forward is unfortunately set to be a grindfest, with a pack at the end of every chapter. Let's be honest, systems like these - with randomized rewards in a boosterpack like purchase are designed to encourage people to spend real-world money over and over on cards/items they don't need for the chance of getting something they want. That's how it works with trading card games, that's how it works in mobile apps. This system does not make sense in a premium game with no IAP, and as such should have been replaced with something else more fitting.

Maybe non-randomised cards. Gain more requisition per level like gold, buy a marine for X requisition, buy gear for X requisition. Spend requisition on your existing gear to upgrade gear. Meanwhile get exp on missions, level up and advance your marine. And when your marine is capped, spend requisition to advance him to the next tier. That's an example off the top of my head, and most likely would have been tweakable for a much better system than the one currently in place. As it stands you get a small amount of req per level, can purchase tiny 3 card packs, and maybe trade in unused marines and items for small amounts of req, making obtaining better marines and gear a grindfest. Not of the pleasurable kind.

Furthermore, the 3 Enhanced Edition chapters are not complete, and do not progress past tier 2, while the other 3 go to tier 4. Also, the graphics aren't even visibly that much better and there is still no multiplayer.

TLDR: feels lazy, exp/buying marine system broken, incomplete bonus chapter rosters, still no multiplayer. If you really liked the mobile one and want to grind your way through the game on PC go for it i guess...

dont buy this game..


I was really looking forward to see this game on my pc. I purchased many of warhammer 40k titles like : dawn of war, space marine, regicide, space hulk etc.
As well i love turn based strategies like classics : Jagged Alliance 2, xcom etc.

I'm very disappointed. And thats why.

I'm writing all of this on the go while playing deathwatch:

It is very sad how greedy games workshop is. this is another unfinished game just to get money from fans of warhammer.
Im a big fan of warhammer 40k since i was a child, but last times games workshop is making jokes of their fans i think.
They develop a tons of games and none of them are fully finished or polished enough to call them PC titles.
Only dawn of war series are pretty good when we talk about video games in universum of warhammer 40k. I'm not comparing Deathwatch to DoW these are two different types of games but i just want to say that in my opinion DoW is only very polished and truely finished title for pc with lot of content and dlc's.

Deathwatch in UNFINISHED, BAD PORTED FROM IOS version of the game.
you can see on screen "TAP" here or "TAP" here...??? whaaaat?? they even left commands from touch screens. You can see that also when moving the camera with "wasd" keys and moving mouse at once - really annoying.

Yes camera movement.. you must use 8!! yes 8 keys to operate the camera.. W A S D R F T and G... hmmmm / update : actually 10 keys on keyboard operates camera i forgot about Q and E.. lol really? i figured out that you can also move camera with different combinations of mouse buttons for ex. L+R, only R, only L and scroll.. why all of these functions and keys are not mapped to scroll wheel click-and-move??

Abilities are mapped to numbers on keyboard.. but first you must learn all abilities and make sure you will remember what icon of ability means because during mission there is no explenation or even name of abilities.. just images?? for example you can burn all your squad with flamethrower just by clicking the icon of ability because there is no pop-up explenation what will happen after using it..

Next thing is Enhanced Edition. ITS A LIE!! Enhanced means in this case - you can get 12 cards more - worthless cards from tier 1 and 2. ( the system of marines and perks is card like). So in theese 12 cards should be marines and gear for 3 brand new chapters in the game. split 12 for 3 chapters and you get 4 cards per chapter.. yes.... very enhanted edition ;)

Graphics?? Unreal engine 4? are you kidding me? or maybe games workshop thinks that im a stupid mo-ron? "EPIC" preset looks like ... LOW.. its 2015 or 2005 ?? ( i7, 16gb ram, gtx 960)
I'm not able to turn on vsync.
The textures looks flat.

Lags (game freezes for about 2-3 sec) - always before "chit-chats" between marines, sometimes between turns or during turns)

music? this boring something make you feel like you want to go to sleep. only one sound loop repeated over and over. I was supposed to cammand a marine squad - elite soldiers, i would like to hear some music to feel the fight.. ah and you are not able to turn off the music..

gameplay screen.. another thing that will make you scream why ONLY PORTED FROM TOUCH SCREENS.?? no informations about accuracy, or anything else. nothing on the screen.. you dont know who of your soldier is who - no portraits.

NO minimap - in missions where marines are split on two sides on the map it's hard to remember every position of enemy when a lot of enemies are rushin from all the sides.
On the other hand all of maps are very small (smaller than in space hulk) so you will probably be able to live without minimap..

NO LOAD / SAVE OPTION ? you just play through..... yyyyyyy no place for mistakes or play "for fun". you must always be veeery serious about playing.... but on the other hand when you fail your xp gained from earlier battles (free xp - not split between abilities and stats) gets reseted. maybe thats why there is no save / load?

Assault Champion from ultramarines chapter during battle is considered as Blood angel chapter marine.

Space marines are moving like wood.. yes you have an elite squad of trees on your command ;)

The animations when tyranids are being shot to death... eeeee... yyyy... is it a GIF? believe me theese animations are VERY BAD..

Animations of explosions (not caused by marines) in game are really pain in the eyes.

Enemies are very predictable. They just rush on you. Bigger ones just stand in one place.
little variety of enemies.

No cover system? why? this game would be far more enjoyable with cover system.. Because of that major mistake game from the tactic point of view looses a lot of potential.

no multiplayer..

no skirmish..

how to start another new game?

GOOD SIDES OF THE GAME:
-card like system for getting new marines and gear (something new in warhammer i guess)
-xp gain system
-leveling up system
-marines from different chapters are talking to each other during missions.
-Marines statues in browser before combat - this is only thing that looks really good when we talk about graphics in this game.
-shooting animations
-water animation and reflections
-dust in the air "effect"


This game has a potential.. and maybe gamers who dont really know how warhammer 40k games should look like will like it. but if it is about me as fan of warhammer 40k universe.. dont event try this for this price.. it should cost max 7euro..

REALLY DISAPPOINTING GAME.. RIPPED OF THE TOUCH SCREENS AND NAMED "ENHANCED EDITION".

Deathwatch - Enhanced Edition represents Rodeo Games first "in house" port from iOS to the Steam Platform. It's their first serious go at converting a paidmium title from IoS into a truly premium experience that doesn't necessitate further payments on the Steam platform, and in doing so they've rebalanced the economy, converted the graphics engine over to UE4, given the graphics a serious spitshine, as well as gone over the various UI systems to make them keyboard and mouse friendly.

In Deathwatch you control a team of five marines (Stop me when this starts sounding familiar), trudging down narrow corridors, setting up killzones and killing tyranids who charge into your firing range as they swarm towards you en masse, praying you mow them down quicker than they spawn towards you, and they will come in floods, so eventually you'll be overwhelmed. The trick is to finish whatever the mission is before you end up as Tyranid nom nom. All of this happens in a top down, turn based singleplayer environment where you spend AP's on each marine setting up overwatches and taking shots at opponents using probability to hit.


So. To recap. Small team of heavily armoured SPESS MAHREENS. Narrow corridors. Tyranid threat. Chance to hit. Turn based. Swarms of them. Few of you. Sounds like Space Hulk doesn't it?

That's because barring a few changes here and there, you'd be forgiven that you were playing a very polished version of Space Hulk, at times you're more or less doing exactly that, just with a mixed chapter of space marines and without a librarian or psyker to back you up (which sucks). The marines move pretty slowly and are clunky buggers, with overwatch limiting them to a ninety degree cone of fire. Setting up overlapping killzones is order of the day and making sure their backs are protected so tyrannids don't -eat them- is sortof vital.


Unlike the Space Hulks that are already on steam, the levelling system has a little more finesse, taking cues from Dark Souls, where here you won't permanently lose a marine if he's downed, but you WILL lose any unbanked XP, it's a clever system, ensuring that you're always balancing risk with reward, and as the later levels get tougher, you'll need to string together multiple wins in order to power that marine through the later stat boosts. Additionally you can further customise the Marines through their wargear choices and their weapons, the latter has a noticable visual effect which is a nice flourish.

Marines too, visually distinguish themselves from one another, with higher tier marines having more detail than their cannon fodder baseline cousins. The loot system is all held together by a "card" system which awards you cards for missions completed, and the chance to earn points which can be spent on card packs of three which can yield some very high end gear and marines for your deathsquad. All of this hangs together well, and gives both a sense of interest and progression, since there's always the chance of landing a high tier marine that could really help your squad or a really neat bit of loot that you can equip.


However, counter to this is that the game has a really perfunctory mission structure, with short, mobile focussed missions that are very, very bitesized. I got through the better end of twelve missions in an hour, only to be stuck with a bug that locked me up for ages and had me sending mails to the developer whilst I waited for my save game to get sorted out. This is NOT a long game, and worse, there's no random mission generator as there has been in say, Rodeo's other games (Hunters 2 springs to mind), so the longevity of this title as is, is deeply suspect.

Then there's the so called enhanced content, which includes additional marines from the other chapters, except it doesn't really, because they've only included tier 1 versions and a tier 2 veteran along with tier 2 loot for one item. In short, for building a high end team, you won't be using the enhanced content for anything other than flavour, it's a stunted, unfinished tree that desperately needs fleshing out if it's to feel as complete and as enhanced as Rodeo claims on the advertising blurb.


This game is tricky. Part of me wants to like it, because there's the soul of a good Space Hulk game in here, but as it stands? It's not -good enough- to recommend to the public as is. Therefore I recommend with strings attatched. At the price point being asked, I would wait, because they're asking too much for what's on offer. With the enhanced content fully fleshed out, that would justify the pricing, but it's not, so right now this is strictly a "For the fans" game. Otherwise, hold fire, wait for the inevitable discount.

Verdict : Wait for a discount to hit, then get it. This particularly applies if you do NOT own Space Hulk and would like to try out a Space Hulk type game

Writer and columnist for Just Reviews, where you can get similar fine reading material. Join our group, follow our curations, and throw me a like if you would like to keep up to date with our efforts!

XCOM meets 40K; I am a fan. I love the idea of a kill team based way and what better way to do it than with Ordo Xenos vs the great devourer?. Each faction has their unique traits that can be unlocked that are personal to their chapter. You kill enemies to gain the EXP you need to unlock traits, wargear slots, as well as the ability to upgrade a marines health. accuracy, and critical % chance. You will also be rewarded with "Inquistion" points that can be used to get card packs. Each pack has 3 cards and at the end of each mission you are awarded one card. The cards unlock gear, weapons, as well as new marines.

Personally I think this is the best in game modeling for the tyranids, they looked terrible in dawn of war 2. They look spot on in this and it's cool seeing them fleshed out. At first I was a little worried there were just gaunts but they pepper in some larger bugs relatively soon and then maintains a steady variety.

Now for some things they REALLY need to change. The fact that an apothecary has to unlock his narthecium (healing ability) is goofy as all hell to me because essentially he is useless for quite some time and you don't start the game with him, he is a random unlock. This means you are going to be running around with a jackass with a bolt pistol for about 5 or 6 missions when you would much rather have well......anyone else. He has other really exspensive abilities too so it's kind of ridiculous at some points trying to kill some of the stuff with just a bolt pistol. I would recommend giving him something master crafted if you have it or grenades.

By far my biggest complaint though is the fact that if you quit a mission if you have to go or are just done with the game, it DELETES ALL OF YOUR EXPERIENCE POINTS. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FACK?! I had been saving mass EXP to unlock some of the higher end triats, I quit to main menu instead of quitting to windows and ALL of my EXP was wiped, WHY ARE YOU PUNISHING SOMEONE FOR STOPPING A SINGLE PLAYER GAME?! It is not only infuriating but I instantly lose interest in the game just because of a completely unnecessary game mechanic.

Also if a space marine dies, he loses ALL of his experience, not just the experience from the level. This is enough to make me not want to play the game, period.

I cannot recommend this game for two reasons
1: Experience is an enormous factor in this game, and it can be taken away due to nonsense.
2. The fact that the balance in the game simply does not exist. A melta gun or a plasma gun can't kill a genestealer in one hit? A heavy bolter takes more than one shot to kill anything? A flamer only attacks in a straight line instead of a cone? A chainsword can miss??? Who made this game and thought that any of this was okay?

I am writing this review with the caveat that if they remedy the major issues with this game, I will rewrite it.

Right now, I have to suggest that you DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. Too many people are having one of several gamebreaking bugs, which may have something to do with a memory leak in the coding. It is crashing in multiple different ways for dozens of people, check the forum. These issues should have been removed in Beta testing.

It has been a week since I emailed Rodeo Games on this issue (Giving them my dxdiag), and while they were polite I have received no help or communication since then. They did not suggest any fixes or what the problem might be. They are aware of the bug and are not responding to it properly. I am no 'Rocket Surgeon' but I am capable with computers and know my way around a file system, so it is really disappointing to have no presence on this as I am confident any information would help.

Some people have found changing security settings to work, but this is only for one iteration of the bug. Others say it is an issue with the Unreal engine, and that may be plausible.The main bug most people experience stalls you at the Logo bar and initiates a linear increase memory leak until it crashes or your computer freezes. This is called the 'black box' bug because that is what you will end up staring at until you restart your computer.

I have seen people running it on youtube, but that is the developer release and I am not sure it has the same coding. I want to like this game. I want to play it, even despite the issues with overly simplistic gameplay mechanics. I can't recommend it though.

Not when:

A) there are so many people who can't play the game, even with fitting specs
B) It is a higher price than the version it is ported from
C) It hasn't been optimized from that port.
D) It is buggy even besides this.
E) The in game economy is broken because they were too lazy to rewrite the Pay to play market code.

If you ABSOLUTELY have to own EVERY 40k game, and you experience no gamebreaking bugs, this is still not a $30 game. Wait for a HEAVY discount on a steam sale and wait for them to patch the code.

Look at all the reviews and the one word you will see the most is LAZY. Everything about this game from what I can see is half-asked and lazily done. They didn't polish this game and I wonder if they even stress tested the game between releasing it as a FTP and as a PC port.

Unacceptable behavior that is becoming too common in the games industry. This is disrespectful to the customer base.

TL;DR: BROKEN GAME FOR MANY, BEWARE AND RESERVE TIME FOR YOUR REFUND IF YOU ATTEMPT TO RUN IT.

Firstly, I can 100% completely understand the negative reviews. This is very clearly a mobile port, and the control scheme is indicative of that. Not to mention the occasional references to tapping the screen that someone forgot to remove/change.

However, as a game, it makes sense. Sure, the card packs and equipment gains are slow and grindy without the microtransactions, but you know what? When is a game like this not? You signed on for this when you got the game that the equipment drops would be random. Also, you really shouldn't feel entitled to be handed everything quite so easily, because it takes away the excitement when you finally roll that card you were looking for.

If you like squad turn-based combat, and are a fan of Warhammer 40K, I'd recommend this on a sale. It's a nice, clean time killer that looks quite pretty fullscreen. And I've not had a bug break the game yet.