Early hands-on previews of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 from PC Gamer and Polygon went up on October 21. Both outlets came away impressed with the two campaigns they played, the ork and Adeptus Mechanicus ones. According to Polygon, the RTS from developer King Art and publisher Deep Silver launches on Windows PC on December 3.
Both previews covered the prologue and two of the game’s four campaigns. PC Gamer called the prologue a short, two-mission introduction featuring the Astra Militarum. Polygon said it also offered some time with the Space Marines. In the game, all four factions are fighting over the same planet, each for its own reasons.
PC Gamer’s writer said early fears of a repeat of Dawn of War 3‘s problems had gone away: “Folks, I am loving these campaigns.” The ork campaign is first in the story’s timeline, and Polygon said the developers recommend that players start with it. The orks have the cheapest units and buildings in the game and can raise an army fast.
Branching paths and returning cover
PC Gamer said that partway through both the ork and Adeptus Mechanicus campaigns, players pick one of two rival sides. Each side has its own commanders, unique missions and story moments, though some maps are shared between them. The outlet said you would need two playthroughs to see everything, and that some choices along a single path also change later missions. One ork mission has two rival warbands racing in separate lanes to destroy an Adeptus Mechanicus base.
According to PC Gamer, cover returns as a major system after being largely sidelined in Dawn of War 3. Barricades appear on every map. Orks can build their own anywhere, and the Adeptus Mechanicus can build Emanatus Field Generators that protect garrisoned units from every direction. The Adeptus Mechanicus also gets a Void Shield that enemies cannot shoot through. Its Noosphere Network links its buildings for efficiency bonuses, but it relies on relays that can be attacked.
Several systems come from the tabletop game, PC Gamer said. These include wargear upgrades that change the weapons on individual units, plus command points earned in battle that are spent on powerful stratagems such as the orks’ WAAAGH!. The outlet said melee animation syncing doesn’t always work yet.
Approachability and Skirmish
Polygon called the game “surprisingly approachable.” It pointed to a prologue that teaches the basics thoroughly and an option for units to use their abilities automatically. The outlet also tried Skirmish, a mode against AI opponents with adjustable missions, maps and other settings. It said King Art’s experience on its 2020 RTS Iron Harvest shows in the game.
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