Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Space Hulk: Deathwing. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.
The powerful armor that you'll don in Space Hulk: Deathwing is incredibly intimidating. It's a walking, insurance policy, a mobile weapon that says "I'm a badass" with just one look. In all reality though, it's only as good as the heart and brains of the person donning it. Similarly, the game itself revels in the strength of its initial appeal but underneath, it's much less intimidating. Rife with gameplay issues and questionable decisions, Space Hulk: Deathwing doesn't do anything for the source material it's based on, and even worse, it's almost an insult to the fan base it looks to appease.
That's not to say that there's nothing to like in Deathwing, in fact -- far from it. Based off the Warhammer mythos, Deathwing puts you in the badass boots of the Librarians, and while that may not seem like much, trust me -- it is. Your main goal is to cleanse the debris of ships of hordes of Tyranids. It plays like a sci-fi version of Left 4 Dead, with literally dozens and dozens of enemies coming at you at all times and your only goal is literally to kill as many of them as possible. Giving credit where credit is due, this IS what I always envisioned stepping into the Terminator armor should feel like. Deathwing wasted no time making me feel like a badass superhero, using badass guns, destroying badass monsters. It's a feeling that I immediately identified with and damn was it rewarding the first time I experienced it.
Unfortunately, that's about all that Space Hulk does right. At it's best it's a slog that stops being fun far too soon but at it's worst -- it's a complete mess. Here's how your average level plays out in Deathwing: start at point A, get lost in entirely too big of maps, find your way through killing everything and repeat. Really, that's it. There are relics to collect that have a small effect on your character's abilities but I never found that small effect to be that worth seeking them out in the confusing maps. This would all be forgivable if the combat mechanics were enjoyable but sadly it's not; it's just kind of there. While the melee weapons feel okay enough, the badass guns never truly feel as badass as they should and don't have the weight and feel like they definitely should.
You'll find the most fun with Deathwing while playing with three like minded friends. While playing for review, play sessions with actual human teammates turned into fun shouting matches with friends but playing with AI controlled squadmates is incredibly frustrating. Playing through single player, you have to issue commands to your squadmates and they don't just refuse to listen, they're practically braindead. You're going to spending most of your time trying to get your squadmates out of trouble and banging your head against the wall. So many other games have done this so much better and that's incredibly dissapointing because a developer working with the pedigree of a property like this, the one thing I really wanted was to have a badass squad to work with me.
At first glance, Space: Hulk Deathwing looks fantastic. It nails the gothic style the franchise is known for and creates it's own mythos in the process. Look closer though and it becomes clear -- it's more than a little rough. Textures become incredibly muddy when looked at up close and the game seems unfinished at best even on high end machines. Combine this with the fact that I encountered a number of game breaking bugs that either sent me all the way back to my desktop or in such a spot where I couldn't advance so I had no choice but to move on.
Right before its release, Space: Hulk Deathwing was delayed by just over a week, but they should have delayed it more. There are a number of great ideas at play here, but they're either implemented poorly or in such a confusing way that they end up making the game less of an experience. Sadly, Space Hulk: Deathwing isn't worth your time, money or the legacy it's franchise was built on.
