Games Workshop’s best-selling tabletop game gets the full-on FPS treatment with Space Hulk: Deathwing…

03 March 2016 | By Mark Pilkington

Based upon Game Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 franchise, Space Hulk: Deathwing is a first-person shooter that puts you in the rather sturdy boots of a Space Marine Terminator. Picking up a distress signal from a seemingly abandoned space ship, you and your team of three soon find yourselves surrounded by Genestealer aliens as you explore the gloomy corridors in search of your missing comrade…

We caught up recently with French developers Streum On in Paris (of all places) to talk turkey about converting the best-selling tabletop game, and juggling the expectations of both gamers and fans of the Warhammer 40k universe alike.

GameWatcher: In terms of its life cycle, how long has Deathwing been in development for?

Francois Detemmerman: About two years so far. We are close to finishing it, we are polishing it right now. As soon as we feel it is good and ready, we will release it. We will have to see how the game shapes up before it can be published, and that is something we are still working on.

GameWatcher: There have been a few PC games based on the Space Hulk universe in the past. How does Deathwing shape up when compared to those?

Francois Detemmerman: We’ve tried to make something that is in the Space Hulk universe but also has its own identity. We don’t want to make just another Space Hulk game, because we feel if you wanted that then you should just get the original board game, which is very good in itself. We basically tried to make an FPS which was based around Space Hulk lore.

GameWatcher: As you just mentioned, Space Hulk has a very rich lore. How much of that can be discovered as you play the game?

Francois Detemmerman: A lot. There is a lot for the player to read about. I have to say, if you are talking about the lore, it is something we have worked very closely with Games Workshop on. This was to make sure the history we present is consistent throughout. If you are the type of player who is looking for a rich background to their game’s setting, I think you will find a lot here to please you.

GameWatcher: The game is very much like a survival horror in a way, being based in a confined space with creatures leaping out at you.

Francois Detemmerman: In terms of horror, there are lots of jump scares. You will be surprised sometimes by something that is very scary. There is also very much an oppressive atmosphere in the game. Sometimes you may have quiet periods in the game, but then you will suddenly find yourself attacked from all corners just when you think you are safe.

GameWatcher: You have three team mates who venture into the ships with you. How much control of them do you have? Can you command them in terms of their position and what they do in the game?

Francois Detemmerman: We did try giving the player the option of going into their bodies and playing as them, but it ended up being too complicated, so instead you control them remotely. In multiplayer however, you can play alongside others who will take charge of them. Multiplayer will be much more action based, as the cutscenes you have in the solo game won’t be there. It will be much straighter to the point.

GameWatcher: How long is the solo game? Is it quite a large campaign?

Francois Detemmerman: Depending on the player, it will last for 10 to 15 hours. Each of the nine levels takes a bit over an hour to complete, so an hour and fifteen for each one. The end levels are particularly hard, so the whole game should last a long time.

GameWatcher: How many in-game space ships are there to explore?

Francois Detemmerman: In total you have seven ships over nine different levels. Each ship is projected to be several kilometres wide, so there is plenty to explore.

GameWatcher: Is it only Genestealers or are there other types of enemy you will face?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes, it’s only Genestealers, but you will face a large variety of them. There are about 15 different types of enemies. Some of them might look alike as they share the same basic model, but they have very different skills and abilities.

GameWatcher: How much character customisation do you have? Are there a large variety of weapons to arm yourself with?

Francois Detemmerman: At the moment you can choose between twelve different types of weapons. You can choose between arming your left or right arm, although sometimes you won’t have a choice, depending on the weapon itself. For instance, if you choose a Lightening Claw, your other arms must also have the same weapon. You have a lot of customisation available, and can unlock different types of weapon as you collect skill points.

GameWatcher: How do the skill points work? Is it a case of being awarded them as you complete certain sections of the game?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes exactly, depending on your performance and how well you do, you will gain more or less skill points. The skill points can be spent in each one of the five skill trees. At the end of the game, you won’t be able to fill all skill trees, but you will be able to fill more than one. I think the actual final number will be two or three.

GameWatcher: Can you spend the points in-game or after each level?

Francois Detemmerman: You can summon a Psygate during the game where you can escape from the action to customise your team. Whenever you are in trouble and your squad is down to its last legs, you can call up a Psygate. They let you go back to a Deathwing outpost where you can upgrade and re-equip yourself before you go back into the fray. Of course, this is a bit like cheating, as you can never die if you do this, so to counteract that you only have a limited amount of charges to call the gates up. At the moment the number is four for each level. It is important that you use them, otherwise you won’t be able to unlock all the weapons and abilities, so when you arrive at the end of the game you might be in big trouble.

GameWatcher: Do you also have checkpoints during the game where you can stop and rest from the action?

Francois Detemmerman: As you progress, there are areas where you can take a breather and re-equip yourself as well. You don’t have any spaces where you can repair yourself though, as that wouldn’t make sense. When you secure an area, you can go there to relax for a bit - maybe make yourself a cup of tea of something – but most of the time you will be constantly attacked by Genestealers. There is no real break, you will just spend an hour or two constantly being harassed by Genestealers. This is because we wanted to create an atmosphere where you are not safe as long as you are on the space ship.

GameWatcher: So do the Genestealers just keep coming all the time? There aren’t a certain number of them to kill per level, they just keep endlessly multiplying?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes, they’ll keep at you all the time. You can try to avoid them by taking certain routes through each level, but they will just try to kill you relentlessly. As a player you can either explore the levels and try to avoid them, or just meet them head on and fight your way through.

GameWatcher: In the original Space hulk, you could track the Genestealers ahead and monitor how close they were to you. Do you have a similar system in operation in this game?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes if you explore a lot, you will know exactly where every Genesteaker is and can act accordingly. You then use your tactical map to know exactly where the Genestealers are coming from. If you lock the door behind you and close their paths you can delay their progress. You can’t stop them, but you can delay them, and that gives you time to progress further ahead of them. In the end they will catch you up, but by delaying them you will only have to fight a few of them at a time.

GameWatcher: For the levels themselves, are there collectables you can find? Any Easter eggs for players to discover?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes there are a lot of collectables in the forms of relics and artefacts. These are relics left by a Dark Angel warrior who was previously on the Space Hulk. You can collect every relic to discover about his history and the history of the chapter.

GameWatcher: Can you choose from different classes of Space Marine to play as?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes the player can choose from different classes. So you have librarian, Apothecary and the last one is Death Watch. The Death Watch is more like the heavy guy so he can use bigger weapons, the Apothecary is a medic so he can heal his teammates, and a Librarian is a battle mage who can cast spells.

GameWatcher: So if you play as a medic, you can revive your teammates?

Francois Detemmerman: Well, at the moment, if you die you have a timer and are automatically revived after a certain amount of time. But to be honest, we are not sure how we will deal with this yet. We think for instance that medics may help your teammates revive faster, but we need to figure out the actual mechanics of it.

GameWatcher: Finally, will the game be updated regularly after its release? What do players have in store for the future?

Francois Detemmerman: Yes, after we release the game we plan to keep updating it. For example, after a year we plan to release a full PvP multiplayer mode, along with a lot of new maps.

Space Hulk: Deathwing is due for release later in 2016.