The Warhammer intellectual property is vast, deep, and intriguing. Some might even say Warhammer lore is too detailed, going into such incredible depths as to be overwhelming. But with deep lore comes incredible products, especially when it comes to video games.
Some astoundingly accurate video games have been released, using Warhammer as their basis. There is some argument as to how well certain games depict the lore, but few argue that the material always makes for great entertainment. Here are some excellent Warhammer based video games.
Warhammer: Vermintide
Everyone with even a passing interest in Warhammer knows the Skaven. Or, to be more precise, the dog sized, armour clad rat creatures that wage war. For the longest time games avoided depicting Skaven, mostly because the monster’s primary means of attack is swarming. How can developers show swarms of GPU intensive rats with limited console resources? All that changed as technology advanced.
Vermintide is immensely bloody, surprisingly tactical, and takes the bluntest approach to the genre. 4 players cooperate to slash, smash and shoot their way through Skaven, with enemy numbers being staggering. Anyone imagining what it must be like to go head to head with thousands of rat monsters should give Vermintide a look.
Total War: Warhammer
The Total War franchise and Warhammer license are a match made in heaven. How about taking the intensely realistic simulations of Total War, but basing the logistics around the Warhammer universe?
Total War: Warhammer is everything hoped for, and somehow so much more. Forget about personally going head to head with Skaven, and instead command armies of thousands.
Though, even the professionals that produce MLB expert picks might be nervous trying to predict how the vast, epic Total War: Warhammer battles turn out. The armies of beasts are, after all, brutally unpredictable and difficult to understand.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War
There is the medieval fantasy Warhammer, then there is the 40K spin off. 40K drops swords and shields in favour of guns and advanced power armour. Though, essentially 40K uses the same basic rules, only with more shooting and less stabbing.
The Dawn Of War franchise went above and beyond in making the chaos of the 40K universe tangible. Classic RTS mechanics are used, meaning that bases must be built and resources harvested before soldiers can be summoned. Think of Dawn Of War as a much lighter, less overwhelming version of Total War.
Space Marine
From supremely detailed and demanding to the barest representation of the license. Space Marine does away with cooperation, forgets about war strategy, and just focuses on the killing. Yes, it can be argued that the game hardly acknowledges how deep and detailed Warhammer lore is, but who cares when you’ve just mowed down several dozen orcs with a chainsaw sword?
Space Marine is, technically speaking, seen as fairly accurate in regards to Warhammer lore. The orcs are their same stomping selves, the Space Marines fanatical in their commitment, and the weapons appropriately blunt. This is also Warhammer, and some will love Space Marine for its simplicity.
