A New Dawn Rises

Warhammer: Dawn of War IV feels like a time capsule. From the moment I boot up the playable preview build, I’m reminded of the first time I tried the series; of mass attack-moving squads of Space Marines across planets, seizing control of the terrain, and raining havoc on my enemies. Dawn of War IV seeks to recapture much of the old flame, but it adds something new to the pot in the process.

Deep Silver and developer King Art are taking stewardship from long-time Dawn of War maker Relic Entertainment, but that doesn’t mean the formula has changed too drastically. In fact, it feels very, very familiar from the first prologue mission. Individual units still have a bit more durability than your average real-time strategy game, can upgrade their capabilities in the field, and replenish their numbers in real time. Dawn of War IV certainly has some unit churn to its larger battles, but the system also rewards players who can keep their units on the field longer.

Seizing nodes, which bolster your resources for upgrading and making new units, is still the name of the game. Dawn of War IV is all about point control and the push and pull over resource nodes as lines advance and retreat across the map. Ultimately, it plays a lot like the first Dawn of War, and creative director Jan Theysen tells me that’s by design.