Dawn of War 4 returns to its roots, but I don't know if it's more than just a copy of the masterpiece from years ago

It has finally happened. The series, which seemed dead after the release of the previous installment, comes back to life. Dawn of War 4 is really in development and it is supposed to refer to the best elements of the series from many years ago. So I should be happy, but I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong again. It seems like everything is in its place, the developers' announcements sound very optimistic, and on paper, we are looking forward to the series returning to the right track. What I have seen so far, however, leads me to believe that reality may turn out to be somewhat less positive.

Play it again, Cyrus

But let's start from the beginning - the most important issue and the first surprise for many DoW fans might be who is behind this game. The new version of the cult RTS is not being handled by Relic, but by the much less experienced studio KING Art Games, which you may primarily associate with Iron Harvest - a good game, although not standing out in any aspect other than its style (which was, after all, the creation of a Polish artist, Jakub Rozalski, not the studio itself). For many gamers, this title was essentially a worse copy of Company of Heroes, lacking something that would refresh the known formula and motivate for longer play.

Related:A new chapter for the iconic RTS series. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 is a real return to its roots

After spending half an hour with the game's very short tech demo and watching the gameplay materials provided to us, I get the impression that it will be the same with DoW4. This time, however, the game will not be an overdue copy of Company of Heroes, but Dawn of War 1. Of course, this has its advantages and disadvantages... actually, just one advantage. The developers from KING Art Games are definitely aiming to refer to the first installment of the series, which is also considered by many fans to be the best out of the three. So in the end, they decided on something that seemed like an obvious and safe next step in the franchise's development - a step that Relic never dared to take, because they preferred to radically change the formula with each installment.

The way to satisfy the fans of the series seems obvious - let's take the iconic first game and develop it in every aspect. Let's add modern graphics, a larger scale of battles, a more extensive campaign. Let's give players the ability to control large units, which could not be added to the game before due to technical limitations. Let's improve the animations and effects, maybe even add a very flexible cover system from the second game or at least the ability to destroy parts of the environment and terrain. And what's more, let's get inspired by the beloved mods for DoW 1 like Unification.

Ideas come to mind on their own and none of them is a revolution, but only an evolution of a proven formula. For now, Dawn of War 4 seems to be just a copy of the first game without any really significant innovations. The developers seem to be trying to please the fans of the original whenever possible - we will again visit the planet Kronus, we start again with a battle between the Blood Ravens the Orks, the gameplay looks practically identical, and the game trailer is kept in the tone and color palette of the iconic intro of Dawn of War 1. All of this, however, are just details that could have been merely elements of a strategy focused on nostalgia. The problem is that when I look past the visuals, I also don't see much new and particularly interesting content here.

Not so much of a big war

During the presentation, I had the opportunity to watch materials where the developers showcased the gameplays from the game. Then I spent some time personally leading the Space Marines into battle against the Orks. I can draw a few conclusions from both of these experiences. Firstly, the developers at KING Art Games did not decide to significantly develop the known formula. The scale of the clashes seems the same as in the original from 21 years ago.

This applies to both the size of the maps and the number of units led into battle. Among them, we will find vehicles and soldiers that we have not seen in the series, but so far I have not seen examples of machines that would attract attention with their exceptional size and power. And yet, in a universe like Warhammer 40,000, over-the-top war machines are the standard (although the presence of an Imperial Knight in promotional materials gives hope that the most interesting units have not been shown yet).

This is just part of the problem. Another thing is how all this looks. The graphics have been adapted to contemporary standards, but it seems that when designing unit models and surroundings, no attention was paid to the fact that everything blends together in motion. The drab units blend into the background, and individual infantry formations do not stand out with easy-to-spot details, making it difficult to find the ones that are needed in the heat of battle. This is indeed a crucial issue when some types of them only do well in long-distance combat, and others in melee. The same applies to the interface, which is illegible and devoid of any colors that would allow easy navigation between the desired functions. However, I can give the developers some credit here and assume that perhaps these elements will be further refined, as this is still a very early version of the game.

Another visual issue raises even greater concerns - the animations. During the presentation, the developers put a lot of emphasis on this issue, boasting that they have created a system that allows for simultaneous animation of individual clashes between a large number of units. The problem is that these animations, although numerous, don't look too exciting. No matter what you say about the old Dawn of War, the animations of the fighting units are still amazing to watch today, despite the outdated textures. Dreadnoughts crushing opponents, a Necron Lord going through ranks of guardsmen, or Chaos Marines, who, while shooting at enemies, burst into laughter - all this still looks great to the point that you just want to stop commanding and admire the spectacle.

Here, at no point did I feel the weight of the units, I did not feel the need to zoom in and admire the fighting soldiers, nor did I notice any skirmishes that would have stuck in my memory. The sound design is quite mediocre - suffice it to say that even the bolters of the Space Marines sound like regular rifles. Compared to the satisfying roar of this weapon that you can hear in Rogue Trader, it just sounds sad.

Omnissiah, lead us to victory

Alright, but did the developers at least show something interesting in terms of gameplay? Well, the scale is one thing, graphics and audio are another, but maybe the developers made the gameplay format itself feel fresh? What seems to be a good decision is to highlight the differences between individual factions. In Dawn of War 4, we will get four factions on release - Space Marines, Necrons, Orks and (for the first time in the series) Adeptus Mechanicus. Each of them has not only different units, buildings and skills, but also a unique characteristic. That's why Marines are fewer in number, but each of them is a force to be reckoned with. Orks are standard cannon fodder, Necrons finance their development in a different way, and the Mechanicus must expand the network of integrated buildings on the map as they capture more terrain.

This is a good decision, because in the original DoW, situations like the Guardsmen infantry fighting on equal terms with the infantry squads of the Chaos Marines looked absurd. Here, the developers clearly want to show in depth the differences and characteristic features of each faction. This could potentially lead to more interesting gameplay. Developers have also introduced several minor improvements, which I unequivocally consider a plus. It is enough to mention the option of changing the equipment of individual units (in the first game after selecting a certain gear, we could not exchange it anymore) or the possibility of enabling automatic replenishment of units within the squad.

The issue of occupying strategic points on the map was also resolved in a rather unconventional way. This time they serve not only to generate requisitions, but also energy. The classic generators, which were responsible for its production in DoW 1, have been removed from the game. So, when expanding our influence, we will need to calculate what we need more at the moment - requisition or energy. This change may annoy purists, but I think it will bring a breath of fresh air to the familiar gameplay.

However, there are other aspects of the game, where changes are a mere simplification of the existing mechanics. What particularly bothers me is the overhaul of the cover system, which in the fourth game is quite a boring option compared to the solutions in DoW 1 and 2. Neither in the demo nor in the materials prepared by the developers did I see the possibility of taking cover in bomb craters or units having difficulties when moving in the water. There is also no organic cover system found in the second game, where every piece of rubble could provide protection for the units. Instead, we have static fortifications such as sandbags placed on the maps, that can provide cover to a single unit. However, this is not a flexible solution, which may not be enough in dynamic battles involving melee units, capable of quickly moving to our rear.

Despite this, it cannot be denied that we have only been shown a small snippet of a large game. The four prepared campaigns will feature over 70 missions (this is supposed to be the biggest Dawn of War in history). The campaigns will also take us to various places - in addition to the classic wastelands of every kind, we will also visit hive cities and areas under the control of the Manufactorum. The first available materials make it clear that the developers are working on a really wide range of available maps of all types - from vast arenas with lots of points to capture, to narrow maps with multiple corridors.

Of course, the campaign is not everything, because we will also be given a multiplayer mode, co-op, and the possibility of playing skirmishes with AI on a total of over 60 maps. The Last Stand mode was also mentioned. Additionally, a pro-consumer approach is already visible in some aspects - Dawn of War 4 will feature, for example, a classic army painter, which in the era of selling skins and all kinds of DLC is a certain phenomenon. The developers deserve praise for this small element, because it would probably have been easy to be tempted to sell new variants of individual armies in the form of small DLCs.

Second opinion

Mathias Pawlikowski comments

I have a less critical approach than Przemek, but at the same time probably less substantive. It is based on hopes, nostalgia, and more hopes. The current state of development of Dawn of War 4 - with which I actually spent a really pleasant moment - prevents me from judging its value. Many things here are simply still unfinished, but...

But I felt a lot of joy from this return to the spirit of the first game - perhaps also because I recently spent more than a moment with Dawn of War: Definitive Edition. I cautiously assume that Dawn of War 4 has taken the right direction. I was surprised too that there are no familiar mechanics from the original like taking cover in bomb craters or using a river as a natural obstacle. But I still hope that this piece of code I played just represents a very, very early stage of work. And I believe that everything here can still change.

For the Emperor?

The first Dawn of War is still one of my favorite RTS games to this day, and I've been playing its remastered version for a few days now. I also love the second game and spent a lot of time with it. Let's just forget about the third installment. However, I won't hide the fact that this series is very dear to me. So how could I describe my impressions after what I saw and tested in Dawn of War 4? At this moment, my feelings are strongly mixed. Many of the problems I described can still be fixed and perhaps the developers will actually do it. The few novelties that have been prepared give hope that this will not be just a simple copy of the first game.

But that's just it - it's more hope than certainty. At the moment, I am leaning more towards the scenario in which Dawn of War 4 will be a game for the fans of the installment from 2004. Not necessarily bad, probably even solid, but lacking something that would make me see this as a work of developers who had an idea for this sequel other than just making this game to get some profit. If the latter would be true, then why not just play the original?

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4

2026

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• Overview

• Plaion / Deep Silver / Koch Media
• Warhammer 40,000 (franchise)
• RTS
• KING Art Games
• gamescom 2025