Space Hulk

The board game has been out of print since 2009, with copies selling for over £100, so this well-intentioned but scruffy recreation is the most affordable option for fans looking to relive the experience. That quirk of the market doesn't excuse the fact that Space Hulk could have - and should have - been better than this.

This is a satisfying game--especially to the longtime Warhammer 40K devotees who have been waiting for a new Space Hulk video game for nearly two decades--but it could have been so much more.

If you're completely new to the Warhammer 40K lore, there's no reason to have Space Hulk as your first or even last experience. The price of admission is simply too high, and you're likely to have way more enjoyment from picking any of the aforementioned titles from Relic's reliable stable.

There's definitely a sense that some of the magic has been lost during Space Hulk's transition from tabletop to desktop, but that doesn't make it entirely redundant. Provided you've got a bit of patience and a friend to play it with, there's a good dose of fun to be had. Played alone or with people you don't know, however, it does lose its charm fairly quickly, which as it happens is not entirely unlike the experience of queuing.

As an indie game, I understand some of these issues. The credits list is very small, and they have likely worked very hard to create this game. Unfortunately, perhaps due to licensing considerations or other issues, it just won’t offer a good value for most gamers at this point in time.

A faithful recreation of the classic Games Workshop board game that's best enjoyed by hardcore fans who are able to look beyond its rather disappointing cosmetics and sometimes clumsy interface.

No matter how rosy the spectacles, however, this is a good-enough version of a classic game rather than a great one. So we return to that humblebrag of a loading screen. This is the first Space Hulk videogame in 17 years. When you think about it like that, perhaps its makers should have spent a few more months polishing it and released a slightly better one.

Space Hulk is remarkably faithful to the source material, something that works for and against it in equal measure. Altogether the game shows potential but feels undercooked.