What are the best Warhammer 40K games? Games Workshop’s grimdark futuristic universe, where everything is at war with each other, is an ideal setting for plenty of games. While the miniature war game company’s licensing history has seen plenty of digital adaptations, the fact of the matter is that some have been hit or miss.
It should come as no surprise to fans that plenty of the best Warhammer 40K games ever made are from eons ago, but more recently, we’ve seen some excellent and unique adaptations. Genre variety is a big thing here as we’re also being treated to space games and even action-adventure RPGs. We’re not here to highlight our ancient battle brothers of 40K games of yore – they’ve had their time in the sun. Instead, we want to highlight the best Warhammer 40K games that have been released in more recent times.
These are the best Warhammer 40K games:
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
Boltgun is a retro boomer shooter that oozes style, blood, and viscera. You assume the role of a Sternguard Veteran, and with your Boltgun in one hand and your Chainsword in the other, your primary goal is to tear through heretics in the name of the Emperor. Your frenetic gunfights across the Forge World Graia will put you in close contact with Chaos Marines, Orks, and the Tau Empire, and only one of you is making it out alive.
As you might expect from its colorful visuals, Boltgun doesn’t take itself too seriously, leaning fully into the dark humor and campiness of the Warhammer 40K universe. The FPS game is a nostalgic romp boasting gorgeous sprites and clean animations, as well as a heavy-metal soundtrack that’s guaranteed to get your blood pumping. Warhammer 40K and Doom are a match made in heaven; Boltgun is proof of that.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
If splatting rats in the Vermintide Warhammer games isn’t quite the smiting you had in mind, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now purge heretics and mutants in the name of the God-Emperor in a late challenger to some of the best PC games of 2022, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide.
The latest Fat Shark game follows pretty much the same structure as its fantasy-flavored Left 4 Dead-like predecessors but infests it with the Grimdark universe, where Warhammer 40K takes place. So, instead of magic users, you have Psykers that are in tune with the Warp. At the same time, other choosable Darktide classes include heretic-slicing Zealots, former Imperial Guardsmen Veterans, and colossal Ogryns. So, if you’re looking for a decent 40K co-op game, this might be a good one for you – make sure you use the best Darktide weapons while you’re at it.
Space Marine
The release of Space Marine came amidst the growing hype around third-person shooters thanks to Gears of Wars’ glorious ascent. But when the PR buzz phrase is “You are the cover,” you know you’re in for a bloody good time. This is one of Relic’s hidden gems that offers a surprisingly robust Space Marine power fantasy where you live up to the one-man army mythos surrounding the Adeptus Astartes.
It is also quite clever to let the player, who assumes the role of Ultramarine Captain Titus, stand out despite being from the most on-brand Astartes chapter. There are no good guys in the grim darkness of the far future, but the Ultramarines are some of the closest you’ll get. We are excited that the Space Marine 2 release date is approaching and look forward to discovering more.
Space Hulk Tactics
In case you don’t know what this board game classic is, Space Hulk is a turn-based strategy game where you must lead a team of either Blood Angels Terminators or Tyrannid Genestealers to wipe out the other side in mortal combat, not too dissimilar to actual 40K rules.
The history of Space Hulk digital adaptations has been rocky, to say the least, which is why Space Hulk Tactics is a welcome surprise in that it’s pretty good. It follows the design of the original tabletop game more closely, offering a slick, fresh turn-based tactics experience. It’s not perfect, but there’s no denying this is the best Space Hulk game on the market and a great strategy board game adaptation.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War
In the long history of things nobody asked for, I’d say a ‘Civilization-but-it’s-Warhammer-40K’ is high on the list. Gladius is a 4X game that strips out diplomacy, trade, and other niceties and keeps it focused on the setting’s core purpose – war.
It’s pretty good. Most of the 40K roster is present now via DLC packs, and they all have a varied playstyle, which means even though all you can do is fight each other, you at least have a different way of going about it. It’s not just about fighting AI or human opponents either – the early game sees you struggle against local alien wildlife as you try to dominate the planet Gladius.
Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2
While some elements of the original Battlefleet Gothic Armada game were arguably better, Armada 2 gets to claim the top spot as it has received much more love and support, with every significant 40K faction represented during the game’s launch. Inspired (but not a direct translation) by Games Workshops’ tabletop fleet-based tabletop game of the same name, Armada is an RTS game where you command fleets of grimdark warships and fight it out in space.
There are three dynamic campaigns: one for the Tyranids, one for Necrons, and one for the Imperium. There are also some neat persistence elements across single-player and multiplayer where you can take the same ships in battle and have them earn experience. Apart from that, it has a very bombastic aura, making it one of the finest space naval warfare games on the market and a tactically satisfying 40K-themed game.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
The undisputed king of Warhammer 40K games remains Relic’s masterpiece in the original Dawn of War. Based on the award-winning Company of Heroes format of real-time tactics games, it allows you to experience the visceral, bombastic action of the far future in gritty tactical action. The original release featured Orks, Space Marines, Chaos Marines, and Eldar. Over time, expansions added factions such as the Imperial Guard, T’au, Necrons, Dark Eldar, and even the Sisters of Battle as additional playable races via expansions.
While the original game followed Company of Heroes’ model of linear missions for its campaign, the later spin-offs would experiment with campaign meta-layers, with Soulstorm seeing you fight over an entire system. Dawn of War has two sequels that are drastically different from the original, and if we’re honest, they’re pretty good games, but we much prefer the first.
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector
Despite our guarded Battlesector review, this is on the list for two reasons. Firstly, between the points-based army setup, the gear options, and the turn-based design, this is an excellent distillation of the tabletop game. Secondly, if you like Space Marines and Warhammer 40K: Space Marine wasn’t enough, this does make you feel very good about everyone’s favorite 40K faction.
Fighting against the Tyranids on a moon orbiting the Blood Angel’s homeworld; while it’s not incredibly taxing, it does immerse you in the power fantasy of Games Workshop’s golden boys in a way that only Dawn of War has managed previously. The technical foundations of this game are solid, but it needs better scenarios and – ultimately – more factions for it to come into its own. Thankfully, the Necrons have arrived to ruin everyone’s day via the Warhammer game’s first faction expansion, and we can’t wait to see who else appears.
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr
What if you take Diablo, but it’s Warhammer 40,000? Inquisitor – Martyr is a rough-and-ready action RPG that sends you to the Caligari sector, far from the Emperor’s grace and in dire need of an Inquisitor to straighten things out with some good old-fashioned hack-and-slashing.
You can play the game solo or co-op with up to three other players, and there are three classes you can choose from. There’s also a battle barge’s worth of micro-DLC packs that offer extra missions and other things to keep you entertained. These minor expansions support all of the free content updates Inquisitor – Martyr has had since its release in 2018 and is, overall, a refreshing departure from the kinds of Warhammer games we typically get.
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters
A surprisingly fun turn-based strategy game based on one of 40K’s most humorless chapters, this is an XCOM-like tactics game where the small group of perpetually outnumbered Grey Knights takes on never-ending tides of Nurgle monsters.
Daemonhunters’ greatest strengths don’t come from its satisfying management interfaces or chaotic tactical battles, however, but from the fact that it manages to condense some very dense lore and mechanics into an experience that’s readable and surprisingly efficient at teaching the player how to play the game. As our Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters review shows, there are some rough edges to iron out, but this is a surprisingly good Warhammer 40K game that takes an easy spot on this list.
Those are the best Warhammer 40K games on PC. More exciting projects are on the horizon, so we imagine more faces may appear on this list soon. In the meantime, check out some excellent management games if you plan less violent endeavors. Finally, here are the rest of the upcoming PC games coming very soon.