Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War Series Alternatives and Similar Games

Games like Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War offer action-packed battles across a variety of blasted ruins and exotic battlefields. They’re fast-paced and intense, where a few moments of indecisiveness or poor tactical decisions can result in defeat.

The original Dawn of War pitted Chaos, Eldar, Space Marines, and Orks, against each other in a battle for the world of Tartarus. It introduced the Blood Ravens chapter in their battle to liberate the world for the Imperium of Man. With the world swamped by Orks, the Blood Ravens came to the rescue of beleaguered Imperial forces, coming up against the Eldar and forces of Chaos as an ancient conspiracy was uncovered.

The Blood Ravens have since become the stars of the series, featuring in every game since. The expansion packs Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm, have all added new units, new races, and abilities. The Dark Eldar, Imperial Guard, Tau, Sisters of Battle, and Necrons, have all become playable along with the use of airborne units.

Units are controlled as a squad, not individuals. Squads can be upgraded and customized to fit tactical needs. Infantry can fight in ranged and hand to hand combat. The latter is particularly noteworthy for the spectacular finishing moves that victorious fighters use to kill their opponents. Infantry squads possess also morale. If a squad has its morale drop to zero, its combat effectiveness drops and it will do reduced damage.

Vehicles are highly resistant to standard infantry weapons and require the use of specialized heavy weapons to be destroyed. Similar to infantry squads, they can be customized with a variety of anti-infantry or anti-vehicle armaments.

Dawn of War ditches tedious micromanagement and resource gathering by focusing on combat. There is no need to harvest or gather resources. Requisition is generated by capturing strategic points, critical locations, and relics, on the battlefield. Power is gathered by building generators.

Dawn of War is an enjoyable game both on and offline. Its chaotic battles are perfect for multiplayer. The originals despite being over a decade old, still hold up well and remain top sellers on Steam.