Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War - Definitive Edition Review

In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, there is only war. However, in the grim darkness of the 21st century, there are remakes alongside remasters. Many fans of the Imperium of Man and the hordes of Xenos have been waiting for one title in particular: Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition. 

I have been a fan of Warhammer 40,000 since I was much younger, and of the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series since its release in 2004. The game offered players the chance to battle some of the most popular armies at the time, including Space Marines, Orks, and more, across an embattled planet. While the game still holds up today, it has several issues running on newer machines. 

The remaster addresses this issue, while also including all the DLCs for the original game, each of which is, essentially, a game in its own right. That means that you’re getting the original Dawn of War campaign, Winter Assault, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade, and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm. The first two of those titles are narrative, mission-based RTS games that are reminiscent of Age of Empires(but in space). Meanwhile, the latter allows you to select a faction to fight over a planet, with the final having you fight over a system.

It's a pretty hefty chunk of content, so you can while away hours in the game building bases while sending troops to fight. However, the real question here is what has changed between this version and the original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War?

The most noticeable improvement is in the graphics, which have seen a significant enhancement. it should be noted that the game isn’t going to suddenly look like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. The character models are still blockier than you would expect, with the faces still looking horrific. Ironically, that was the case with the tabletop models around 2004, too, so it’s fair enough.

Other than that, the game still works as you remember, with units being capable of both range and melee, plus each faction having a detailed roster of soldiers and buildings. I also want to note that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition doesn’t feature any of the updated units, so don’t expect to see any Primaris marines or up-to-date Dark Eldar. one thing I will note is that the pathfinding is certainly better, although not perfect, as units will still take a circuitous route rather than the more obvious one, but it’s still much better.

Secondly, one of the things that many people will tell you is that the original Dawn of War series was, to put it bluntly, about as balanced as a drunk jester on a unicycle. Now, I want to say that I wasn’t able to play multiplayer, but as far as I can tell, all the armies work in the same way as they used to. So, if you want to continue playing Eldar, be prepared for people to throw things at you.

At the end of the day, if you’re a fan of the series, then I have to say this is the perfect collection to grab, as it brings everything you loved back with a fresh new coat of paint. While it isn’t a complete rework, it’s done enough that I would happily recommend it to anyone who loved the original. When it comes to new players, that’s a little trickier. The problem is that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition still plays like a game from 2004, so if you prefer more modern titles, you might find it a bit old-fashioned. Meanwhile, much of the lore and models are a bit dated compared to what we have now.