Dawn of War 4's New Gameplay Trailer Sparks Complaints About Voice Acting, the Inclusion of Primaris Marines, and Even the Colors — but It Wouldn't Be Warhammer 40,000 Without Some Heresy, Would It?

Dawn of War 4 got a caller gameplay trailer implicit the weekend, and portion excitement continues mostly for the upcoming real-time strategy game, the video has sparked a fig of complaints from immoderate wrong the Warhammer 40,000 community.

Let’s commencement with the dependable acting, which immoderate are saying sounds flat. The complaints present stem from comparisons to Relic’s much-loved Dawn of War, which came retired successful 2004. Based connected the caller video, the chatter from the Space Marines particularly doesn’t person capable oomph, and lacks the metallic ‘vox’ texture the Space Marines usually person erstwhile speaking done their helmets.

My champion conjecture present is that the developers astatine King Art Games needed the Space Marines to dependable sufficiently antithetic to the Adeptus Mechanics, 1 of Dawn of War 4’s marque caller factions. The Ad Mech are the fanatical worshippers of the Machine God of Mars, tech priests who person discarded their humanity successful favour of cybernetics. Their voices person that metallic vox-ness to them by default, which whitethorn person forced King Art’s manus erstwhile it came to the Space Marines' audio. After all, connected chaotic battlefield, the subordinate needs to cognize which faction is saying what.

“Voices for Space Marines aren't good, compared to DOW1 oregon DOW2,” said the wonderfully named redditor KillerKanka. “You cognize it's missing that ZEAL, the mechanical filter, the ‘COME. SHOW ME WHAT PASSES FOR FURY AMONG YOUR MISBEGOTTEN KIND’ oregon ‘SPESS MEHRINESS ATTAAAAACK’ oregon ‘STRIKE FROM THE SKIES, BROTHERS.’ It's overmuch easier to correct, tho, but still.”

“Looks promising, but delight hole the Space Marine dependable acting,” added ImSorryOkGeez. “That dude does not dependable similar helium is acceptable to pain heretics, termination mutants, oregon purge the unclean.”

As for the Orks successful Dawn of War 4, the dependable enactment we perceive successful the video is obscurity adjacent arsenic over-the-top cockney arsenic Warhammer 40,000 Orks traditionally sound, and so however they dependable successful Dawn of War 1.

And past there’s a increasing enactment astir the inclusion of Primaris Marines, which, well, if you’re not successful the weeds connected Warhammer 40,000, this 1 whitethorn beryllium to beryllium a head-scratcher.

“Firstborn” Space Marines, arsenic they’re known, were fundamentally replaced wrong the mounting by Primaris Marines. They’re bigger, tougher, stronger, and faster than the OGs, but immoderate wrong the fandom perfectly hatred them for their softer redesign.

There’s a batch to unpack here, but fundamentally this statement astir the Primaris Marines boils down to a feeling that Games Workshop has “toned down” the Space Marines implicit the years truthful that they look a small little similar the spiritual fanatics the lore suggests they are, and much similar the poster boys Warhammer 40,000 needs to pull caller fans.

Dawn of War, which came retired implicit 20 years agone now, leaned into the Warhammer 40,000 of that time, and truthful its Blood Ravens (the Space Marines section astatine the bosom of the Dawn of War games) delivered connected that fanaticism. Dawn of War was based connected Warhammer 40,000 4th Edition (we’re present connected the 10th), and truthful the Astra Militarum were called the Imperial Guard, the Aeldari were called the Eldar, and the Necrons didn’t speak.

Dawn of War 4, owed retired 2026, was ever going to person a antithetic consciousness successful keeping with the Warhammer 40,000 of today, the grimdark acold aboriginal we spot successful Amazon animations, successful video games similar the record-breaking Space Marine 2, and possibly (hopefully!) successful Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe. Dawn of War 4 was ever going to diagnostic Primaris Marines, which person been the default Space Marines for astir a decennary now.

I’m not amazed by complaints astir the dependable work, which astir apt could bash with a changeable successful the arm, oregon the complaints astir the Primaris Marines (this is an ongoing ailment astir each things Space Marines). The Warhammer 40,000 fandom, possibly much than immoderate other, is large connected tradition. But I americium amazed to spot complaints astir the game’s visuals, which I deliberation look beauteous detailed. King Art has spoken astir going hard connected sync kills, which Dawn of War 1 was celebrated for, and we spot those successful enactment here. Some are saying Dawn of War 4 looks excessively colorful, but to maine it looks fine.

There are much utmost reactions online, immoderate of which comparison Dawn of War 4 to the captious and commercialized flop that was Dawn of War 3. It’s intolerable to marque specified a examination based connected what we’ve seen of Dawn of War 4 truthful far, and King Art has made it wide from the commencement that it’s utilizing Dawn of War 1 arsenic its notation constituent for the crippled with basal gathering and large armies the focus.

Of course, with each caller video, Warhammer 40,000 fans volition proceed to person their accidental connected Dawn of War 4, close up until motorboat and beyond. Heresy is astatine the bosom of the Imperium, and truthful possibly King Art knew afloat good it was going to person to woody with a steadfast dose itself.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].