In just a month, Relic Entertainment will be releasing the Definitive Edition of the classic 40K RTS, Dawn of War. Get ready.
Dawn of War is one of the greatest Warhammer 40K games out there. You can tell because it helped keep a whole genre afloat during the course of its original release. RTSes have been through a lot over the years (and you can chart their changes across the Dawn of War series).
Soon, you can relive the classic in all its tactical glory, hearkening all the way back to the halcyon days of 2004 – but with several updates. Because this past weekend, Relic Entertainment revelead Dawn of War: Definitive Edition, a visual remaster of the original classic and all its DLC.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Definitive Edition – Only A Little Bit Of Tech Heresy
When they say updated visuals, they mean it. All the units in the game have gotten a texture update, enhancing them to at least four times their original resolution. Relic added 64-bit platform support as well as an integrated Mod Manager. And of course, there’s been a whole lot of visual enhancements that really make the original game pop even twenty years later.
A lot of the work is in the lighting. From image-based lighting for individual models, to improved world lighting, unit reflections, surface gloss, enhanced shadows, even emissive lighting (which is the part that sounds like tech heresy to me), a lot of work has been put into preparing Dawn of War for modern systems. Now, it will display beautifully on 4k monitors, with increased draw distances, and an optimized HUD/screen layout for widescreen display at its finest.
But what about the gameplay? Well Relic has left the original mostly untouched – as part of the Definitive Edition, you’ll get access to everything from across Dawn of War‘s release. Including all nine factions (Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Chaos Marines/Daemons, Imperial Guard, Tau, Necrons, Dark Eldar, and Sisters of Battle) and four full campaigns from across the DLCs.
You’ll lead the Blood Ravens through the fall of Tartarus. Take the Imperial Guard and Eldar or Orks and Chaos through the wintry world of Lorn V in a hunt for a Titan. Then conquer the planet Kronus in a strategic campaign that opens up Tau and Necrons. And finally in Soulstorm, you’ll get all nine factions in a single place as you battle for dominance. And of course, there’s all the multiplayer goodness and mod support as well.
It really is a love letter to the original Dawn of War. And if any of the 40K games deserve it, DoW does – it made its own mold and though later titles might have followed in the MOBA footsteps of other RTS games in the “modern” age, this one has its own rhythms and feel that you don’t see much of anywhere else.
You can find Dawn of War: Definitive Edition starting August 14th on Steam! Learn more at the link below.
See you on Tartarus!
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