It looks great, and while the animations might not have quite the gory flourish of those in Dawn of War 2 (moves in which a large unit grab a small one and rip it to shreds are notably absent this time), they’re still outstanding considering how much is happening on screen at any given time. Watching the Space Marine leader, Gabriel Angelos, stride across the battlefield and smash an Ork with his enormous hammer is always entertaining, especially since he stands easily twice the height of a normal Space Marine and in order to help you pick him out in the fray when dozens of units (each part of a squad) collide.

“It’s definitely still big on grim Warhammer 40K spectacle, including battles with absolutely gigantic super mechs that cut swaths through enemy armies, flashy and bloody effects as lasers, bullets, and melee weapons carve soldiers to pieces, and bodies flying everywhere. A little sadly, though, it feels less like Relic’s own unique style as a result.

Dawn of War 3 is distinctly set apart by major differences like Relic’s signature control point resource generation systems, but its abandonment of Dawn of War 2’s cover, suppression, and weapon facing systems make give it more of that fun and fast old-school pacing. With its focus on controlling up to three powerful hero characters next to disposable troops, Dawn of War 3 feels like a spiritual successor to Blizzard’s divisive Warcraft 3, the game from which DotA and the entire MOBA genre was born. It’s not big on variety and its campaign has a scattered pace, but it’s a good real-time strategy game that makes some bold moves. After its predecessor memorably focused almost exclusively on unit tactics, the pendulum has swung back toward larger armies and basic base-building, creating some extremely challenging micromanagement with a complex set of rules that makes it tough to dive into. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is as bloody and chaotic as its bombastic sci-fi universe demands.

Dawn of war 3 map editor