"For better or worse, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II is a perfect example of the type of RTS titles that were released in the years following the end of the golden era (1995-2005)."
In our recent review of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Definitive Edition ↪ we touched upon the golden era of RTS games, and how between the years of 1995 and 2005, some of the best RTS games of all time were released, however we also touched upon the era which came next, which saw far fewer good titles, and far more mistakes, as developers and publishers seemed to forget what made the RTS great, in an effort to make it more palatable to a wider audience, leading to what could easily be called, the RTS Dark Ages.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II is a perfect example of what made this era so enjoyable compared to what came before it, instead of making a sequel to Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War with improved visuals and engine performance, the developers decided to strip away much of what made the original great and make sweeping changes to how it would play on almost every level, including but not limited to:
Its clear that Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II was created with online cooperative and competitive play in mind, and the single player campaign was of lower priority, which was unfortunately very common for titles released during the dark ages, where some publishers began to feel that singe player games, which were immensely popular before the widespread proliferation of high speed internet were a relic of the past.
Unfortunately this over reliance on multiplayer content often resulted in single player content that was of much lower quality than what many single-player RTS fans were used to, and the more simplistic mechanics of this era ironically failed to appeal to causal, veterans. or pretty much almost anyone else, with only the most hardcore fans even attempting to ride out the bad times, which would go on to last for the better part of a decade.
I must clarify that for all of its flaws, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II was one of the better games to come out during this time, but I must equally emphasise that it is in no way a worthy successor to the original.
While the standalone expansion pack Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Retribution does reintroduce building mechanics to a degree, and players are given the option to play with armies instead of heroes, it does not change the fact that the base game and Chaos Rising campaigns suffer from pacing issues, repetitive objectives, and some of the worst map design I have encountered.
Oh for sure, it looks fantastic, the unit designs are fantastic, the overarching story is decent, and if you have the mental fortitude to slog through the filler stuffed campaign, you will encounter more than a handful of missions that have unique objectives and decent narrative beats, however gaming is not supposed to be a job, and I must admit, after playing Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II campaign missions for around 10 or so hours I cannot wait to be done with them once and for all.
What makes Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II’s lacklustre single player content so frustrating, is if the developers had opted to create a more streamlined experience, with smaller maps, and less filler, it would have been a very decent real time tactics game, and while It would still be an overall worse single player experience than in the original game, It would certainly be far more enjoyable and ultimately replayable if the combined Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising Campaigns were around 1/3rd of the length they currently are, and maps and mission were less repetitive.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II (2009) lacks the community that older titles such as Age of Empires II enjoyed, an as a result, the current community is much smaller, and while a few hundred people play each day at peak, Its difficult to find active open lobbies for most of the day, which is a shame, as Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II is far more enjoyable as a multiplayer title than it is as a singe player one, due to the ability to recruit units, even if base building is for the most part, woefully absent.
While some Christians dislike all things Warhammer and lump it in with everything else they do not like as dangerous, evil or demonic, I feel the total reverse is true. You can read more about my views on the Warhammer universe in my blog post titled Deep Dive #7 - The Grimdark and the Light.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition is a 4x strategy game developed and published by Relic Entertainment, it released on 20 September 2024, and is available exclusively on PC.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition supports the following peripherals:
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition is rated PEGI 16+ and contains:
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II (2009) is not a bad game, and Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition (2024) is the best way to experience it, however it is a poor successor to the original Dawn of War, and is emblematic of the problems facing the genre at that time, with far too much filler content, a reduced emphasis on quality single player content, and a general reliance on style over substance, which when combined result in a sequel that is ultimately worse than its predecessor in almost every way.
While it looks pretty, and there are a few moments where its generally dull narrative and lacklustre level design rise above mediocrity, they are few and far between, and for that reason I find it difficult to recommend it for fans of single player content, when so many better alternatives are available, including the excellent Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Definitive Edition ↪.
However for fans of multiplayer games like of Company of Heroes 2 and 3, who understand that older titles such as this are not as active as newer games, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition (2024) is incredibly fun, and I heartily recommend it.
We found Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Anniversary Edition to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
"While not as good as Total War: Warhammer I & III, Total War: Warhammer II is one of the best Total War games ever made, and without doubt one of the greatest Warhammer games on the market."
"While Shogun: Total War was ahead of its time when it released in June 2000, almost 25 years later, there is no reason to play beyond curiosity or nostalgia."
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