I came to appreciate the real appeal of the Total War series only after working as a journalist for quite some time. However, my love for Warhammer 40K goes back much further. How could the crossover of the two not make my heart flutter? I always thought this game would show up eventually, but I never expected it to take this long. I certainly didn't expect to be nearly 40 before finally getting my hands on it for the first time...

At any rate, I couldn't miss such a precious opportunity, and after jumping through a few hoops, I sat down in front of the PC. My first time playing Total War: Warhammer 40K—heh, those Greenskins are dead meat.

The demo lasted an hour, but before diving into the full hands-on review, there is something that needs to be made clear: this demo build is an alpha among alphas. It is hard to say how long it will take, but it looked like it would need at least a year or more before a proper build is ready for release. Naturally, the playable content was quite limited. The Space Marines were the only playable faction, accompanied by a brief, non-customizable campaign segment and three battles including the tutorial.

It really is just a "first impression." So, what did Total War: Warhammer 40K actually feel like to play? Let's dive in.

Space Marines Have a Lot of Weapons.

Although the demo build contained three modes—tutorial, campaign, and battle simulation—it is actually difficult to explain the differences between them. The build focused almost entirely on combat, with little else to examine, and the enemy faction was locked to the Orks.

What stands out first in combat is the diversification of armament. In the previous Total War: Warhammer titles, there was a clear rock-paper-scissors dynamic: Great Weapons dealt armor-piercing damage effective against heavily armored units, Dual Weapons countered low-tier infantry with high health and unit counts but weak armor, and Anti-Large weapons were designed to take down cavalry and larger entities.

This meant that balance was necessary when constructing an army roster, which allows up to 19 unit cards excluding the Lord. In the campaign, you could stack your army with versatile elite units without restriction, but that was an exception. Typically, you needed ranged units or artillery to clear out enemy meatshields, armor-piercing "can openers" to deal with elite infantry, and a few cards of spearmen or halberdiers to counter cavalry and monsters. Having cavalry to break enemy formations was a great bonus too.

Space Marines, however, do it all. A single squad can handle long-range threats, deal armor-piercing damage, excel in anti-infantry melee, and smash large units. Counters and match-ups hardly matter. The reason is simple: a single unit carries an almost absurd variety of weapons.

Of course, certain specialized unit types—like Aggressors, who excel at absorbing damage on the front lines and crushing melee foes—don't carry endless assortments of weapons. But versatile, jack-of-all-trades units like Intercessors carry everything from various grenade launchers, Bolt Rifles, and Bolt Pistols to Chainswords and combat knives, leaving no distance uncovered. This means most unit types will perform above expectations in virtually any situation.

Space Marines Fight Insanely Well.

This subtly highlights the asymmetry inherent in Total War: Warhammer 40K.

The previous Total War: Warhammer games also featured asymmetry based on faction design. Well-rounded factions like the Empire, Kislev, or Grand Cathay could maintain a balanced mix of melee and ranged units. In contrast, the Vampire Counts lacked artillery completely, and the Ogre Kingdoms could fill their core roster with monstrous units after the early game. It isn't a fair, symmetrical game like chess; it's more like chess pieces playing against Xiangqi pieces on the same board.

Looking at weapon diversity again, the enemy faction in the demo, the Orks, isn't completely different at first glance. Even basic core units like Slugga Boyz carry Slugga pistols alongside Choppas. However, Shoota Boyz primarily rely on Shootas, and while Slugga Boyz have ranged capabilities, their primary strength remains melee combat.

Space Marines have no such limitations. Whether at range or in melee, once they engage, they demolish everything. Their reputation as the universe's ultimate warriors, living for centuries or millennia, isn't just fluff. Even basic Intercessors can comfortably handle two cards of Ork infantry, and three or four squads grouped together can hold down an entire front line by themselves.

A key detail to note here is that the Space Marine faction operates with very small numbers. In the demo build setup, Captains and Librarians consist of just 5 models including support staff. Aggressors and Terminators have only 6 models per unit, while basic Intercessors and Hellblasters consist of just 10 models including the squad leader. Fewer models mean fewer attacks, which theoretically reduces overall damage output, but they are so strong that this hardly feels like a drawback.

On top of that, Space Marines do not break and flee. Their morale doesn't crumble, behaving as if every unit possesses the Unbreakable trait. While they might execute a tactical retreat to secure better positioning, they will never commit the disgrace of fleeing in panic when the tide turns against them.

As a result, battles between Space Marines and Orks look like waves of Orks throwing themselves against an iron wall like eggs against a rock. Orks do have elite units like Stompas or Meganobz, so getting caught off guard by them will deal damage to Space Marines—and if that damage accumulates, it can lead to a squad wipe. However, hundreds of Orks will usually be slaughtered before reaching that point. Looking at the post-battle kill ratios, the asymmetry is so extreme it almost makes you wonder if this is allowed.

Space Marines Are Flexible Too

Another noticeable element is the use of terrain. In previous Total War: Warhammer titles, terrain played a major role on the battlefield, with shallow water slowing movement speed and forests blocking line of sight. Winning or losing often hinged on how well terrain was utilized; Elf units packed with terrain bonuses like "Forest Stalker" were nightmares in woodland areas.

Terrain remains crucial in Total War: Warhammer 40K. Cover stacked by the (likely) poor, fallen Astra Militarum soldiers becomes key defensive strongpoints, and in the world of 40K where almost every unit possesses ranged weaponry, elevation differences exert an even greater impact than in previous titles. Space Marines may be the galaxy's greatest warriors, but they aren't reckless berserkers who would foolishly wander into disadvantaged fighting positions.

Furthermore, Space Marines have their own game-changing options: Orbital Bombardments rained down from orbit, and "Deep Strike," which deploys reserve forces straight onto the battlefield.

Orbital Bombardment doesn't feel drastically different from bombardment support in previous titles and plays similarly to magic spells. However, since "magic" is categorized separately, it feels closer to the Black Ark bombardments. Given how massive Ork unit sizes are, a well-placed strike can wipe out hundreds of models at once—though just as many will keep coming anyway.

Deep Strike is an even more powerful ability, dropping pre-assigned reserve units via Drop Pods directly into a target location. The Drop Pod itself deals area-of-effect damage, effectively acting as an airstrike, but more importantly, the units emerging from it are formidable Space Marines capable of taking on whole armies. You can only drop up to four cards at a time, but four Space Marine unit cards are enough to crush almost any force.

Combat is fun, but what about the campaign...?

For now, that was all that could be confirmed in the demo. There simply wasn't anything more to see. I did get to customize Space Marine paint schemes and names, and saw that battles take place in orbit as well as on planetary surfaces, but even those orbital engagements ran automatically without hands-on control.

Therefore, it feels too early to make a definitive judgment on whether to be hyped for this game or not. While I am a fan of the Total War series and a fan of both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K, my fandom shouldn't blind me into overhyping a game. To be precise, it's not that I think it won't succeed, but rather that it's still uncertain.

In the subsequent interview, I heard about thrilling features such as battles spanning multiple planetary systems, introductions to the Aeldari and Astra Militarum, unique domain management mechanics, and the ability to create a custom Chapter. However, as everyone knows, talk is cheap. The only way to know for sure is when the game actually releases.

However, when it came to the combat between Space Marines and Orks—the single playable element in this demo build—the gameplay experience was genuinely satisfying. If other aspects of the game can deliver a similar level of satisfaction, Total War: Warhammer 40K will at least live up to expectations.