The Warhammer 40,000 milieu is one of the most compelling fictional universes around.

It’s grim, there are no good guys, and there are these fellas called Space Marines who carry machine guns that shoot rockets, and people deify them like gods. It isn’t the happiest place. Demons, Orks, and aliens of all varieties abound, and in many ways, humankind is among the worst of all the warring factions. From tabletop to screen, it is often a grim affair.

But it is a fun setting to play games in, because the world Games Workshop has created just lends itself well to both tabletop and video games, from wars fought at inconceivable scales to in-your-face skirmishes. There’s an absolutely massive array of games from myriad nooks and crannies of the 40K universe, and if 2022 is any proof, their proliferation shows no signs of slowing down. Here are some of the best of the bunch that’ve been released so far.

9. Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition

Space Hulk: Deathwing is a first-person survival shooter that was released in 2016. You and an AI (or live player) control a squad of Terminator Marines of the Dark Angels chapter as they explore not-so-abandoned Space Hulks (vast derelict space vessels often twisted by The Warp, a realm of unreality) looking for artifacts. From vast spaces to maze-like corridors, you’ll fight your way by bolter and blade through hordes of Tyranid Genestealers who have taken refuge in the Space Hulk that you and your team are tasked with exploring. It is by no means a perfect Warhammer 40,000 game, but it is a first-person shooter with wrist-mounted guns and chainswords, so it is still a rip-roaring (often literally) good time.

Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.

Image: NeocoreGames/Games Workshop

8. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr

Do you like Warhammer 40,000? Do you like Diablo? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr (it gets no points in the name department) is the game for you.

This 2018 game puts you in the role of an Imperial Inquisitor (kind of like an armed, galactic super priest) as you battle across the universe in a familiar action-RPG fashion. It is a Diablo-like through and through, with loot and in-depth character building. Admittedly, it is a bit messy — glitches, poor microtransactions, a forgettable story, and a boring endgame hold Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr back from being truly special. But it’s still a thrilling time nonetheless, and it tosses in a wrinkle that helps it stand out from other ARPGs: its cover system. With its focus on ranged combat, especially with certain classes, the cover system helps enable a more tactical ranged experience. It works better than you might think, and it will lead to some truly memorable ARPG encounters.

Warhammer 40,000: Inquistor - Martyr is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

7. Warhammer 40,000: Regicide

Hammerfall Publishing’s Warhammer 40,000: Regicide, released in 2015, is just straight-up heavy metal chess. What if the king piece had a bolter? What if a rook had a chainsword? Regicide answers both those questions in a bloody, often hilarious way. It is a shockingly simple game that uses the eight-by-eight chess board as a means to let the player engage in some tactical small-scale skirmishes. It’s kind of like Kill Team without any real cover or narrative. It’s a deceptively simple game with a low skill entry but a high skill ceiling (PvP, when this game was at its peak, often ended in me losing miserably to various “The Queen’s Gambit but Regicide” players). Regicide is available on both PC and iPhone/Android, and it works incredibly well as a game on the go, as you can pause it after each turn. Want a little bite-sized Warhammer 40,000 in your life? Then give Regicide a go.

Warhammer 40,000: Regicide is available on Android, iOS, and Windows PC.

6. Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion

What initially drew me to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, oddly enough, was not the tabletop game or the miniatures. It was the novels.

I genuinely adore a lot of the Warhammer 40,000 and Horus Heresy books (I could go on for hours about this stuff) so my interest was piqued when Tin Man Games’ Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion was released in 2015. It is a choice-based piece of interactive fiction that manages to tell an interesting story, be unforgiving in the ramifications of certain choices, and be visually compelling. You view the text and gameplay (minor combat encounters) through a simple, green-tinted screen that is meant to resemble an in-universe pict-screen. Herald of Oblivions is a decidedly simple game that is, in many ways, almost too punishing. You control the choices and outcome(s) for a Space Marine in the grimdark future where there is only war, so, you know, don’t mess it up.

Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion was released on Windows PC, but it is currently delisted.

Image: Complex Games/Frontier Foundry

5. Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate

Remember the 1990s? Surge, Sam Goody, and Warhammer 40,000 third edition. That was the world into which Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate was released in 1998. And luckily, it’s still available via GOG, and there is even a newly released quasi-sequel/kind-of remake of the game.

It’s a classic turn-based strategy game with some light RPG elements where you play as the ever venerable Ultramarines of Ultramar (they aren’t the most creative bunch) as they wage war against a daemonic Chaos lord. With multiple scenarios, a custom mission builder, a timeless art style, and the ability to let players command Space Marines and vehicles alike in a way that brings the classic tabletop warfare game to violent life, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate is a classic for a reason. And thankfully it still holds up. While it may be a bit odd around the edges, this game is as fun today as it was when it launched. I also really cannot say enough about the art style, and how much it properly evokes that grandiose and hyper-gothic Warhammer 40,000 feel. There’s even a pre-Horus Heresy artifact to search for!

Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate is available on Windows PC via GOG.

4. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2

Tindalos Interactive’s Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is one of the best video game adaptations of a Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Battlefleet Gothic, the tabletop game, is focused on large ship battles in space that, in many ways, are just like those in a naval battle game. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 leans into this in every way.

It’s a slow-paced game in which thinking three steps ahead is often necessary. The real-time strategy nature of the ship-to-ship combat, positioning, and overall warfare is endlessly rewarding, even when you lose. It never feels unfair, though — if you approach an enemy ship broadside and they open up on you before you can fire on them, then you’ll take damage. Which is all to say: Proper planning and tactics pay off. And Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2’s sound design and packaging is bombastic, horrifying, bleak, and over-the-top, in the way only a 40K game could be.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is available on PC.

3. Space Hulk: Tactics

Space Hulk is one of the most famous and beloved Warhammer 40,000 tabletop games. Sadly, the most recent edition — fourth edition — is more or less out of print, hard to find, and always overpriced.

Luckily, Space Hulk: Tactics exists. It is a shockingly faithful and lovingly detailed adaptation of the board game. It also adds its own flavor through a card system that allows for extra abilities to be used, lending even further depth to squad customization. The story, while barebones, can be played through the eyes of Blood Angels Terminator Space Marines or Genestealers, and each turn-based encounter is cramped, incredibly tense, and increasingly difficult in a way that never feels unfair to the player. At face value, it seems simple. But that simplicity belies depth, and a compelling strategy loop. If you’re like most of us out there and don’t have the Space Hulk board game, then Space Hulk: Tactics is the next-best thing.

Space Hulk: Tactics is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

2. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2

An absolute classic. Relic’s 2009 real-time strategy masterpiece, Dawn of War 2, takes a unique approach to classic RTS gameplay, especially in its core campaign, in which you control a small squad of Blood Angels Space Marines as opposed to a whole army. Dawn of War 2 also features a surprisingly compelling, if a bit rote, Warhammer 40,000 story.

It also features a Diablo-like loot system that gives players the ability to equip their Space Marine squads with various armors and items. And it is through that system that Dawn of War 2 feels most in line with the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. One of the most compelling aspects of the source material is customizing, personalizing, outfitting, and painting the miniatures. Dawn of War 2’s loot system and squad customization offers a taste of that. Yet, the tabletop game it most resembles is Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team.

Small-to-medium-scale skirmishes that are intense, loud, and incredibly brutal make up both Kill Team and Dawn of War 2. Sight lines, cover, lines of fire, weapon types, and loadouts all add up to dictate victory or defeat. They also add up to endless, replayable fun. Whether you’re in single-player, the DLC campaigns, or running PvP multiplayer, Dawn of War 2 never gets old. There’s a reason it’s still popular, and that most Warhammer 40,000 fans have many memorable war stories from this game. I know that I do.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 is available on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC.

Image: Relic Entertainment/Sega

1. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Ah, yes. The 2011 third-person shooter that gave us Captain Titus, and the game whose sequel we’ve been awaiting for over a decade. And we’re finally getting one! For my money, Relic’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is the best Warhammer 40,000 game.

A third-person shooter and brawler with no cover system, Space Marine is an exercise in grandiose violence. Space Marines are the Emperor’s angels of war, so they have no need for a cover system; the ceramite power armor is enough. Controlling Captain Titus of the Ultramarines (the blue boring guys, sorry Ultramarines players), players trek through a forge world in the grips of an Ork planetary siege. Combat is punchy and over-the-top, and Titus is a unique Space Marine in the sense that he holds onto some aspects of his former humanity. This gets tested as the game enters its third act, and new threats arise; it all ends on a hell of cliffhanger. And finally, it looks like we’ll see the rest of Captain Titus’ story in the recently announced Space Marine 2.

While the story mode in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is incredibly memorable, the multiplayer was an absolute blast at its peak. The Space Marine customizer in the game’s multiplayer suite was incredibly detailed and robust, the gameplay loop paired well with PvP modes, and they even added an incredibly fun survival mode after launch. It plays best on PC because there is still a marginally active multiplayer community. In the end, it’s a game that lets you control a Space Marine at the peak of his power. You wield bolters, chainswords, bolt pistols, and Lightning Claws. What more could you want?

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is available on PlayStation 3, Windows PC, and Xbox 360.