Space Hulk Classics Steam Review: Tactical Tension or Tabletop Terror?

The claustrophobic corridors of a derelict starship are the last place you want to be trapped with a Genestealer, but that is exactly where Space Hulk Classics puts you. It captures that thick, dark atmosphere where every flicker of poor lighting and every metallic shriek in the distance makes you jumpy. You are leading hulking Space Marines through a tactical nightmare where one wrong turn means a face full of teeth and claws. It’s a tense, strategy-heavy trip through the Warhammer 40,000 universe that doesn’t hold your hand.

Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance & Fidelity | Settings, Customisation & Control Details

Space Hulk Classics Steam Review: Specs & HUD

• Download size is 4.38GB. It’s a small footprint for a game with this much depth, and it loads very fast so you can jump into the carnage without waiting around.
• The HUD features a small corner camera. You can toggle this real-time view of what the Space Marine sees, and it adds so much immersion to the whole thing; it’s brilliant.
• A movement grid appears when you click a unit. This clearly shows where you can move and exactly how much AP you will spend, ensuring you don’t waste a single step.
• The map uses red blips for enemies. These red swarms move around on their turn and turn into 1 to 3 Genestealers once confronted, keeping you on edge because you never know what you’re getting.
• End-of-level breakdowns are detailed. You get a full look at your time, kills, survivors, turns taken, and any unlocks earned for your custom banner.
• Accessibility and HUD readability are a struggle. There is no dyslexic font or colourblind support, and the small text often blends into the background, making it hard to read.
• Steam achievements are included. You can hunt for those trophies, but you can’t unlock them on easy difficulty, which I hate as it’s bad for accessibility and new players.
• Linux and Mac users need to use the Legacy branch. Native support is no longer in this version, but you can still access it via the properties in Steam.

Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown

The game is based on the tabletop game and is Space Marines on a tight corridor spaceship, fighting off the genestealer aliens. It’s a dark atmosphere and is a bit on the tense side of gaming, not scary, but you are on edge. The whole game is turn-based; you do all your actions or as many as you want, then you end and pass it off to the Genestealers and so on. Action points (AP) are what determine what you can do, and your AP gets refreshed every turn. Moving, shooting, and even reloading all take some of that precious AP.

Positioning is everything in this game, so you can choose the direction you are facing at the end of a move. Overwatch is a massive feature here; you spend AP to have your marine automatically shoot any enemy that comes into range. It’s intense when it happens, especially because weapons can jam or run out of ammo mid-fight, forcing you to spend even more AP to fix them. Doors are a surprise to the gameplay too, as you spend AP to open, close, break, guard, or fix them all in the name of victory. You’ve got seven single-player campaigns to pick from in any order, and each has stages you can jump in and out of once completed. Just don’t make my mistake: clicking replay back means replaying the level, not watching a playback of your run.

There are three game difficulties, but locking achievements out of the easy mode is a bad move for those not sure about the genre. You can save and load whenever you want, which is great for a game that I have played many times and still love to death. It’s a strategy game at heart, but that dash of horror when a Genestealer pops up behind the darkness keeps it feeling fresh.

Space Hulk Classics Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity

• The full 3D game world is impressive. You can zoom around the map by edge scrolling or holding the right button, and zooming in with the mouse wheel lets you see all the dark Gothic architecture of the ship.
• Graphics are awesome. The atmosphere is elevated by poor lighting and fantastic sound effects that make the environment feel truly derelict.
• Combat cutscenes look so cool. They play out almost like movies and really sell the weight of these hulking, great big Space Marines.
• The gore is visceral. There is plenty of blood when Genestealers explode, though there is no way to turn it off or change its colour.
• Marines explode dead bodies on the floor. Just walking over the remains of your enemies adds to the brutal feeling of the game world.
• Voice work is awesome. It gives some real insight into the Marines, though you do get a warning that some lore might not be up to date anymore.
• There are no new historical or museum pieces. This version is just about getting it running on modern systems, so don’t expect any touch-ups to the classic content unless necessary.

Settings, Customisation & Control Details

• Mouse and keyboard are absolutely fine. The game doesn’t natively support a controller, but the M&K setup is clean and responsive.
• You can remap a load of actions. Many buttons are unassigned by default, so you can really dig in and customise how you play.
• Video settings are the bare minimum. You get resolution, quality, v-sync, show VFX, dynamic lights, fullscreen, and a gamma slider.
• Audio features four main sliders. You can adjust voice, ambient, SFX, and music separately to get that perfect atmospheric mix.
• Banner customisation is surprisingly in-depth. You can edit poles, backgrounds, borders, and main images, and you unlock new items for them just by playing.
• Genestealer skins are a mixed bag. There are seven skins, including Kraken and Vomit Brown, but it’s a shame you cannot preview the skins beforehand.
• Only two playable chapters are included. You get Space Wolves and Blood Angels, but it’s Dark Angels or nothing for me!
• Tutorial pop-ups cannot be turned off. While the opening tutorial and manual are great resources, you are stuck with the pop-up images even when you know the ropes.

Related Gert Lush Gaming Reviews

• Review: Space Hulk: Tactics (PlayStation 4)
• Review: Space Hulk: Deathwing – Enhanced Edition (PlayStation 4)
• Review: Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch (PlayStation 4)