When it comes to Space Hulk, we typically find ourselves playing as Space Marines, tasked with purging creepy, abandoned spaceships of the rabid Genestealer threat. In most instances, the Genestealers are mindless AI that simply attempt to bludgeon the player’s units to their demise – not much else going on. However, Space Hulk: Tactics seems to have given more consideration to how the Genestealers operate. They play in a significantly distinct manner compared to the Terminators and even boast their own campaign.
Space Hulk: Tactics is a turn-based strategy game that combines elements of XCOM and Space Hulk, brought to us by Focus Home Interactive. In the video below, we get a substantial glimpse of Genestealer gameplay and gain an understanding of how they function.
Instead of directly deploying Genestealers onto the battlefield, you spawn “blips”. These are so named because they represent what the Space Marines see on their scanners. Each blip can potentially house up to three Genestealers and can be revealed at the player’s discretion or when they come into a Space Marine’s line of sight. You can obtain more blips by converting a card once per turn. The aim is to use empty blips to deceive your opponent into dealing with decoys while the majority of your force is elsewhere.
As one might anticipate, the Genestealers are swifter and more agile than the Terminators, and they possess more action points to utilize. There is a variety of unit types, including the Brood Lord, which can traverse the map in an instant and spawn additional blips around itself.
Space Hulk: Tactics appears to be an upgrade from Full Control’s similar 2013 XCOM meets Space Hulk video game, featuring enhanced visuals and, as we’ve witnessed, a more developed Genestealer race to engage with. It is set to be released on October 9th, 2018.
