Space Hulk: Deathwing's First Screens Contain Crotchskulls

Games Workshop are spaffing Warhammer 40,000 licenses all over the place lately, with predictably mixed-but-a-bit-bleh results. However, one did land at Streum On Studio to make first-person shooter Space Hulk: Deathwing. Yes, the folks who made E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy. Their FPS-RPG debut was awfully wonky yet jolly ambitious, and quite endearing because of that. It's nice to know that one of the oodles of 40K games should be, at the very least, interesting.

The first 'screenshots' arrived in our inbox this morning, and while they're clearly staged they do have plenty of pretty Space Marine Terminator armour to ogle.

Deathwing is another FPS-RPG, with levelling up and skill points and skill trees and all that as your Terminator squad stomp around a colossal derelict space ship squashing Tyranids. The player character is a Librarian from the Dark Angels' Deathwing company, which in 40K terms means you're a space-wizard. An eight-foot space-wizard with a honking great gun, which is something I'm always willing to be.

E.Y.E danced around 40K imagery with its warrior monks in chunky cyberarmour stomping around dystopian industrial cityscapes, but Streum On have really gone to town on Space Hulk. The ornate detailing on power armour, banners, and statues is quite something. I visited Saint Bavo Cathedral in Belgium this weekend and was appalled to realise that Gothic stylings now mostly remind me of 40K. Anyway, have a gander:

Technically the game isn't confirmed for PC yet, nor any console either, but it'd be jolly cruel if publisher Focus Home's PR sent these to us as a prank.