Is the Definitive Edition of Dawn of War a Nostalgia Guilt Trip or a proper RTS game Remaster?
181These last few months have truly been a rebirth not just for the Warhammer 40k Dawn of War franchise, but the entire real time strategy genre, With Dawn of War IV announced for 2026, playing the Definitive Edition of Dawn of War I now feels like a warmup session. So how has the Definitive Edition of Dawn of War I been received by its grizzled veterans and young greenhorns of the RTS genre?
đ Steam store link: hhttps://store.steampowered.com/app/3556750/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War__Definitive_Edition/
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Chapters
0:00 Dawn of War franchise rebirth
0:30 RTS genre optimism
1:01 âMostly positiveâ reviews?
1:31 Nostalgia level over 9000
2:15 Nostalgia level 5000
3:10 Clear headed level 1000
4:23 64 bits and Mods
5:42 Nostalgia level 0
6:28 Keyboard keysâŠ
6:51 Matchmaking, multicore, workshop?
7:16 Conclusion
7:53 Patches
How has the Definitive Edition of Dawn of War I been received by its grizzled veterans and young greenhorns of the genre? Steamâs aggregate reviews would have us think the game has been received with : âMostly positiveâ reviews, but is this really the case?
Well⊠let me put it as a sort of a scale, starting with nostalgia over 9000 type of reviews, which can be summed up as: âWAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!â These are just hard core fans drooling over Warhammer 40k lore and a fantastic RTS game put together and I wholeheartedly approve as having something you love so much in your life is nothing short of wholesome. On the other hand these kinds of reviews are as subjective as they can be and donât judge the product in any way.
Taking this a couple of notches down, to lets say level 5000, we have the player reviews which recognize the nostalgia feeling objectively, so their comments alongside their reviews, basically write out the word itself: nostalgia. And this is completely understandable. The original game came out in 2004, more than 20 years ago, and people who were kids back then are basically grown ups today, with jobs, families and the like, so playing this game again, especially for those who havenât touched it for decades, it is a nostalgia trip like no other. But in judging the game itself we can disregard these kinds of reviews as well.
The next level of reviews, which I would put at 1000 nostalgia level, are more clear headed reviews. Reviews in which you can read both the good and the bad. The real opinions about what has this version improved, and what it didnât fix or change. These types of reviews carry a mix of negative and positive scores and I think they make a good read for the most part. It is true that this Definitive Edition of Dawn of War I doesnât go as far with the graphical upgrade as many might have hoped for. Yes visual fidelity is improved with sharper textures with more detail and better lighting but this isnât a proper upgrade that would elevate this game past its 2004 look. Itâs a touch up at most.
Now we can drop down to nostalgia level 0 reviews, which are reviews which start to question all the missing elements, still broken issues, lacking quality of life improvements and other things developers simply didnât do a great job on. To rip the bandaid off most harshly lets start by questioning the original gameâs repeating mission objectives and structure. Not to mention the later expansion and their lack of a proper story campaign and rather just the map with endless cycle of skirmish matches vs AI. Playing this in 2025, and especially for new players of the game, it is a stark reminder how much the game relied on good gameplay to substitute storytelling and proper campaign missions.
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product.
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