Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3

47%
Game Brain Score Based on 14,140 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 Game Cover
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In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, players are caught in a fierce battle between the Ork warlord Gorgutz, Eldar seer Macha, and Space Marine commander Gabriel Angelos on the planet Acheron. As the world faces catastrophe, command towering war machines to turn the tide of battle and ensure the survival of your faction in colossal, action-packed battles. This third entry in the Dawn of War series brings even larger scale battles and iconic characters to the franchise.

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Reviews

47%
Audience ScoreBased on 14,140 reviews
story780 positive mentions
grinding208 negative mentions
  • story4,394 mentions

    The story in "Dawn of War III" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it predictable and lacking depth compared to its predecessors. The campaign's structure, which forces players to switch between factions (Space Marines, Orks, and Eldar) for each mission, detracts from character development and immersion, leading to a disjointed narrative experience. While some appreciate the attempt to weave a cohesive story across multiple perspectives, others criticize it as a glorified tutorial for multiplayer, with missions that often feel tedious and repetitive.

    • “The campaign and the story were especially good.”
    • “The story is interesting, but there isn't much depth to the gameplay.”
    • “The story is good, the graphics are great, and the game would have had a bright future if it weren’t for the harsh criticism from die-hard fans of the first and second parts.”
    • “The game's story is simplistic, which can be fine for games like these, but it is delivered in horribly stilted cutscenes and is paced like a first draft.”
    • “The campaign splits you up among the 3 races which, for what it's worth, is a nice touch to make sure you get to play everybody, but it makes the story feel extremely disconnected and hard to follow when all 3 factions want the same thing for completely different reasons.”
    • “The story lacks the compelling urgency and emotional weight that once propelled us through the epic sagas of previous titles.”
  • gameplay3,462 mentions

    The gameplay of "Dawn of War III" has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment over its departure from the mechanics that defined its predecessors. Critics highlight the game's shift towards a more simplified, MOBA-like structure, emphasizing hero units and objectives over traditional RTS elements like base building and tactical depth. While some appreciate the unique mechanics introduced for each faction, the overall consensus is that the gameplay lacks the complexity and strategic variety that fans expected, making it feel repetitive and less engaging compared to earlier titles in the series.

    • “The game's intense battles, iconic factions, and deep customization options provide hours of gameplay.”
    • “Gameplay is fun, mechanics are relatively easy to pick up, and the imperial knight is way too rad for me to not give this game a positive review.”
    • “Easy to learn but has lots of cool units and diverse mechanics.”
    • “Even for the cut price I paid for this, it's total garbage. I got four hours in and could not take anymore than that. The story and gameplay are both just bad. How we went from the amazing first game to this trash is mind-blowing.”
    • “The gameplay is just horrible, to the point where the best and sometimes the only strategy is to wait for resources to accumulate to build a death stack to progress.”
    • “The gameplay is completely watered down with no cover system and almost none of the careful animation work of the previous games, instead opting to be simplified inelegantly, cutting out whatever complexities made the previous games unique to instead make something hollow and pointless.”
  • graphics2,348 mentions

    The graphics of "Dawn of War III" have received mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant visuals and detailed animations, while others criticize the cartoonish art style that diverges from the franchise's traditional grimdark aesthetic. Some players appreciate the graphical improvements over previous titles, noting that the game runs smoothly on modern hardware, but others feel that the visuals lack depth and clarity, making it difficult to engage with the gameplay. Overall, while the graphics are often described as beautiful and impressive, they are seen by some as insufficient to compensate for gameplay shortcomings and a lack of content.

    • “Visuals are very good and crisp, don't understand why everybody hates it.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, I like the storytelling in-game and between missions.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the atmosphere is perfect, but the game is so forcefully contorted toward a single playstyle: defend a couple of buildings (or attack a series of buildings that must be destroyed in sequence) and throw a handful of units at each other built from a total of about 5 building options.”
    • “Graphics aside, which look like a game for children, compared to the complexity and immersion of the scenery in the previous iterations of the game, gameplay is clunky and cartoonish, and not in a good way.”
    • “The graphics and animations are somehow a massive step backwards, too.”
    • “The graphics look like they are still from 2007, interface takes half the screen, I can't zoom out, feels very laggy and low fps.. hard to see who is fighting whom.”
  • music378 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the immersive experience of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. While some tracks are described as epic and fitting for the game's themes, others find the soundtrack forgettable or lacking in memorability compared to previous titles in the series. Overall, the music is often highlighted as one of the game's stronger aspects, despite some criticisms regarding its consistency and impact.

    • “Music is exceptional for a video game and very on point for Warhammer.”
    • “The music is amazing, and the feel of 40k is still here even if it didn't have overwhelming commercial success.”
    • “The atmosphere, empowered by an amazing soundtrack, is an exceptional experience you don't want to miss.”
    • “The music sounds like an ongoing alarm siren so it gets on your nerves.”
    • “The music is generically bombastic, the voice acting is mediocre, and it all just feels so lifeless.”
    • “Also, I need to point this out specifically and this is not a spoiler - the music in the final mission of the campaign sounds like a hyper-active broken car alarm and I actually had to mute the game.”
  • grinding216 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized, with players describing it as tedious, slow, and unengaging. Many reviews highlight the excessive resource gathering and leveling mechanics that detract from the overall enjoyment, making the campaign feel like a chore rather than an adventure. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant flaw that overshadows any potential fun or tactical depth in gameplay.

    • “The campaign isn't anything to run home about, but has varied missions and thankfully aren't tedious to go through.”
    • “Not tedious micro in places that is not needed, but lots of options for smart players to pull ahead.”
    • “It's a grinding slog that offers very little that's actually fun and engaging.”
    • “The campaign was boring and tedious - largely because resource gathering is so slow you're usually locked from creating more squads.”
    • “The campaign itself is awfully designed, the story is dull, the maps are large and tedious and hard for all the wrong reasons, it takes ages to kill an enemy, your units die in the blink of an eye, and if they don’t they just stand there and take the damage like idiots since there’s no option to have them be aggressive or patrol an area or any control for that matter.”
  • stability200 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of crashes, freezes, and various bugs affecting gameplay and user experience. Many players describe it as a "buggy mess," highlighting issues such as unresponsive controls, audio glitches, and a generally unpolished feel. While some users note improvements post-launch, the overall consensus is that the game suffers from significant stability problems that detract from its potential enjoyment.

    • “Runs great on Mac and Linux.”
    • “Game runs great, looks great, and the gameplay is back to the old RTS style.”
    • “I'm not sure what everyone's problem is, the game runs great, I haven't had any problems.”
    • “The game is a buggy mess.”
    • “Beyond this, it remains extremely buggy and unstable and is nearly unplayable on Windows 10, with frequent hard locks and crashes to desktop.”
    • “Campaign mode is filled with so many bugs and freezes, it is a chore just to play through it.”
  • replayability182 mentions

    The game's replayability is a contentious topic among reviewers, with many citing a lack of depth and variety in both the campaign and multiplayer modes. While some players appreciate the customization options and tactical decisions available in multiplayer, the linear campaign and limited factions significantly diminish overall replay value, leading to a consensus that the game falls short compared to its predecessors in the Dawn of War series. Overall, many recommend waiting for a sale, as the replayability is perceived as low, particularly for single-player experiences.

    • “The elite system, coupled with the army doctrines, ensures that not only will you be able to customize an army to your play style, but you will also be able to experiment with hybrid builds and such to the extent that no two matches will be the same... this translates to high replayability, which is essential for multiplayer.”
    • “There is loads of depth and replayability in multiplayer with the doctrines and elite choices offering great depth and options.”
    • “Add in just how different each race plays, and there's a ton of replayability here.”
    • “Having finished the campaign, I wouldn't even suggest buying the game on sale, and there is no replay value, and the multiplayer game style is inferior to Dawn of War I & II skirmish play.”
    • “This game is disappointing, a waste of money, didn't live up to its hype, not replayable in any sense, not fun, actually boring, leaves you scratching your head asking how and why they messed this up so badly.”
    • “There is no replay value; seriously, I will never play it again - there is no reason to.”
  • optimization146 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance and no crashes, while others report significant issues such as long unit response times, crashes, and poor UI design. Many users noted that despite good graphics and the ability to handle large battles, the overall optimization is lacking, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. Overall, while some players find the game well-optimized for their systems, others highlight persistent performance problems that detract from the enjoyment.

    • “Out of all Dawn of War games, this game is truly good at handling massive battles with good graphics and performance.”
    • “The performance is great, and the game runs well on any system.”
    • “The game is well optimized, but I am running it on a NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti, and I am getting a rock solid 60 fps with all the bells and whistles.”
    • “The gameplay is poorly optimized and tedious.”
    • “It is without a doubt the worst optimized game I have ever played.”
    • “For some reason, Relic has hardcoded graphics in such a way that both COH2 and DOW3 need to have 'resolution reductions' down to 50% (which makes the game look like an overcharged pixel game) just to make the game operate 'functionally.' Also, due to the lack of options, you can't tailor the game for better performance, even at low settings.”
  • atmosphere144 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its soundtrack and visual design as capturing the essence of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, while others criticize it for lacking the grimdark tone and depth of previous titles. Some players appreciate the vibrant graphics and immersive sound effects, but feel that the cartoonish art style detracts from the overall atmosphere, making it feel less authentic to the franchise. Overall, the game's atmosphere is seen as a significant departure from earlier entries, leading to disappointment among long-time fans.

    • “The atmosphere, empowered by an amazing soundtrack, is an exceptional experience you don't want to miss.”
    • “As a longtime Warhammer 40k fan, this game captures the grim dystopian atmosphere perfectly.”
    • “The atmosphere is so good, the intro video and music alone makes me absolutely thrilled to play again.”
    • “It has terrible atmosphere made worse by the high saturation and god awful Dota 2 type effects, and my god is the campaign horrendous. The whole game just feels like Dota 2 or LoL with a Dawn of War reskin.”
    • “The dark and gritty 40k atmosphere is replaced by flashy and cartoon-like graphics, no kill animations, subpar everything.”
    • “Relic promised the fans an epic return to the series but instead they completely stripped the Dawn of War franchise of its personality, removing a grimdark atmosphere in favor of a colorful Starcraft-like art style.”
  • humor140 mentions

    The humor in the game is primarily driven by the orks, whose antics and dialogue are frequently described as hilarious and well-executed, providing a comedic relief that stands out in the gameplay. While some players find the overall humor lacking compared to previous titles in the series, the orks' charm and funny moments, such as their quirky animations and interactions, still manage to entertain. However, critiques also highlight bland dialogues and a lack of personality in other characters, suggesting that the humor is not consistently strong throughout the game.

    • “The campaign was good, gameplay, graphics, and orks are just hilarious.”
    • “I found the ork missions to be particularly funny, and it was good to see them clearly portrayed as the dark comedy relief they should be.”
    • “The orks are interesting in this game, and have as they should, funny dialogue!”
    • “The first antagonist is an unfunny cartoon, but not intentionally.”
    • “All the characters you meet have no personality; the orcs are not funny, and the goblins are not funny!”
    • “The price of the game is not funny.”
  • monetization74 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many reviewers expressing disappointment over the aggressive push for microtransactions and unlockable content that feels rushed and poorly executed. Players feel that the focus on monetization detracts from the overall gameplay experience, leading to a lack of depth and enjoyment, particularly for fans of the previous titles in the series. Overall, the sentiment is that the game prioritizes profit over quality, leaving many players disillusioned.

    • “Microtransactions are coming at some point, but we all knew that with a Relic title.”
    • “I guess the next question is how the DLC and microtransactions will be handled...”
    • “There is this weird unlock level-up system which feels like it's geared towards microtransactions and COD fans.”
    • “The game is a cash grab and a poorly done one at that.”
    • “If you are looking for good gameplay and a good campaign, stay away from this cash grab.”
    • “This is another cash grab, another poorly executed attempt to cash out of Dawn of War II's smashing success.”
  • emotional52 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game has been widely criticized, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of compelling storytelling and character development that once defined the series. Reviewers noted feelings of frustration and sadness, highlighting a disconnect from the Warhammer 40k universe and a sense of emotional fatigue due to the game's uninspired campaign and gameplay mechanics. Overall, the game has failed to evoke the strong emotional connections that fans expected, leading to a largely negative reception.

    • “Edit: I cried indeed.”
    • “When I discovered they were releasing dow3, I cried tears of joy and reported the good news to my friend (it was his computer we would use after school each day).”
    • “This game tires you, not just physically but emotionally.”
    • “A MOBA with a boring story that forces you to play as multiple factions, which are effectively just re-skins.”
    • “3 armies, 8 maps, 1 multiplayer game mode, a linear and boring story in the campaign, horrible voice acting, grimbright graphics that look nothing like a 40k inspired setting, base building is useless, the game is centered around a MOBA-esque objective, one-dimensional gameplay, and lame excuses for balance.”
  • character development22 mentions

    Character development in the game has been widely criticized, with many reviewers noting its absence compared to previous titles like Dawn of War II. Players express disappointment over the lack of RPG elements, immersive storytelling, and meaningful character progression, feeling that the focus on multiple factions detracts from a cohesive and engaging campaign experience. Overall, the simplified mechanics and cartoonish art style further contribute to a sense of disconnection from character growth and customization.

    • “An attempt at focusing on 3 factions at once prevents a truly grand campaign present in Dawn of War II, complete with RPG elements, side missions, and character development.”
    • “Dawn of War II got away with not letting you play the base building and every faction because it had a really good story with nice character development.”
    • “I purchased this because Dawn of War II had great character development, great leveling up and weapon pick-ups; half the fun was preparing the loadout of your squad.”
    • “I'm not even asking for a smart story or character development; those are non-existent.”
    • “In Dawn of War III, you don't have the character development (RPG aspect), you don't really have the RTS base building since it's so basic, and you have a stop-and-start campaign which prevents you from immersing yourself in a faction.”
    • “This is just Dawn of War II with MOBA-themed skirmish (somehow they made Dawn of War II's skirmish worse...) and a soulless campaign that forces you to play as all three factions regardless of your preference with absolutely none of Dawn of War II's RPG-esque system or character development.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

16hMedian play time
58hAverage play time
5-50hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 130 analyzed playthroughs

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