An isometric CRPG set in the Imperial Inquisition, featuring Night Lords, an Ogryn, an Eldar Psyker, and even a playable Kroot. Owlcat Games doing what Owlcat Games does, in the 40K universe. We want to believe.
Alexandrosse
Let's be upfront from the start: we're already sold. Veteran players of the Dark Heresy tabletop RPG, multiple-time readers of Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn and Ravenor novels, the Warhammer 40,000 universe holds no mysteries for us. So when Owlcat Games announces a CRPG set in the Calixis Sector with an Inquisitor at the centre, Night Lords as antagonists, and the promise of purging heretics in proper fashion, neutrality isn't really an option.
We haven't played yet. Here's why we already want this to be good.
Owlcat Games isn't discovering CRPGs. Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, then Rogue Trader in 2023: this is a team that has spent years building dense, demanding role-playing games built for players who want depth. Rogue Trader was already a convincing dive into 40K. Dark Heresy is the next step, and the chosen setting is precisely the one that suits Owlcat's storytelling strengths best: the Imperial Inquisition, conspiracies operating in shadow, morally impossible decisions.
The Calixis Sector as a playground. Abnett's novels as a tonal reference. That's artistic intent, and it shows.
Dark Heresy is an isometric turn-based CRPG. You command an Inquisitor investigating disappearances in the Calixis Sector, with everything that entails: analysing evidence, identifying suspects, unravelling conspiracies that always run deeper than you thought. Detective mechanics layer on top of a classic combat system, enriched by a morale system.
The team you build around you: Heimar Davos, a Catachan veteran whose presence needs no explanation. Cogg, an Ogryn conscript, which means a mountain of muscle with just enough feelings. An Imperial Navy officer. An Eldar Psyker, because the Inquisition keeps unlikely allies when the situation demands it.
And Ra'akhti. A Kroot mercenary. Playable. In a game where you fight Kroots. We don't know yet if that's a source of narrative tension or simply a wink, but the question deserves to be asked.
This is the detail that got an involuntary noise of satisfaction out of us: the Night Lords are among the antagonists. And Owlcat isn't treating them lightly: Aaron Dembski-Bowden, the author who wrote the most respected novels about this Chaos Legion, was consulted for authenticity, including the Nostraman language. That's the kind of detail that says everything about how seriously the source material is being handled.
Well-written Night Lords, with their particular philosophy, their use of fear as a weapon, their warband structure rather than ordered armies: in a narrative CRPG, that's an opposition capable of producing genuinely memorable moments.
The trailer was enough. The art direction is stunning: a 40K aesthetic that doesn't tip into caricature, environments that breathe Grimdark without hammering it, a palette consistent with what the universe demands. And the trailer music is fantastic. Brass, choirs, tension building exactly where it should. If the full soundtrack holds that level, Dark Heresy will have a soundscape worthy of the Inquisition.
Owlcat makes dense games. Sometimes too dense for their own good: Kingmaker had real balance issues at launch, and the learning curve of their games can put off players who aren't already in the genre. Dark Heresy speaks first to 40K players and demanding CRPG fans. Others risk getting lost in the Calixis Sector without a compass.
The other unknown is the treatment of the Inquisition itself. The subject carries a moral ambiguity that Abnett's best novels exploit to the full. If Owlcat softens that to make the game more accessible, something will be lost. We're hoping they had the courage not to.
We're sending an email to Owlcat Games requesting a review session. Not an announcement, an intention. But it says something about the mindset in which we're waiting for this game.
Dark Heresy releases in 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The alpha is already accessible for Collector's Edition buyers. The countdown has started.
Preview based on available information, the trailer, and existing previews. We have not yet played the game.
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