Sunday Musings - The Hulk.....in Spaaaace
Each week, Adam times himself at 90s mins to write an article. This exercise tells you more about his general state of mind than anything else.
This week….we hulk out
Remember there was a time once, when the act of placing down a lonely corridor and praying for a lack of counters was the highlight of a weekend? There has, over the decades, grown a mystique and legend around such an activity, grown far beyond it's humble beginnings and turned into a tale in it's own right.
Let's walk down the corridor of memory, and become swamped and assaulted by the topic of Space Hulk!
Beloved and hated in equal measure due to the frustrating difficulty level, the board game version of Space Hulk originally dropped into the sweaty hands of young gamers back in 1989. A good alternate name I often used was "Claustrophobia: The Board Game", as that is what Space Hulk managed to convey throughout every release. It's an anxiety driven ride through tiny spaces whilst wearing a walking tank that should....should...in any other situation protect the wearer from everything up to sentient nuclear bombs with chainsaw limbs. But here, in this dead ship out in the void of space, it's meaningless against the razor sharp claws of the Genestealer. Which, as every release has taken pains to mention can "rip through terminator armour like paper".
It exploded onto the gaming scene like one of the bolter shells that didn't misfire every other turn, igniting a perfect blend of tense tactical gameplay against a setting grimdarker than the grimdark setting it was a part of. 40K already makes Lovecraft seem like a cheerful optimist, so we can gauge for far down this gets. There are few highs like rolling for Overwatch and succeeding, and few lows as failing the very same roll. The rules were deceptive, simple on the surface but with much to dig into, and each version has had enough lore to fully submerse the players into the setting. Unless like me, you were eight and you needed an actual Chapter Master to explain it all to you.
Throughout the years, Space Hulk went through various editions, each one tweaking the mechanics a little, though the lumbering Terminators were still dead.....slow.... in each one. In 1996 streamlined the process a little, causing debate between differ Hulkians (I'm coining that phrase" on how much of an improvement it was. 2009's third ed refined the gameplay further and added some truly stunning mins to the mix. The rule that says you have to curse in High Gothic whenever your Bolter jams is of course...compulsory.
Of course, GW attempted to make multiple in-roads the videogame market during the 90s, and Space Hulk (of which I've discussed in an earlier Sunday Musings) had two separate attempts (3 is you consider the ps1 version a different game...which I kinda do) with a range of success. Even though the 1991 version does look like drowning in pixel soup, it's genuinely an atmospheric affair that personally, I don't fully get in the cleaner, better graphics of the later versions. I will say the 2016 version may well be the best all-round attempt, causing multiple screams and shouts of a heretical volume when a 'Stealer decides to much your face for breakfast.
Space Hulk breaks a lot of boundaries, being a board game set in a wargame world that is beloved by both groups. I've met a multitude of boardgamers over the years that have no interest in the tabletop, but adore any excuse to break out the Hulk. Tales of how the dice worked against you, betraying every thought and tactic and laughing at you from their beady little 1s
No? Just me that hears that?
Space Hulk is 40k in a microcosm. The unyielding omnipresent threat of the Xenos being started down by the equally-as-bad-make-no-mistake-about-it Imperium. It's a game of tough choices and hard to win scenarios. After all, int the grim dark future, there is only war. And bad dice rolls that make the bloody bolter jam YET AGAIN. Sacrifice one brother for the good of the rest, there can be no sentimentality here. The themes present in Space Hulk are writ large through 40k. Sacrifice, Duty and the struggle against overwhelming odds is front and centre, in fact its the entire premise. Using classic films the games designers obviously watched on VHS until smoke was rising, it echoes Aliens and The Thing to give weight to the paranoia, the claustrophobia of the setting. It's no small thing to realise the psychological tension of Space Hulk was paramount in the development of the X Com remake.
It's a timeless classic and no mistake, and feels like it's past time it was reintroduced. The Hulks themselves would lend to an amazing 40k Warhammer Quest setting, in some unasked-for crossover release where both games could be played. It matters not whether you are battle brother with honours or an occasional Genestealer enthusiast with a love of face devouring, there's a lot that everyone can take from an evening to exploring derelict space ships. Even if you've no interest in 40k as a whole, I would always recommend playing through some Space Hulk missions in person, via a videogame or even through Tabletop Simulator. It genuinely is that worth it.
Do you remember playing the missions of Space Hulk? Let us know your thoughts!
As always, I remain
Adam