Warhammer 40,000 debuted at the height of nerd culture making its mark on the mainstream. No longer the mere domain of basements and college campuses, properties such as Dungeons and Dragons were getting Saturday morning cartoons. Alongside the rise of tabletop gaming was the rejuvenated video game industry. After the crash of 1983, video game developers fought against irrelevancy with a plethora of arcade classics. Games Workshop wouldn't join that world until Space Hulk in 1992, but if they did, it might have looked something like this.
Ultramarine: The Retro Game is a fan-made callback to the era of ultra-hard platformers of the 1980s. While Warhammer 40k games such as Space Marine and Boltgun are pure power fantasies, Ultramarine is much more punishing. Though externally an Ultramarine, the player is something far more fragile: an 80s platformer character. A few hits is all it takes to send this battle brother into the Emperor's embrace.
Just like in Space Marine, the player starts their adventure on a planet infested by Orks. Though I was immediately gifted a Missile Launcher, it didn't take long for my delusions of invincibility to fall. I charged in with reckless abandon, rockets flying, and perished in five seconds. I won't pretend to be a hardcore Contra player, it took me over a dozen tries to beat the very first level.
Besides the nostalgic frustration, I also found the simple graphics so charming. It takes a lot of skill to communicate which characters are which with such limited graphical fidelity. Creator Abel Alves packs a lot of character into these adorable sprites. The various Warhammer 40k factions such as the Orks and Nekrons are as distinct as they are deadly.
And despite its simplicity, it does have a compelling plot. Darius, our main character, is barraged by visions of Chaos, urging his bloodlust. There's clearly a lot of love and passion that went into this project. Frankly, it's shocking how little attention this nearly-decade old fangame has gotten. Well, that changes now.
You can grab Ultramarine: The Retro Game for on itch.io here.
If you're looking for fellow veterans of the tabletop scene to reminisce with, the Wargamer Discord has plenty, so check it out.