Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch - Tyranid Invasion

When it comes to scaling full-blown sci-fi warfare down to tabletop-size battlefields, no one does it better than Games Workshop's massive franchise. Tyranid Invasion is a gorgeous game, taking full advantage of the Unreal Engine 4. You can't help but get drawn into the action, watching the units come to life in these highly detailed excursions. Mission settings run the gamut from sprawling landscape to claustrophobic corridors, all geared toward heightening anxiety and excitement.

All the pretty visuals in Imperial space wouldn't amount to much of anything if the game weren't so much fun to play. Early missions help guide newcomers through the experience before tossing them to the Hive Tyrants alone and unprepared. That's good, because there's a lot of information to wrap your head around here. Each unit has its own particular gameplay quirks, and you have to put a lot of thought into which units and what equipment you'll need to take into each mission. This is where the game's learning curve takes a steep climb. In fact, you'll put more thought and efforts into tweaking out your squad, analyzing stats and skills before each mission, than you will actually fighting the Tyranid forces. After all, choosing the right load-out can overcome even the most insurmountable odds … but choose the wrong one, and the best you can hope for is a swift defeat. It's a bit overwhelming at times, even for the most methodical gamer, but it's still fun to see all that thinking pay off with a hard-fought and well-deserved victory.