There have been many Warhammer video games over the years, some being classics and some falling short of fan expectations. We have written multiple times about our various ideas for more genres the franchise could pursue in video game form, and we stand by these ideas. That said, there is one more genre that deserves mentioning when it comes to the Warhammer 40 000 franchise.
One thing that is often overlooked in Warhammer video games is the rich nature of the Warhammer lore and one way to represent this in a video game would be to have a Warhammer 40 000 adventure game. This could be done in the style of the Telltale games, and be more character-driven than any game that has come before. What aspect of the lore to focus on is a question to be asked of course, but the answer is rather obvious.
Adventure games can be many things, dark like the Walking Dead, humorous like Monkey Island, or something in between, and there exists a good middle ground in Warhammer 40 000 to base an adventure game on with the Ciaphas Cain stories. Commissar Ciaphas Cain is the HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, bravely fighting off the enemies and earning victories….except he isn’t. Well not quite, as Cain is a character who says he is amazing and a hero. But when put into a dangerous situation, tries to get out of danger only to find himself in worse danger.
Cain is a character whom even his author Sandy Mitchell has acknowledged is hard to pin down. The character says he is a coward, but comes to show genuine bravery at times, yet still thinks poorly of himself in secret. The Cain stories are some of the funniest in Warhammer 40 000 and also show off other aspects of the Imperium rarely highlighted. Cain also has a great supporting cast as well, such as Jurgen, a blank who serves as Cain’s faithful aid, the Valhalan 597th regiment, including Jinxie the accident-prone sergeant, and of course his love interest Inquisitor Amberley Vail just to name a few.
One of the endearing parts of Cain is that as a character he is someone who readers could get behind and root for, which in Warhammer 40 000 is saying something. He manages to be likeable and actually has a long list of accomplishments to his name. Granted he did many of the deeds because of trying to escape from other dangers, but it still counts.
A Ciaphas Cain adventure game could be done in a variety of ways, such as an adaptation of some of the many stories, or even better an original story, which could show off just how utterly bonkers the Cain subseries can be. More to the point, this would be a great entry point to Warhammer 40 000, as the stories do not have the grimdark nature be as overt, but rather in the background and mixed with humour. The series is full of characters that go against the typical depictions in 40K and yet don’t feel like parodies of 40K, be they a commissar who is a coward, a Sister Superior who has a secret sexual relationship, or a tech priest who is overly perky.
For lack of a better explanation, the Cain series gives real heart to the Warhammer 40 000 universe, showing there can be more than just Grimdark, which is great for those who may be put off by how dark 40K is. There is drama in the stories of course of course, and this is not a depiction of the Imperium as a utopia by any stretch of the imagination since the Imperium’s true nature is still there. It is just that a different side of it is shown, and this is a great framework for a narrative-focused game to tell a story other 40K games simply cannot.