Space Hulk is a PC game with an iPad port - not the other way around

RPS sat down with Space Hulk's Thomas Hentschel Lund to discuss the turn-based PC adaptation of Games Workshop boardgame, and according to the Full Control boss, the game will play like a cross between the boardgame and XCOM.

Lund said the game will be as "cinematic, creepy and claustrophobic as possible," and optimizations are being put in place to provide fluid action, while still keeping true to its turn-based core. He said the team could have gone for a "1:1 conversion," but didn't think it would "cater to a computer game crowd as much."

"Some of the things that we’ve been doing are you can click on a tile past a closed door and the door will automatically open, so you get a little bit more fluid gameplay instead of going to the door, standing in front of it, opening it and then you can click onwards," he said. "Getting a little bit faster gameplay out of it will still keeping the core, essential boardgame, turn-based feeling."

Some of the rules have been changed a bit to allow for asynchronous multiplayer, but the team tried to change as few as possible. Full Control has also yet to decide whether it will keep the game's synchronous mode.

"We don’t want to go in and change a really cool, well-balanced, well-played game, and we’re not going to dumb it down so it turns into a shooter," Lund assured. "Our vision is that we essentially want to keep the claustrophobic atmosphere, you’re up against millions of Genestealers potentially, you’re the underdog. You’re going to lose this game three out of four times, just as in the boardgame.

"For me, that’s one of these essential things that I like about the boardgame. It’s challenging. You’re playing against a huge amount of enemies, and you will most likely lose and have that last stand kind of feeling."

The game will release on PC, which is the main platform, with an iPad port - not the other way around - and the team is still aiming for cross-platform play by "keeping the iPad version as complete as possible, but PC is number one."

You can read the entire interview through the link, which also features the first screenshots of the game.

Space Hulk is expected on PC, Mac, and iOS this year.