games

40K art has kind of stagnated, really. Like at it's heart none of it's really supposed to be literal and diegetic, and instead it's about translating vibes and evoking a general sense of inscrutability, decadence, and archaicness. It hinges on this sort of gothic cathedral look to do that, which does convey that vibe, but it really shouldn't only be relying on that specific aesthetic to do it, and should draw from other old architectural styles too.

For example: the spaceships are figuratively "cathedrals" but probably don't diegetically look like medieval european cathedrals even though that's how the art portrays them, so it would be a huge step up if they made them look like ancient temples from other cultures too and just kept it so that core design was standardized but all the aesthetic bits varied by forgeworld or sector to represent how they're all grandiose and archaic but aren't literally all just copying specifically 16th century French architecture.

My introduction to Warhmmer in a real, concrete way was Rogue Trader and I thought it looked good? I mean, the budget obviously isn't at the AAA level, but I liked their decisions on the environmental designs. Maybe it's just because to me, it's kind of a whole new thing rather than an interpretation of books, tabletop games, etc that others have played before and their imagination filled in the gaps better.

Check out some of the level design for Darktide:

It won't let me add more, but also search specifically for Archivum Sycorax

It really sucks, because the books do so much to show that yes, industrial prefab ugly places absolutely exist still, but there is also absolutely gorgeous places they've built. Columns of gold, marble floors, high art across the walls(all to be shot down/blown up, at some point).

Even ships can have sections that are highly decorated, even downright ostentatious in their presentation. Not everything is pure brutalist functionality.

While we're at it, I am sick of regular-ass earth jungles that have been transplanted into space. This is the flora and fauna of a million worlds we're talking here, give me something weird.

And you'd think a space marine recruiting world would have all kinds of proud cultural art about it, right? Well fuck you and me both then because Calderis looks like a map from a star wars RTS, literally just a desert with one type of adobe building they all share and no painting allowed.

Mechanicus is pretty unique in that it's all weirdo Necron ruins (though the DLC adds some industrial spaceship battles).

Space Marine 2 is also actually pretty good at mixing it up I feel, with the jungle planet, hive city, and

any warhammer content born after 1993 can't cook... all they know is grimdark, praise they emprah, fascism, release the same game every year, eat processed corn & lie.

But seriously, they're mostly just eternally rereleasing Vermintide as Space Marine fascist power fantasy games for DOGE interns and their fellow groypers at this point. Feel free to continue ignoring them.