Set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the player directs squads of Space Marines, genetically enhanced armoured soldiers, in their missions to protect the human race from deadly aliens.

Space Hulk's theme of pitting slow and heavily armed Marines against fast, deadly Genestealers produced moments of frantic gameplay and a scary atmosphere for its reviewers, earning positive ratings for the game.

For certain missions, the player can customise the squads' armaments, selecting from 10 other weapons, such as Heavy Flamers for destroying targets and the Chainfist for opening locked doors.

[4] The Planning Screen has two maps; the smaller one on the bottom-left shows the operational area and the larger one displays a close-up view of the region selected by the player.

The game simulates fog of war by blacking out unexplored areas on the maps and representing unseen Genestealers as blips, unveiling them as Marines come within sight.

[3] At any time, Marines armed with Storm Bolters and not under the player's control assume "Overwatch" mode, automatically firing at obstacles and enemies that come into their paths.

Set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the video game tasks the player to take control of genetically enhanced soldiers called Space Marines.

[2] The prologue in the manual says the Dark Angels, a force of Space Marines, had repelled a Genestealer incursion in the Tolevi system many centuries before current events in the game.

A Dark Angel hero was leading his men aboard the invading space hulk, Sin of Damnation, when it vanished into the warp.

The end of the campaign tasks the player to control a lone Marine as he goes deep into the hulk to find the source of the distress call.

[6] The game is designed to encourage the two players to adopt different tactics in their play—the slow-moving Space Marines with long-range guns versus the fast-moving Genestealers who fight hand-to-hand.

[4] The game's opening tune, "Get Out Of My Way", was recorded by British hard rock band D-Rok, with Brian May of Queen as guest guitarist.

[2] Initially released in June 1993 on floppy disks for IBM Personal Computers and their clones that ran DOS, Space Hulk was later published for other platforms and media.

Aside from the concept of pitting heavily armed soldiers against aliens that looked like H. R. Giger's "exo-skeletal nightmares", Space Hulk's Terminator View Screen was reminiscent of a sequence in the film where a marine lieutenant monitored and ordered his troops as they executed a mission in a dark, dank environment.

[1][3][21][22] Handling slow, cumbersome Marines against fast, deadly Genestealers proved to be intense sessions of panic and fear for the game's critics.

[25] A February 1994 survey of space war games in the magazine gave it a grade of B, stating that "graphics are superb and there is gore aplenty", but comparing non-controlled squad members to Star Trek redshirts.

[28] However, video game journalist Alec Meer remembered the briefings as "one of videogame history's greatest atmosphere-spoilers" for their flat deliveries.

[22] Similarly, Amiga Force's Mark Smith and Ian Osborne were flustered by having to command several Marines at the same time while they came under sudden attacks from several directions.

[34][35][36] Meer reflected on replaying the game fifteen years after its release, "The panic and terror of facing 90 degrees away from your enemy, and knowing that you can't do a damn thing about it before your lower intestine spills onto your feet, is still something pretty special.

"[5] Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, and stated that "if you like a heavy dose of atmosphere and a little strategy mixed in with the action, Space Hulk delivers.

The editors considered it uniquely high-quality for a board game adaptation, and wrote that "the tension created as you struggle to keep your group alive against increasingly insurmountable odds is incredible.