Trench Crusade stands alone

I’ve seen so many times where people compare Trench Crusade to Warhammer 40k. The two are vastly different, however. You can easily say that both are “grim dark” in aesthetic, but Trench Crusade stands on its own merit.

I released a video called, “What Is Trench Crusade,” which has since been buried by the YouTube algorithm. Seriously, if you search for the actual title of the video it normally won’t come up until you scroll through pages of non-related content. That’s a separate blog entry altogether, but I had so many people say this is similar to Warhammer 40k. “It’s the, “Siege of Vraks,” they would say or, “they just copied GW.” No, they didn’t.

While John Blanche may have coined the term, “Grim Dark,” and it may be widely used in the Games Workshop universe, many things can be called that for their dark tones and setting. The term doesn’t belong to Games Workshop but it has become so relatable to Warhammer 40k.

Warhammer 40k is dark. It has themes of genocide, slavery, sadomasochism, hellish demons and more, but that doesn’t mean other games can’t have those themes. Much of the Warhammer 40k universe in fact, draws a lot of similarities from other works such as Tolkien, Dune, D&D, Starship Troopers, Alien and more. There’s also historical references to Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Vikings, The Knights Templar and others.

While Games Workshop has created their own universe, Trench Crusade is very direct in their lore. It takes place on Earth and it’s a fight between heaven and hell, the ultimate good and evil. The original story dates back to the Crusades and continues to the early 1900s where Trench warfare is being employed.

Now to me, that’s a story that stands on it’s own two feet. I get that Trench Crusade has dark themes, but ultimately drawing parallels beyond that to Warhammer 40k is a bit insulting to what Factory Fortress has created. Not everything “Grim Dark” is Warhammer 40k. Trench Crusade isn’t Warhammer.

Ultimately, I understand the comparison is fun. It will certainly drive a lot of clicks on YouTube for those that publish such comparisons, but I strongly feel that Trench Crusade stands alone. Before drawing swords, I would highly recommend you check out the lore yourself and form your own opinion.