User in Space Hulk: Deathwing tries out the role of a space marine. He becomes a member of a squad called the Deathwing. The tasks of this unit include the study of a space debris dump, which contains fragments of not only spaceships, but also entire asteroids. These asteroids contain gene stealers – these are representatives of the Tyranid race of monsters who have undergone a genetic mutation. The team must find hidden artifacts among the debris of space debris. This must be done as soon as possible to prevent valuable objects from falling into enemy hands.

Space Hulk: Deathwing contains both a single-player campaign with 9 levels, as well as a multiplayer mode that can be played by up to 4 gamers. In the single-player campaign, the user controls the terminator Barachiel, the librarian Epistolary, or the apothecary Naum. Each character has individual characteristics. It is possible to give commands to teammates – Follow me, Stop and others. The squad includes 3 space marines. In case of emergency, they can be transferred to a spaceship a certain number of times. There the health scale is restored.

Space soldiers are armed with powerful weapons with which they fight the Tyranids. In the story, most of the battles take place in various places on the territory of the orbital ship. There isn't a lot of space, so even small open spaces are great for making shelters. Each level has from 2 to 5 collectibles. When choosing multiplayer mode, gamers have access to 8 maps.