The Warhammer franchise has been a powerhouse over the last forty years, spawning countless books, figures, and of course, video games. It has had a significant influence on modern fiction, more so than you might imagine, and numerous video games such as Warcraft, Gears of War and Starcraft, just to name a few. And rightfully so, as the lore and world Games Workshop has crafted is expansive, having some of the darkest, yet most fascinating outlooks on both their future (Warhammer 40,000) and fantasy properties.
There are only a handful of games in the franchise that stick out as truly memorable and Space Marine is one of them. The 2011 release saw Relic Entertainment, best known forCompany of HeroesandWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, take on a third-person shooter as everyone’s favorite Space Marine. Now we have Saber Interactive trying their hand at the sequel and the results are in their favor.
The story takes place a couple of centuries after the events of the firstSpace Marinegame as we follow Demetrian Titus once more, but instead of taking down hordes of Orks, he’s faced with a Tyranid infestation on numerous planets. If you’re someone who enjoys the Warhammer 40,000 lore, you’ll dig the attention to detail and the little nuggets that have been spliced in. With that said, you don’t need to know anything about the Warhammer universe to enjoy the story, although it in itself isn’t anything amazing.
The hardened former captain of the Ultramarines 2nd company isn’t particularly the most interesting character to get wrapped around, as he and his two fellow companions somewhat repeat themselves in almost every mission. Titus doesn’t want to divulge his past and the other two become increasingly suspicious of him. It’s the events that transpire around him that will have you hooked, as there were numerous moments in the story that had us pumping our fists in the air chanting “For the Emperor!”
10 Best Space Marine-Focused Warhammer 40K Games Blessed by the Holy Emperor
The best way to prepare for the launch of Space Marine 2 is to play some more Warhammer 40K games.
More Than Your Run-of-the-Mill Shooter
If you’re familiar with third-person shooters such as Gears of War or the more recent Remnant 2, you’ll feel right at home withSpace Marine 2. Playing as a Space Marine, you will feel invincible, as running through hordes of Xenos or Daemons is a walk in the park for you. There’s a rather sizable arsenal at your disposal, with the primary and melee weapons getting the bulk of the attention. There’s no better feeling than running up to a Tyranid and launching it across the room with a quick swing of the Thunder Hammer.
There are a couple of mechanics that separate this from your run-of-the-mill shooter, offering a bit more to combat than getting behind cover and shooting. Well, there isn’t a cover system outside some line-of-sight mechanics, which we kind of wish the game included, but at the same time, the thought of a Space Marine blind firing behind a three-foot high structure instead of running head on into battle makes them seem far less intimidating. Regardless, the mechanics include being able to recover portions of lost health if you retaliate and damage enemies shortly after taking the damage, and being able to counter specific enemy attacks.
The latter itself feels satisfying asSpace Marine 2offers two different counter variants. If a blue indicator pops up, the ability to counter is made almost immediately, be it from larger or smaller enemies, but it’s not just about timing, as being too hasty prepping for a counter can lead to some severe damage. There’s also a red indicator, which indicates an unblockable attack, but thankfully this can still be countered by dodging; this is far more challenging as the timing is a lot stricter than the standard counter, requiring a bit of skill to pull off. This system is fluid and offers quite a bit to combat, being almost crucial in the harder difficulties. Outside of that, the executions feel so good when you pull them off, rewarding you whenever they’re done, regenerating some of your shielding.
Cooperative Campaign Creativity
The core ofSpace Marine 2isn’t the main campaign, but its PVE Operations counterpart. While it’s great to slip back into the shoes of Titus, his story is short, and instead players will be allowed to progress and customize a Space Marine of their choosing. The Operations Mode should almost be mandatory for the main story only because of how it’s implemented into what’s happening around Titus. His involvement only covers the major story beats, such as the antagonists and interactions with certain key figures. Everything else is being handled by the other Space Marines in his company behind the scenes. This is where your own Space Marine comes into play, as you will go through six different optional missions, with various objectives that need to be overcome. This involves tasks as “simple” as taking down a multi-winged daemon to sending a nuke into a Hive city. You know, small things.
It’s a clever way to facilitate a system that has far more legs than the single-player campaign. There are six different classes that can be picked, each offering relatively different playstyles. I say relatively only because you’ll still be slashing and shooting away at Xenos, but certain classes have far more unique traits than others. For example, some may not be able to wield a melee weapon, while others may only be allowed to use far-ranged primary weapons. Or their abilities may range from going invisible or putting up an AOE banner, refreshing everyone’s shields while they stand in it.
Tearing Through the Tyranid Threat in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
We got some hands-on time with Space Marines 2 and couldn’t put it down.
Join the Space Marines
On top of that, each class comes with a sizable skill tree, either boosting their own abilities or their team buffs. We found this mode only really takes off after progressing to around level 10 as some of the more interesting passive abilities become attached to their skillset. It’s not just a class’ skills that can be customized, but their weaponry and armor. While armor is purely cosmetic, each class comes with a lot of flair and the weapons can be upgraded to best suit your playstyle. For example, a Power Sword’s first upgrade can turn it into a slightly more powerful weapon or you can downgrade its counter capabilities in favor of raw damage, something that’s faster and hit harder. Or if you enjoy countering, you can focus on that, but it comes with the drawback of every swing taking longer to connect and cleaves less.
The cosmetic side of things has a substantial unlock tree with each of the Space Marine legions represented in emblems, color schemes and patterns. This is a great way to create a sense of identity with your Space Marine, as most of the unlocks you spend your hard-earned in-game currency on are shared between the different classes. We do wish we were able to customize the Space Marine under the mask, though, as taking the helmet off is less than ideal in comparison to the various means of modifying it.
The downside is just how few missions there are at launch. At the time of this review, there are only six campaign missions to queue up for, each taking roughly half an hour to complete. Granted, each is well done, but even on higher difficulties, there aren’t too many differences outside the horde output and your strategies. As you can imagine, this can get repetitive doing the same tasks over and over again, even though there are slight variants each time you enter, be it enemy placement or even which direction you are guided. Still, it amounts to roughly the same experience each time. It’s a grind for sure that we hope more content will be added to as the PVP multiplayer, which has three different modes, Seize Ground, Capture and Control, and Annihilation, offer more value.
Bringing 40k to Life Like Never Before
The presentation inSpace Marine 2is phenomenal. The worlds Saber Interactive have created come with a certain beauty and disgust, perfectly capturing the beloved universe. Whether it’s the grotesque Tyranids and their overwhelming rampage across the lands, or the gothic architecture of the Imperium, this is one of the best visual representations of Warhammer 40k in a video game. On top of that, the visuals on a technical level are out of this world, with stunning shots of the hordes of monsters in the background, along with gorgeous environments and lighting. There still is difficulty when it comes to rendering hair well, as it stands out on specific characters, and there’s some pop-in during some cutscenes, but regardless, this is a massive step forward for visual fidelity.
The soundtrack isn’t up to par with the more recent 40k coop shooter,Darktide, as this mainly just sets the atmosphere than anything else. It’s quiet most of the time, with the dialogue and banter between Space Marines taking centerfold. The sound effects do offer quite a bit of punch in regard to the weaponry, as some of the bigger arsenal sounds like you’re being kicked in the teeth. How it doesn’t blow out the eardrums of poor soldiers in the 40K universe is beyond me as, whether it’s the Bolt pistol or the Meltagun, the kick on these weapons sounds powerful, having an impactful and lasting impression.
Closing Comments:
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2is one of the best shooters of 2024. It features a highly-engaging and addictive combat system that would be lost without its cooperative and competitive modes. It’s not without its faults, though, as the campaign isn’t particularly lengthy and will rely on playing the same six missions over and over again until you level up to take on the higher difficulties, which are primarily just more enemies who hit much harder. It’s not too different from other cooperative-based Warhammer games of the past, but it can quickly get repetitive if you don’t have friends to play with. Regardless, this is one of the best story-based Warhammer games out there, featuring multiple fist-in-the-air moments and iconic figures from the universe. While the PVE Operations mode does come with some drawbacks, crafting a Space Marine for your own playstyle is a huge draw. You would be classified as a Heretic if you ignore whatSpace Marine 2has to offer. It’s the height of the 40K franchise, at least in terms of how video games are concerned, and if properly maintained and expanded upon, it could go down as one of the best cooperative shooters out there.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
Version Reviewed: PC
Saber Interactive’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2011 original game. Featuring a combat system that blends third-person shooting with hack and slash elements, Space Marine 2 can be enjoyed in single-player or co-op, and it also features PvP.
