Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Developer: Saber Interactive
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 9 Sep 2024
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here $109.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
Do you know how they say the best things come to those who wait? I am not sure if that can be applied in every case but that was my first thought when I heard about the sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, all the way from 2011. 13 years for a sequel, how about that? To be fair, I had to replay the first game before taking this one, just to remind myself of the story and everything. Another reason is that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 continues where the previous game pretty much ended and my memory is just not that good anymore to remember a decade of a story. In any case, the sequel is finally here so let’s see what new adventures await our Captain Titus. The developers at Saber Interactive already proved themselves in making high-quality “horde” games before so I’m excited about what good surprises await us here.
Story
Did I say Captain? I mean to say Lieutenant since Titus has been now demoted in rank due to his long absence from the Ultramarines. Orks have now been replaced by Tyranids, who seem to be far more dangerous and deadlier. Titus now has the difficult mission of proving himself and earning the trust of his superiors. Luckily, he is not alone in that task since he is joined by his battle brothers Gadriel and Chairon. You’ll also be able to visit the ravaged planets of Kadaku, Avarax, and Demerium and decimate the Tyranid population. Aside from your companions, you’ll be accompanied by a vast arsenal of weapons such as the iconic bolt thrower, chain sword, power sword, rifles, snipers, and so on. While the game starts by presenting Tyranids as the big threat, the list of enemies will slowly expand with Chaos Marines and we might even clash chain swords with one familiar adversary from Titus’ past.
Gameplay
The first thing that everyone will notice is that the combat is more fluid now. The “stiffness” in the movements from the first game is occasionally present but it is much easier now to crowd control (which is incredibly helpful when you get swarmed by Tyranids from every direction). The game also supports a 3-player co-op for the single-player but if you cannot find anyone, Gadriel and Charon will be replaced by the same named bots. What I noticed is that even in a bot state, your companions are surprisingly smart. They will often target larger enemies in the bunch, perform takedowns, use special abilities, and revive you pretty fast once you’re down.
Your base of operations is our Battle Barge, a dedicated hub for accessing single-player content, PVP, and operations. Operations are especially interesting since they are PVE missions that are closely tied to the campaign. For example, you play as Titus in one mission trying to delay the Tyranids swarm and there is one Operation mission from the perspective of other marines that is happening simultaneously while Titus is doing his own thing. While they are anything but mandatory, they do act as extensions of the campaign. The combat in general is a finely tuned mix of juggling melee weapons and long-range weapons and utilizing counters efficiently. Enemies will have a blue glowing circle when they’re about to attack and blocking that just in time will usually result in a one-hit kill, so that’s handy. Every melee weapon also has a light and a heavy attack and by strategically using heavy attack on small groups of Tyranids, you can instakill one while it is down and that move will also restore your armor a bit as a bonus.
Visuals
As I said, more than a decade has passed since the previous game so you can expect a noticeable upgrade when it comes to visuals. Planet Kadaku is brimming with lush vegetation, while Avarax and Demerium are filled with brutalist architecture, tight corridors, and narrow passages. There is also an extensive Space Martine customization where you can paint and change every part of your armor so you can go from your default blue player to a vomit-inducing colorful mess of an Ultramarine. But the fun doesn’t stop there, if you snoop around you can see that customization can be applied to pretty much every part of your arsenal, not just armor. You earn mastery points and experience for your weapons so you can unlock perks and cosmetics for melee and long-range weapons.
Audio
While the soundtrack of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is nothing out of the ordinary (besides the main menu theme), the sound design of the game is beyond stellar. You’ll be constantly on the edge while listening to where Lictor might be (predator-like invisible enemy) before he jumps at you from the shadows or listening from what direction the Tyranid swarm is coming. Let’s not also forget the superb sound design of the weapons where after a while you’ll be able to hear what weapon your companion is using by the sound alone. Sadly, I didn’t notice the same level of attention to detail and love when it comes to music in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 but I’ll take what I can get.
Overall
It’s obvious at this point that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a noticeable upgrade from the previous game in terms of visuals, and gameplay but the campaign kinda falls short. While we get to visit three planets with vastly different environments and biomes, we also get no more than 6 campaign missions. Sure, that number can be boosted a bit if we also count operations but there’s no denying that the campaign could benefit from 2-3 more missions. I do have to praise the game’s stability as well, in my 13 hours of playtime I never experienced a crash or any kind of freezing and the game runs pretty smoothly. It’s a good thing at least that the game offers a high replay value with operations and PVP multiplayer but I’m also excited for upcoming free updates as it’s been announced in their roadmap.
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