It’s been well over ten years since we last saw Captain Titus of the Ultramarines face off against the Orks and Chaos, so it’s comforting to finally get to continue his story after so long of wondering if we’d ever get a sequel to that original game. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is finally here, and boy is it a blast.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Developer: Saber Interactive
Price: $60
Platform: PC (reviewed), PS5 and XSX
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review
Nearly 200 years after the events of the first game, Space Marine 2 opens with Titus being allowed to return to the Ultramarines after finally being deemed pure of any chaos taint, albeit with a slight demotion in rank. Not one to take breaks, Titus is immediately thrown into what’s arguably the worst day ever as a Tyranid fleet lays waste to a local system. Is chaos involved? Maybe. Probably. The plot of the original Space Marine was a pretty by the numbers Warhammer story, but it was told well and Titus was a great character so it’s great to be able to dive back into another romp with him. So while the plot in this game might not be breaking the mold, it (and Titus himself) is still incredibly compelling as you make your way through it.
Space Marine 2 plays pretty similarly to the original, with Titus having a gun he can fire along with his trusty chainsword. You can perform some simple melee combos, and while you can find a suite of different weaponry to equip Titus with, nothing really changes up in the combat during your time with the game. This could lead to the game feeling a bit repetitive, as you’ll quickly find the weapons you like and stick with them for the entirety of the game, but the way the game helps break this (if only slightly) is by keeping you in increasingly more exciting scenarios. The game just lets you revel in the power fantasy of being a space marine, and it does it well as I had a big dumb grin on my face as I carved a path through hordes of bugs, gore flying in every which direction.
Space Marine 2 is the ultimate Warhammer 40k power fantasy
New to the game is a gun focused finisher, where if you stun an enemy Titus will whip out his pistol and fire a point blank headshot on them, cinematic camera angle included. It’s sick as hell and never gets old, and is just another thing that really helps sell that you’re playing as this unstoppable tank of a being. Most impressively is the swarm tech they’re using, whereas in most games if you see a swarm of enemies they’re likely something you can’t really interact with and it’s really just a few goons in the front that are the actual enemy models. In Space Marine 2, when you see a swarm of dozens of Tyranids approaching, it’s actually that massive group of enemies coming your way. It’s just as thrilling as it is terrifying.
The original Space Marine featured a cooperative horde mode, which is set to come to this game sometime in the future, but in its place, we have a new cooperative mode called Operations. Early on in the campaign, Titus will need to deal with a problem but a horde of Tyranids are barreling towards his objective. To slow them down, he tasks three space marines to deal with them so that his mission can succeed more easily. You play as those three marines in these cooperative missions. There are six total, and you’re recommended to play them as they slowly unlock throughout the main campaign, as they tie directly into the plot and could spoil critical events.
These missions, to say the least, are a blast. I loved the horde mode in the original, but having a structured PvE mode is so much better. Rolling with your buddies as you stomp xeno scum is endlessly satisfying, especially once you guys get a good roll going, taking out anything that comes your way. The one thing I’m not a fan of is that even on normal difficulty, these missions are no walk in the park, and when your team wipes it’s game over which can be pretty frustrating when you spend close to an hour on a mission only to die at the end. The mode also features (what I’m assuming is) an AI director that controls the difficulty of missions. You’ll be stomping through a zone, doing pretty well, and then the game will decide you’ve had too easy of a time and throw some bigger hordes your way. This helps keep the six missions relatively fresh, as you won’t get the same enemy swarms each time, which helps since you’ll be playing them a lot to level up your classes.
Space Marine 2 features six classes: Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper and Heavy. There’s a little something for everyone here with options like the combat focused Tactical, the support heavy Bulwark, or maybe you like keeping your distance with the Sniper. Each of these classes features a set list of weapons to choose from, along with a signature ability such as the Heavy’s shield which can pop up, or the Vanguard’s ability to fire a grappling hook at an enemy to launch themselves at them for a high speed dive kick.
As you level each class, you’ll also earn weapon XP as well; both will award you perk points to use to unlock passive abilities like being able to have your guns auto-reload after performing a finisher. I only wish it wasn’t so much of a grind, as there are only six co-op missions to run through, and each class can get up to level 25; that’s a lot of XP to grind if you want to try most of the classes. It also doesn’t help that you can only have one class per team, so if you join a game and the other two players are playing the classes you focused on, you’re forced to use a class that might cost you guys the mission due to it being underleveled. It’s not likely to happen often, but when it does it can be a bit of a bummer.
Alongside the cooperative side of the game, there’s also a competitive mode that I unfortunately was not able to try during the review period due to a lack of players to matchmake with. Labeled “Eternal War”, you’ll be able to compete against others in 6v6 matches across three game modes: Annihilation (Team Deathmatch), Seize Ground (Domination), and Capture & Control (King of the Hill).
Fashion’s back on the menu ya’ll, as you can customize the look of each class in multiplayer. Each class features premade suits of armor as rewards for accomplishing tasks, but those armors include individual pieces, so you can mix and match all the parts together to form your unique space marine. Additionally, you can also unlock the colors from practically every chapter you can think of, and really get into the trenches of coloring your marine the way you want.
More so than in the first game, the developers were really able to capture the spirit and look of the Warhammer 40k universe, with these towering gothic cathedrals looming over you, or the dangerous jungles with massive plants that look like they’d kill you with a touch. The models themselves, from the characters to vehicles, feel as if they were ripped straight from the tabletop figures as well with how detailed they are. I’d sometimes just pop open photo mode to stare at all the pieces of the space marine armor, with that signature blue coloring, it really feels like they put in the extra effort to make the minifigures to life in this game.
The Final Word
Start to finish, Space Marine 2 is a complete blast, with all the hallmarks of being a big action blockbuster. Titus continues to be a compelling character and we’re lucky we got to see more of him; it was a long wait but damn was it worth it.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
