As I thrust my Chainsword into the chest of a Tyranid Warrior and split the vile Xenos in half, I can’t help but be reminded of 2016’s Doom. From a gameplay perspective, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is nothing like id Software’s demon-infested reboot–at best, any similarities between the two are merely superficial. But Space Marine 2 manages to capture a kindred vibe that prodded the part of my brain reserved for all things Doom: one that relishes in gory, balls-to-the-wall action and an unapologetic, almost old-school approach to game design that puts unadulterated fun above all else. It’s a game that clearly understands how absurd, horrific, and over-the-top the whole franchise is. There are flaws, but Space Marine 2 improves upon its 13-year-old predecessor in every conceivable way, making you embody an Ultramarine as you stomp your way through a fully realized recreation of Warhammer 40,000’s grimdark universe.
Set roughly 200 years after the events of the first game, Space Marine 2 straps you back into the gaudy power armor of protagonist Demetrian Titus. The erstwhile Captain has spent the past century as a Blackshield in an act of self-imposed penance, fighting among the ranks of the Deathwatch under the belief that he has disgraced his former chapter. When an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus calls for aid in defending the jungle planet of Kadaku from a Tyranid invasion, Titus is sent to the planet’s defense, only to be mortally wounded by a ferocious Carnifex. After being rescued by the Ultramarines, Chapter Master Marneus Calgar has Titus undergo the Rubicon Primaris to save his life, making him faster, stronger, and smarter in the process. Once he emerges from his slumber, Titus intends to return to the Deathwatch but is convinced otherwise; if he truly yearns for redemption, he must rejoin the 2nd Company and help the Avengers of Ultramar repel the assailing Tyranids.
The setup propels Space Marine 2’s action-packed story into motion as you plunge headfirst into the Fourth Tyrannic War. Titus’ past immediately adds tension to the proceedings, with his new captain and squadmates wary of his reinstatement due to a checkered service record. This leads to some decent character-building and uneasy infighting, especially with the threat of Chaos lingering in the air. It’s not long before the Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marines rear their ugly heads to throw a spanner in the works, but for the most part, Space Marine 2 tells a fairly standard war story amidst the backdrop of Warhammer 40,000’s unmistakable world. It’s cliched at times but remains engaging throughout. There’s rarely a dull moment as you uncover long-dormant secrets and attempt to crush the Imperium’s enemies beneath your hefty boots.
Many of the story beats are also an essential vehicle for getting to the game’s brutal action. Much like its predecessor, combat in Space Marine 2 is a fusion of third-person shooting and hack-and-slash skirmishing. Ripping Tyranids and Chaos Space Marines to shreds is incredibly satisfying, and the savage close-quarters melee combat is more nuanced than it was in the first game. Switching between the two gameplay styles is fluid, too, although there is one sticking point: After playing the retro-inspired Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun last year, the Bolter and its variants don’t feel quite as special or unique in Titus’ hands. Space Marine 2’s rendition of the series’ iconic weapon is analogous to an assault rifle rather than the rapid-fire rocket launcher it was in Boltgun, so it doesn’t quite scratch the same gratifying itch. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to pop skulls from range in Space Marine 2, but the Boltgun isn’t as anomalous as it could be. I also wish there were slightly more weapon variety. Firearms like the Melta and Plasma Pistol offer a nice change of pace, but most of your arsenal consists of similar-feeling armaments.
Despite this, the way enemies explode–projecting crimson fountains of blood into the sky with each hit–still makes for some devilishly fun combat. The Ultramarines’ bulky blue armor wasn’t built for you to sit back at a distance, so you’re constantly in the thick of the action, alternating between Bolt Pistols and the crackling energy of a Power Sword to thin the herd and eviscerate the more fearsome creatures among the Tyranid’s ranks. “Quantity has a quality all its own” is an apt description of the Tyranid strategy. The smaller Hormagaunts may be weak on their lonesome, but they come in massive, writhing swarms that can quickly overwhelm the Imperium’s forces. Developer Saber Interactive built Space Marine 2 on the same proprietary engine it used to create World War Z’s zombie hordes, and the result is similarly impressive. It’s an awe-inspiring sight to witness a thick throng of the xenos menace barreling toward you, clambering over each other to scale walls and overrun you with their pure strength in numbers.
A Chainsword can cleave through these compacted swarms, while ranged weapons are useful for depleting the herd’s numbers before you’re completely suffocated. The Hormagaunts are essentially a frontline nuisance, impeding your path to more dangerous enemies like Tyranid Warriors, Zoanthropes, and Lictors. These threats are best handled mano-e-mano, with parries, dodges, counters, and “gun strikes” (cinematic counters that deliver a devastating shot from your equipped firearm) all being crucial to surviving the onslaught. Each of these systems adds complexity and variety to Space Marine 2’s melee combat, taking inspiration from modern melee-action games to make these close-range fights more active and engaging than the first game’s fisticuffs. Parryable attacks flash with a blue circle, and responding in kind can instantly kill smaller enemies and interrupt bigger foes, leaving them wide open for a counter. Unblockable attacks, on the other hand, are indicated by a red circle, forcing you to either sidestep or roll out of the way of incoming danger. Achieving perfect timing on either a parry or dodge opens your opponent up to a gun strike, unleashing an explosive flourish that’s endlessly rewarding.
Space Marine 2 improves upon its 13-year-old predecessor in every conceivable way, making you embody an Ultramarine as you stomp your way through a fully realized recreation of Warhammer 40,000’s grimdark universe
Inflicting enough damage on an enemy leaves them vulnerable and exposed to an execution. These visceral killing blows consist of elaborate animations as you tear the limbs from Tyranid Warriors and rip the heads off of Chaos Marines. Aside from providing an audacious punctuation mark at the end of a frenzied skirmish, executions are also vital to the flow of combat due to how each one refills a portion of your armor. You have a few bars of armor which, once depleted, put you in danger of sustaining damage to a health bar that requires consumable stims to replenish–or by doing damage to an enemy immediately after taking damage yourself. The best defense is a good offense, so you’re incentivized to target executions and stay in the very thick of the action by skewering Tyranids with their own talons. Running away or finding cover never feels particularly viable, so combat has a hectic intensity that’s often thrilling.
There’s also an element of strategy to most encounters, predominantly dictated by the variety of enemy types you’ll face. The slippery Ravener can burrow underground and strike from below, forcing you to be ready on the dodge button before attacking quickly so it can’t scurry back into the dirt. Meanwhile, the floating, psychic Zoanthropes can buff nearby creatures while peppering you with ranged Psychic attacks, necessitating that you break away from the immediate close-quarters fighting and deal with them from range. This ensures that combat is engaging throughout the roughly eight-hour-long campaign, even when your objectives rarely deviate from moving from point A to B. There are exceptions, like one section that sees you using a Flamer to keep swarms of Rippers at bay, but the emphasis is on all-out combat for the majority of the time.
Space Marine 2’s level design is fairly linear, too. There are occasional moments where you can venture off the beaten path to find audio logs and supplies, but the route through each level is usually pretty straightforward. The thing is, it doesn’t always feel like it. The sheer sense of scale and spectacle in each level makes them feel far grander than they actually are. Saber has done a tremendous job of making you feel like a small part of a much bigger war. Whether it’s the intense battles raging in the background to the way clusters of Gargoyles blanket the sky, the world constantly feels alive, even as death occurs all around you, and this is further enriched by the game’s world-building and environmental design.
From the planet-spanning metropolis of Avarax, where grandiose spires seem to soar into space, to the gothic interiors of the burial planet Demerium, and Kadaku’s dense and oppressive forests, every frame of Space Marine 2 is lathered with attention to the smallest details. Cadians often kneel and talk in hushed whispers as you approach, the retro-futuristic Cogitators whirl to life aboard the Battle Barge, and you’ll wander through the remnants of a recent battle as Commissars deliver punishment to soldiers found guilty of cowardice. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say Space Marine 2 is the most authentic Warhammer 40,000 game ever. It ran superbly on my PC as well, with nary a frame-rate dip on Ultra settings.
The feeling of being a single cog in the machine also ties in with Space Marine 2’s PvE Operations mode. Throughout the campaign, Titus will issue orders to a secondary squad of Ultramarines, with their missions happening concurrently with Titus’. Operations mode currently consists of six of these missions (with more set to arrive in future updates), and this interconnected setup helps to make each one feel narratively important. The first sortie you embark on, for instance, takes place early in the main campaign, when Titus needs the other squad to block the Tyranid advance long enough for him to complete his own objective. Your customizable Astartes sets down a few miles north with the aim of detonating a promethium refinery and incinerating a massive horde of the Xenos, buying Titus enough time to get in and out before being completely overwhelmed. The objectives in these missions don’t change from one replay to the next, but much like World War Z, the AI director will change up the enemies and their numbers in response to your class and playstyle.
There are six unique classes in total, ranging from a Sniper to the jump-pack-equipped Assault class. Each one has access to a specific assortment of weapons, perks, and abilities. I mostly stuck with the Vanguard, which uses a grapnel launcher to latch on to enemies and propel you toward them. Other classes have abilities that can aid your teammates in battle, such as the sword-and-shield-wielding Bulwark, which can stick a chapter banner in the floor to restore armor to any squad members nearby.
You can play both the campaign and Operations mode with up to two other players, but the variety of classes ensures that Operations is a much more engaging co-op experience. When either mode is played solo, the bots you’re saddled with aren’t too shabby. They can hold their own and rack up kills, and they’ll deploy their class abilities when they can. Space Marine 2 is obviously a better game with friends, but it’s not a steadfast requirement.
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One of the other benefits of playing with friends is the unique fashion on display. Each class is cosmetically customizable, with myriad armor pieces and paint jobs to unlock and equip. Some of these are unlocked by achieving a new rank, while others can be purchased with the coins you earn from completing missions. It’s cool that you can turn your Space Marine into an Omega Marine, Black Templar, or your own colorful abomination, but the rate at which you earn some of the customization options is painfully slow. The main issue is that the coins you use to purchase emblems and paint jobs are also required to unlock class and weapon perks, forcing you to weigh up whether you want that Imperial Fist emblem more than a firepower and accuracy upgrade for your Bolt Carbine. It feels like the method for unlocking both should be separate.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a more-than-worthy successor to the 2011 original. Its brutally gory action is as riveting as ever, but it’s also more considered and tactile, making for a much more satisfying experience. There’s not a lot going on outside of combat, and it’s overly linear at times, but these flaws are easy to forget when you’re charging headfirst into battle against an enemy numbering in the hundreds, furiously fighting against a stunning backdrop that brings the tabletop game to life in all its grimdark splendor. Space Marine 2 will deeply resonate with Warhammer 40,000 fans, yet it also has enough about it to thrill those who can’t tell their Horus Heresy from their Macharian Crusade. The wait might’ve been long, but it was well worth it.
Editor’s Note: PvP gameplay will be tested once public servers are live and this review will be updated accordingly.