Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | Review

Initial release date: 2024

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, GeForce Now, Microsoft Windows

Developer: Saber Interactive

Engine: Swarm Engine, Proprietary Engine

Mode: Multiplayer video game

License: proprietary license

Genres: Third-person shooter, Adventure game, Hack and slash, Adventure

Key Takeaways

• The best Warhammer video game I played
• Visceral, brutal fun action
• Tyranids and Forces of Chaos were great enemies
• Campaign a solid nine hours
• Visually stunning with great art
• Upgrade mechanics in Coop and Multiplayer
• Voice acting strong
• Music memorable
• Melee and shooting mechanically solid
• Demetrian Titus a solid protagonist
• Story fits
• Great sound design
• Multiplayer fun
• Coop fun

Introduction

I played a few Warhammer themed video games in the past including Space Marine which Space Marine 2 is the direct sequel of. If you weren’t aware Warhammer has an extensive lore dating decades back with it’s table top game and novels. I personally got what I wanted out of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

I wanted to feel like a Adeptus Astartes Primaris and Ultra Marine. Mission accomplished. Another accolade I can give Space Marine 2 is that it reminded me of the time when I first played Gears of War which is a fun yet linear brutal game where your brothers in arms are it’s galvanizing focus.

There were plenty of badass moments in Space Marine 2’s campaign that the diehard Warhammer fans can really appreciate. I cannot emphasize how much of a badass this game made me feel while playing. It was as if I was wearing Power Armour.

Presentation

The presentation for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was good overall focusing on three main gameplay pillars. You have the campaign which I thought was intense, visceral and fantastical.

Next up was the tie-in coop multiplayer which featured other Primaris Space Marines you meet and the multiplayer which was fun but didn’t spend enough time with. Visually stunning with solid voice overs and music.

There were a few floating tyranis arms after dismantling them. No real serious bugs or glitches I can report. Story is pure “brothers in arms in space” fare. I wish I could tell you more about the multiplayer progression but I can’t as I type this.

Story

So the story was in the same boat as games such as Gears of War or Halo even. You play as Demetrian Titus of the Ultramarines Chapter now heading a Deathwatch Kill Team at the start of the game which was pretty cool.

Titus early into the campaign gets his Ultramarine badge reinstated soon hooks up with fellow brothers in arms Gadriel and Chairon learns of Project Aurora. Battling Tyranids (alien-esque like hivemind creatures) and the Forces of Chaos which are basically evil corrupted energized Space Marines.

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2’s story is about brotherhood, conspiracies, triumph in the face of insurmountable odds and carnage. It was a simple yet fun story. It’s not Shakespeare though. Just sayin.

Gameplay

Third person melee with shooting and brutal finishers make up up the core gameplay mechanical loop for Warhammer 40,00 Space Marine 2. I loved the action points and loops during the campaign. I felt the impact of every weapon with each melee swing which were all impactful and visceral.

You can order various squad commands which play into the aggressive nature of combat as it’s no flight just fight to regen armour and health you must stay aggressive. Enemy variety was good as you had many types of Tyranids and Forces of Chaos Marines to slaughter.

Some missions I had to use jetpacks to fly around planting explosive charges on Hive Cysts. There are a at least a dozen boss fights in the main story campaign and coop campaign. One negative is the fact you can’t play coop in the story.

Visuals | Graphics

I played this on my Playstation 5 in both performance and quality mode and came away impressed by both options honestly. Granted Space Marine 2 is linear with sporadic open areas which doesn’t take away from the visual feast it provides.

Sound | Music

Voice acting felt badass as did the music in many sequences. Atmosphere is the word here and voice acting along with the music played a big part into that. I suck at describing music but here I go.

Imagine blasting thousands of Tyranids with your Bolter Gun but ammo runs out so you start slashing and smashing them with your bare hands or Thunder Hammer. That was how the music sound.