Greetings, Gamers! Greg here from Gaming Cypher here to talk about the highly anticipated sequel, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Space Marine one came out in 2011 leaving fans of the first game likely thinking there might not be a follow up, but after more than a decade patient fans will be rewarded. If you didn’t play the first installment of the Space Marine that’s okay because both narratives can be enjoyed individually. The 40K universe is vast and filled with a ton of lore from across many games, books, comics, and the tabletop games codex. Its such a vast universe the developers were smart enough to keep it mostly encapsulated. There are plenty for eager 40K fans to see in the world though. My dear friend John, a 40K aficionado, helped shed some light on the exciting details in the game. Constantly helping me by calling out the names of everything we saw in just the opening of the game. Truly underscoring the excitement this fandom generates in its players. I’ll talk more about his insights later as a superfan.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 takes place two hundred years after the first game. Which is not a long time among Space Marines, their long lives are denoted by their metal studs on their faces, which you can see on the faces of characters out of helmets. Each stud represents 100 years of life. These tough marines run on three lungs, two hearts, radiation resistant skin, and many other upgrades that make them adapt to constant fighting since there is only war in this grim distant future. When first stepping on the battlefield it’s easy to see why the fighting never stops. A seemingly never-ending swarm of relentless Tyranid hordes pours across the rocks like a living murderous river. John says they are deadly since they operate as a hive mind. This detail is dramatically portrayed with Saber Interactives’ swarm engine used in the widely popular World War Z game where players were treated to giant swarms of zombies. The Warhammer application for the Tyranid was something members of the team had dreamed about as they played the tabletop game while working on World War Z.
When charging onto the battlefield, players have the option of playing solo or with co-op as a team with up to three players. When playing solo your team is made up of NPCs but they still do a pretty good job, especially at helping you back up if downed in combat. I’m sure most people’s human co-op partners would outperform the NPCs easily though. Regardless of your companions, there are so many things to keep players engaged in this Gears of War meets Starship Troopers 3rd person shooter, including guns, guns, and guns. Load out with what seems like the right fit but encounter many different mini armories along the way. Changing play styles along the way is part of the fun and constantly finding weapons players can swap for helps tailor the player’s battle style to the situation. It always helped keep things new and interesting. Trying different guns here and there until finding the perfect gun or melee weapon for you. Once that happens it’s hard to break away from the favorites.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 offers a few different game modes for players looking to relax in a bloodbath. The main campaign can be played alone or in co-op also available are PVE, and PVP modes. Once making it through the roughly 12 our main campaign players can try out side missions in operations mode. This allows you to play through missions that happen alongside the main storyline. Players can pick from 6 classes: Assault, Bulwark, Heavy, Sniper, Tactical, and Vanguard for starters, then further customization can be done from there. Each class offers a different experience for any mission. To keep players coming back
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 offers 6v6 multiplayer which can be played in three modes: Annihilation, Capture & Control, and Seize Ground. Players will fight for the glory of the Imperium or join up with the Heretic Astartes as Night Lord, A World Eater, or an Iron Warrior with more to come later.
Regardless of features Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a game set out to please players seeking a glimpse into the 40K universe, Players craving the all-out war that comes with fighting a seemingly endless fight, or even just a casual player looking to try something new. The worlds that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 are set in help submerse any player in a beautiful rich environment heavily peppered with things from the 40K universe. Players will have to work to keep from getting sucked into looking at a background instead of fighting off enemies. However, this is one thing I do find like a slight misstep as there is so much going on on the battlefield that it can be hard to keep track of what is in the background and what is a threat. John described to me on the ship why they use flying Charibs instead of AI or computers to do some tasks and its details like that which give Space Marine 2 such a rich feeling for players familiar with the lore or not.
Overall, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 had wonderful powerful feeling combat, interesting stories, and enough verity to keep players busy for a while and then want to return. Rich with mood, lore, and endurance players can find much of what they are looking for in a new game to get swept away in with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Very few things bring this game down but among them is how busy the field of view can be with swarms of enemies in the distance or similar colored Tarynids to the environments it can be hard to determine where to start shooting. One other small thing that weighs on me and its the single-note tone of the game it’s very dark, moody, and serious all the time. If there is a Space Marine 3 it could do with taking a page out Last of Us’ joke book, the strained but obvious brotherhood among the Gears of War crew, and even other 40K games offer some dark humor. Nitpicking aside Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 deserves a 9/10 for its fun and intense step back into the world of Warhammer 40,000.
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Related: Reviews by Greg Vander Velde
I've been a life long nerd and video game junkie known to associate with the likes of Link, Nathan Drake, Batman, and Master Chief. I'm a filmmaker by profession, but spend lots of time behind a controller escaping the real world. @GregVelde on Instagram/Twitter/YouTube
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