Gab Hernandez 
Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most popular tabletop gaming franchises in the world, thanks to its wildly over-the-top sci-fi setting. Few other franchises revel in guts and glory quite like the Warhammer 40k franchise. From the brutal bolter fire of the Adeptus Astartes and the hilarious sadism of the Orkz, Warhammer 40k excels in being extra.
For many fans, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was the 40k game they always dreamed about. Although repetitive and shallow in its gameplay, it was a bloody good time that accurately represented the setting. Ripping apart Orkz with chain swords, mowing down hordes of Chaos worshippers with a bolter, and generally feeling extremely powerful, Space Marine was the perfect game for Astartes fans.
Thankfully for fans, Space Marine 2 brings that energy back and then some.
The Good:
- A great power fantasy that challenges players with hordes of enemies at great scale.
- New classes and weapons bring additional variety to Space Marine’s core gameplay.
The Bad:
- The campaign is a bland and short, especially compared to its initial scale.
- Some classes and weapons lack balance in multiplayer, and PvE modes are lacking.
Review Details:
- Platforms available: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
- Reviewed on: PC
- Official release date: September 9, 2024
A grimdark war across the stars
The first thing that came to mind upon beginning Space Marine 2 is its sheer scale. The original game had no shortage of epic set-pieces, but much of it took place entirely in a relatively small section of the game. Space Marine 2 begins in a surprisingly lush forest, a sharp contrast to the first game’s nightmarish forge world.
Even here, the towering Space Marines of the Deathwatch are dwarfed by colossal trees and megafauna. For the intro, it even feels like a Space Marine got lost in Monster Hunter World. Those lush forests soon give way to open battlefields, and that’s when Space Marine 2 really shines.
The missions also feature some thrilling sequences, some of which could rival any action scene from a big-budget film.
Vast war zones give Captain Demetrian Titus tons of real estate to slay the enemies of the Imperium. With a multitude of guns, melee weapons, and power-ups, the gray war zones will be splattered with deep red Xenos blood. Speaking of which, the Tyranids prove fantastic fodder for Titus’ rampage.
Unlike the homogenous mass of Orks, the Tyranids are a far more diverse bunch. Homogaunts will make up the bulk of Tyranid hordes but are often accompanied by greater threats like Carnifexes and Hive Tyrants. In addition to the Tyranids, Titus also faces off against Chaos forces, specifically the Thousand Sons chapter of Magnus the Red.
Thanks to these new enemies, the campaign doesn’t get as repetitive as the first Space Marine title sometimes did.
Exhilarating multiplayer massacre
The real star of Space Marine 2 is the multiplayer. The campaign is suitably epic in presentation, but the story doesn’t shake up the 40k universe and gameplay can blend together after a while. Multiplayer lets players engage with the deeper combat of Space Marine 2 compared to its predecessor.
The six classes (tactical, assault, vanguard, bulwark, sniper, and heavy) let players do more than fire bolters and slash enemies with a sword. For example, the assault class utilizes a jump pack and fast melee weapons for speedy styles of play. Meanwhile, the heavy class goes all-in on the dakka, with high-ammo heavy weaponry for mowing down the enemy team.
PvP can be an unbalanced mess at times, but it’s a fun kind of mess. Operations PvE is also fun but feels limited when compared to horde modes in other video games like Gears of War. Still, with an extensive DLC roadmap confirmed for Space Marine 2, these issues will hopefully be worked out in the future.
Bottom line: Space Marine 2 does a great job of representing the Warhammer 40k setting with fierece action, even as it fails to do anything new.
