Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 could be the most loyal Warhammer video game adaptation of all time. You are paying for a really good product, you can’t get a huge amount in the box. However, ask the Custodian or Grey Knights player. It’s a typical Warhammer experience.
Created by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, Space Marine 2 In many ways, it’s a dream game for Warhammer fans. In recent years, I have seen a variety of great new games using this IP. Boltgun, Rogue Trader, Speed Freak, Darktide. It’s easy to create an argument that we are in the golden age of adapting Warhammer video games.
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But Space Marine 2 stands in its own world. Given the budget worth it, it’s a big blue boy in a triple-A shooter. I think Saber Interactive did an incredible job of bringing the world of Grim Dark to life in 40k and mixing so many styles and characters to make the game a must-have purchase of 40K Die Hard. But by the time I left Campaign and Operations mode, I was craving more.
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That’s because it’s so, so good that it’s here. Start with the campaign. This is a real treat. You will get a mission spanning three planets for approximately 6-7 hours. There, we step into Li’s ceramite boots, fresh from the death watch and returned to its thickness. Just returning from a 100-year work trip away from Ultramarine’s brother, he returned to help dodge the Tyranid invasion.
The existence of Tyranid and Chaos is revealed at length in the game trailer, but there are still plenty of great surprises hidden in the campaign. Fans of each fan that exists in Space Marine 2 will mess up seeing certain units appear as enemies you need to extract, or as Easter eggs of small NPCs scattered throughout the environment.
As for the story itself, I really believe that you need to experience the original Space Marine game to make the most of this. While that may sound obvious (this is a direct sequel), you might want to beat the YouTube video before hopping, as the original game was released in 2011. Either way, everything wraps nicely in the end, but if you want to get great depth in this, it will take you time to play or research the original first.
Now, 6 hours isn’t that much, but what you get is very There are plenty of details. I look around the environment and spread out incorporating all the little treats. The architecture of the Imperial buildings is perfect, down to the Astra Military Sentinel, parked in various bunkers. The sound of the heavy bolter echoes through the metal chamber by completely recoiling. Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus sent around the ship to pose a threat by sending servicers around the ship. Saber Interactive’s Environmental Designer, Audio Designer, Lore Head reached through my PS5, pulled me through the screen and dropped me at 41 Millennium.
But there are new surprises too – something I never thought I’d ever seen in an Action Romp 40k game. The Space Marine Funeral, slightly hidden from the critical path, is a classic example of what’s still stuck in my mind. You didn’t need to add anything like this, but the developers did, and that makes the game feel very special.
Having a thousand sons as the main enemy forces A unique choice. It is perhaps the best portrayal of the Chaos faction, and, frankly, better than what a thousand Sons player deserves. It’s refreshing to see Chaos portrayed as a boozo of a bored black legion of vanilla and vanilla screaming “blood for blood for blood.” The way warp power is drawn is in rad, and the fact that ordinary Lumcon Marines spit out magical dust rather than blood is the cool detail that nerds get (and can be out of hand for regular and uncontaminated people).
It’s like a package that only Saber Interactive could have pulled out. Fans of the World War I games came out a while ago, especially as the tyranid herds began to climb each other and expand the walls. The combination of source materials and Saber’s dedication to technical know-how will peak in a huge battle you can take part in. There are many moments when you feel like a slap has been placed in the middle of John Blanche and Carl Kopinski’s warhammer artwork.
The operation benefits from many love found in the campaign, but the charm has been added thanks to the really funny kip between the three Space Marines that exist. But that’s strange. The operation constitutes six “side missions” that take place alongside the main campaign, but there is never any narrative content for these options. The exact opposite provides important context for the entire package. In fact, I think the operation has a better conclusion to the Tyranid threat than the main story. It’s wild. Play these for each planet in the main story for the best experience.
You are intended to play these online with friends (if any), but the linear missions remain roughly the same, but the prominent powerful enemies get confused every time, keeping things fresh. One run must dodge Reicer. Next, the neuroslope appears and blows away energy, then you have to run. It’s a small thing, but I’m very grateful.
Customization works in operation. There are six different classes in total, each with unique abilities and weapons. There is a lovely interaction between each class that works well – the snipers hanging behind need the front line to protect them. This allows the Vanguard to take up large melee weapons and begin to cut back violently. With a tight team, it feels like the right kill team for the Elite Space Warriors. This is probably the biggest compliment it can get.
Next is cosmetic upgrades. This will cause 40k fans to blush. All the major Loyalist chapters are here, and there are also small chapters like some fans (even the Blooded Raven of the Original Dawn). These will unlock with the currency you get by leveling up your operations or PVP. This is fine, but it uses the same currency as unlocking the skill tree. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t need to choose in-game power and get the iron handmarine to be just right.
Also, the more you level up, the more you can unlock more elaborate cosmetics for your weapons and class armor. After a day of operation it appears to be absolutely decorated with all kinds of Regalia, but this is just lovely. The lore is accurate and player-centric, you love to see it.
However, at this point, the same praise cannot be leveled out in multiplayer. The Eternal War PVP session had no reviewers scheduled prior to the embargo and crossplay was disabled. This means that PC fun kept drifting on the PS5 while cooking eggs on the CPU with maximum frame rate. So despite having been waiting for six hours over the weekend, I didn’t get the chance to play the game mode.
All I can say is that overall packages do not have a huge amount of “on-disk” in Space Marine 2 at launch. The campaign takes 6-7 hours and doubles the playthrough for one operation. Yes, you can (and should) play these multiple times, but it’s the same series of missions.
Multiplayer is clearly a long-term draw, but you get just a handful of 12 player game modes that you have to mess up. The customization is great, but I was heartbroken to hear that Heretics Astartes (Chaos Space Marines or Bad Guy Space Marines for entry-level fans) have very limited options. Yes, you only play in eternal wars, but will you play 50% of your time by zeroing your skin armor/weapon upgrade path? That’s a shame. I don’t care how cool the Storm Giants were in White Dwarf Magazine 5362. Please abandon the bus and give us the world-eating options.
Now the game has an official roadmap and more content is ongoing. But it’s mostly cosmetics until 2025, then season 4 horde mode. The game requires this, but the addition of the PVE and PVP in early 2025 will also be a great touch. At some point, give love to the Chaos Marines.
Space Marine 2 is a game victory. For Warhammer fans, it is a must-buy and highly recommended for good gaming fun. I hope you see yourself as part of that glorious group. Space Marine 2 is one of the best Warhammer games ever released and one of the most dangerous gateway drugs against plastic cracks I’ve ever seen.
Space Marine 2 launch September 9thPC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/s. This review will be conducted on PS5 and the publisher will provide the code.