Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 Review - War Never Changes
When Player 2’s El Presidente, Matt Hewson hit me up to review Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2, I was a little torn internally. I’ve never been exposed to the Warhammer IP beyond trailers for other pieces of work in the franchise. I’ve never painted minis, or consumed any other piece of Warhammer fiction, but on the flip side, Spacemarine was reportedly incredible, and the sequel was looking pretty cool too. So figuring that this could be an amazing jumping off point for the IP, I snapped up the code and got to work on playing the game. The Warhammer experience that I got however was one littered with repetitive scenario design, fun, crunchy gameplay, and a narrative that was inaccessible to the uninitiated. In short, after a couple of dozen hours playing the game across single player and multiplayer – I’m still quite torn regarding how much I enjoyed it.
The plot is certainly convoluted for the likes of yours truly who have never before been immersed in the Warhammer universe, mostly due to the fact that you’re being dropped into the beginning of the second act of a broader story in the decades-old universe that spans multiple forms of physical and digital media. For those who’ve played the previous game you’ll be all too familiar with the war against the Tyranids though, as well as your lead protagonist, Demetrian Titus. Titus, the hero has been summoned to an encounter on the jungle world of Kadaku to serve as protection for a classified “Project Aurora”, but when the operation is less than successful and Titus awakens as the sole survivor, he must return and regain the favour of his peers.
While there is a lot of politicking and some pretty awe-inspiring setpieces, the plot itself is just a vehicle for the game’s strength which is in its gameplay, and visual/auditory artistry. Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 is not breaking new ground with its plot, and while the character writing is quite strong, the simplistic narrative arc of the game dulls the impact of the experience somewhat.
What the plot of Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 does do however, is take the player on a rollercoaster ride through some pretty stunning locations, battling it out with wave after wave of Tyranids in some breathtaking locations. At face value, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 presents like a relatively standard third-person shooter, but what makes the game shine is its execution. Players can carry two standard weapons and the occasional special heavy weapon with them at all times, as well as one of a few hefty melee weapons as well. No matter what weapon you’re swinging, everything available to the player carries enormous weight, a weight that is felt through the visual and sound design, but also the impressive features of the PS5 Dualsense controller. The controller rattled (in healthy ways) as I was mowing through waves of swarming enemies, and it pulsed impactfully with every step taken, all of which added significantly to the immersion levels.
Players will encounter a wide range of enemy types, from smaller skittering foes to heavy weapon wielding beasts, and fliers with a range of shields. Much like Gears Of War, you’ll also encounter Krill-like beasts that will occasionally attach themselves to objectives that you need to protect. While the enemy types are diverse and their presence in many combat scenarios is well considered, the game does hoist one combat scenario upon you too many times. Especially early in the campaign players will enjoy the scale of a wave of enemies pouring in from a large distance, however once they arrive, the encounter sees the Tyranid threat trying to scale the high walls you’re standing on from three points. Players need to take them out, ideally before they reach the top and so you’re tasked with shooting them as they climb, using explosives, and dealing as much damage as you possibly can; if they scale to the top it’s a frantic fight for survival as the waves start to overwhelm the plateau. It’s a great scenario but in the opening hours it’s well-and-truly overplayed, and despite disappearing for a few hours, when the game brings back the scenario one final time, the intended punch of the scenario was diminished.
Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 also features an Operations mode. Operations provides players with six missions that provide a different look at the Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 experience. Pairing up with up to two other friends, players will get to choose their class and utilise a range of new weapon types, to cut down swarms of enemies and complete a range of new and different objectives. From Assault, to Bulwark, Heavy, Sniper,Tactical, and Vanguard, players have a range of different ways to approach the Operations mode, and each class features it’s own unique class abilities, to differentiate things even futher. Operations is exciting, and pairing up with random other players has been a surprisingly enthralling experience as well. Often these sorts of scenarios devolve quickly as different players pursue their own priorities, but the Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 playing community has been excellent to play with. Operations is a wonderful addition that more games should look to replicate.
As a spectacle, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 is something to behold. The environments have been stunning designed, and on a technical and artistic level the game delivers an eye-watering beautiful product. From broken down cities, to grown over areas with dense foliage, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 never ceases to provide players with something stunning to lay their eyes upon. As an audio experience as well, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 delivers. From the crunchy sounds of terrain underfoot, to the grizzly voice-acting and the game’s rollicking soundtrack, the game’s auditory presentation is from the highest shelf.
Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 presents a sensational, and tight 9-12 hour campaign, and provides plenty for players to immerse themselves in beyond the completion of the campaign. Sensational presentation, crisp gameplay, with only minor levels of bloat, accompanied by the excellent Operations mode ensures that players are going to be well satiated by the title, whether they have an extensive history with Warhammer or not.
Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 was reviewed on PS5 with a code kindly provided by 5 Star Games
