A few weeks into starting high school I was aware of huddled groups of kids on the yard talking about ‘lead figures’. On closer inspection, I caught a glimpse of the intricately designed models of Space Marines, still not painted so they had their metallic look. One of the lads told me about Games Workshop in the city centre and so that weekend I got the bus into town. Looking into the window I saw a huge display case full of miniature armies, all painted with exquisite care. I endured the stagnant odour of BO inside (if you know, you know) to purchase a box of figures, some basic paints and a codex for the Space Wolves. That night I delved into the book which told stories of the endless war: I was hooked.
A few years later my parents had very generously given me a shed in the back garden. With a propane heater and a massive table, myself and my friends waged war into the early hours. As a gamer, seeing these epic tabletop campaigns of war get converted into playable games was always great, but none have ever matched the way we imagined those galaxy-shaking battles: until now.
The Endless War
One of the things I absolutely love about Helldivers 2 is how the bugs die. They recoil when being hit and break apart like balsa wood as your ordinance rips through them: the point is you see the awesome power of your weapons impacting your enemy. When watching the trailers for Space Marine 2 I was excited to see the massive hordes of Tyranids. However, my worry was simply, will it feel inferior to the Helldivers 2 experience? I can thankfully say that the act of destroying Tyranids in Space Marine 2 is spectacular.
Obviously, it's not a one-to-one parity because Space Marine 2 certainly has its own flavour of carnage. From the very first swing of your Chainsword, it is obvious Space Marines can handle themselves in close quarters, even against these lethal foes made of teeth and claws. Starting off with light attacks you cleave these dog-sized Hormagaunts in one shot and then holding attack performs a heavy attack depending on the size of your combo. As you work through the tutorial you acquire a sidearm and main weapon from your fallen brethren. As soon as you start pumping hot lead into the flailing hordes you know they nailed the shooting as well.
One reason why the combat is such a success is how you can shift seamlessly from melee to ranged attacks. Indeed, many attacks crossover, such as when you successfully parry you then have the option of doing a powerful ranged attack. When you see a blue reticule appear this is your cue to parry although you can do them with good timing alone. It doesn't always work perfectly but often enough. For orange attacks you can't parry, dodging is the only option and this seems to have a much higher success rate. Each of the four melee weapons has a slightly varied attack style and its own death animations for the wonderful finishing moves. They also have their own combos but are very similar to each other: three light attacks followed by a heavy etc. I do wish there had been another layer of special moves to mix up combat as after a few hours the loop can feel a little repetitive. I think this might be due to a very heavy reliance on doing execution moves to gain more armour. This mechanic can leave you running from each flashing red enemy to the next and not enjoying the fight.
The Great Devourer
As the title of this game hints at, there was a prior title released in 2011. This game was compared to Gears of War (although the original Gears was heavily inspired by the 40K universe) and received mostly good reviews. The main enemies you fought were the dreaded, Orcs which are formidable and unpredictable. However, this time around it is initially one of the races I played as in the tabletop version: the immense and all-consuming Tyranids! These are a plague of creatures that act very much like social insects but with a very powerful collective consciousness called the Hive Mind.
In terms of gameplay, the Tyranids are such a versatile race to fight against as they have evolved so many variants. Some can fire ranged bioweapons, some can form swarms like the GeneStealers and Hormagaunts. There are even stealthy lone assassins called Lictors which are one of the most deadly creatures in the galaxy. Throughout the campaign, you come up against many of these formidable creatures and I have to say the developers delivered them just as always imagined them. The Carnifex was especially impressive in the way it smashes through everything unfortunate enough to get in its path.
The Light that Burns Twice as Bright
One of the biggest criticisms I have seen from mainstream review sites has been the size of the campaign and I do think this is fair. Each time you disembark from the Battle Barge you are dropped into some of the most impressive gaming environments I've ever seen. Vast battle-scapes that open up and evolve in front of your eyes: it really is something we've never seen before.
Unfortunately, most of what you can see is unreachable and there just for atmosphere, but in this regard it does an amazing job. I won't spoil it but there are some jaw-dropping scenes in the last hour of the campaign and 40K fans will be very happy indeed. However, when you take a look at the actual play space, Titus and his men are moving through a very linear game space. Given that the campaign does run out quickly, I think a few alternative routes could have really helped pad things out and add some much-needed replay factor. At certain sections of the campaign, you will be aware of events happening in other locations, such as in the first main mission a small group of Marines work to hamper the Tyranids so you can get your mission done. The events that transpire on that mission make up the first Operation in Space Marine 2. There are six operations in total that let you see the battle from other viewpoints, in fact, you will often hear Titus calling you on Vox: this was you in the campaign.
The most interesting aspect of these operations is that they open up the ability to earn XP, choose a set ‘'class’ and tinker with your loadout. Successful missions will also progress unlocks and improvements for certain weapons. There is even a perk system for each class that offers a surprising amount of upgrades: it's clear Sabre Interactive has made this part of the game meaty for a reason. We will be getting a new Operation in October and more set for early 2025. As for right now, I worked through all six campaigns in two small play sessions which left me feeling a little shortchanged. It's a pity because the quality of Operations is fantastic and definitely offers something new. The other downside to this customisation is it makes me wish we had some of this customisation in the main campaign.
Lore Hound
I've never been a big reader but the literature that has been written about 40k has always been an exception to that rule. There are over one hundred books and countless publications from Games Workshop. You would always get a few nice stories within each codex (a book for each race) and these lead so many people to the many books available. Within this game we see the story of Dementrian Titus continued from the first game which concluded with him being accused of heresy. After spending a century in the Black Watch, we join Titus in an ill-fated mission on Kadaku, which also acts as a tutorial for the game.
After being thrown out of the Thunderhawk by winged Tyranids, he survives the fall but later finds his squad members dead. Just after deploying the virus bomb and completing his mission, Titus is mortally wounded by a Carnifex. He wakes to find he was retrieved from the battlefield and given a life-saving transformation into a Primaris Marine: an evolution of the already powerful Space Marine. Cleared of all suspicion of corruption, Titus finally rejoins his chapter and it is here where the game begins proper.
I love how so much work has been put into feeding the legend of the Space Marines. As soon as you are around normal humans they look like children compared to your massive stature. As you enter the battle barge, priests bow in reverence and awe of your presence. When joining human forces in the campaign, you can hear some whispering that they can't believe they are actually in the presence of these god-like warriors. There are actually data slates to find in the game but if you want an expertly narrated take on the history of Titus, check out this video from Luetin09.
Oh Brother, where art thou?
One of the best aspects of this game is that you can play both the campaign and all of the operations with other players. If you aren't lucky enough to have some friends to play with, the game will use bots to stand in. The AI here is basic but serviceable and does what it needs to do, but nothing comes close to playing with real hoomans. When you dive into Operations the game will match-make other players into your squad pretty quickly. It is a shame you can’t turn this off as some people will just want to play solo. I also keep getting put into squads with the same class and the game won't start until this is resolved: so there is some work to be done here.
There is also a competitive PVP mode which is open to players from the get go. I'll be honest, I don't like this at all and after a few hours didn't go back. All but the assault class feel slow and cumbersome in a PVP setting and for me Space Marines are just not a good fit for the fast nature of PVP. Most of the arenas look very sparse and it just doesn't feel right killing a space marine with a few rounds from a bolter. If I do get the urge to play a PVP shooter I'd rather boot up Overwatch or Team Fortress.
Is it PC?
One of the most impressive technical aspects of Space Marine 2 is how many enemies can be on screen at any one time. Even in the opening mission, you see movement on the horizon which very quickly turns into hundreds of Tyranids swarming towards you. All of these can be killed and those that survive your bolter fire will start piling up against the walls of your barricade, very much like in the film World War Z. In fact, Sabre in all likelihood carried this idea over from their previous game World War Z: Aftermath. The only other game that comes close to this number of enemies on screen is the rats in Plague Tale Requiem.
Space Marine 2 is a very impressive-looking game, with excellent texture work, well-used particle systems and as already mentioned: some unmatched backdrops that make you say wow out loud. All of the in-game models look incredible and have been built by people who clearly understand this material. Dreadnoughts, Lictors, Zonrathorps all move through the environment just as I imagined they would. Each unit is also expertly animated and the many executions you perform play out with a grotesque beauty that makes you smile.
I almost always prefer to play third-person action games with mouse and keyboard. Death Stranding being a notable exception, as the analog sticks allow a better way to control your balance. Keys are all fully rebindable and aiming with mouse, as always, making those finer shots a breeze. However, if you are more comfortable with a controller they fit this game well and of course, the added rumble is something mouse users miss out on.
Sound design is easy enough to cover here, it's excellent across the board. Everything from the servos on a Dreadnought to the sound of a heavy bolter injecting death into its targets: the developers have done a great job. Music is also powerful, orchestral and helps bring the many dramatic story beats home. Voice acting is also very well delivered with some decent writing and Clive Standen's gravelly growl. Your squad mates in particular are constantly questioning Titus and his shady past, which the voice actors bring across very well.
Conclusion
I think Space Marine 2 is one of the best 40k games we've ever seen. Sabre Interactive have taken all the lessons they have learned from previous games and enriched this title with that expertise. The massive swarms of enemies are the headline feature here as they are very impressive to witness. More impressive is how well the game handles this mass of moving parts. The only downside to this wonderful game is that it hasn't launched with a great amount of content. With a six-hour campaign and a few hours for the Operations, some might feel a little overcharged: especially if they paid for the more expensive versions.
What I do like is that all future playable content will be available for all players, even if you only have the base version. Paid content is purely for cosmetics and for that, I think they deserved a nod of credit. Even with the lean amount of playtime, the operation progression is somewhere to spend many hours levelling your chosen class. With a new Operation next month and more in the near future, I think the future is very bright for shooter fans. As for 40k enthusiasts, this is an absolute must-play.
