13 years and a new developer later, the sequel to 2011’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is finally here. Developed by Saber Interactive’s Saint Petersburg studio, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is set at least a century after the events of the first game, with Demetrian Titus making a return as the game’s playable character. After almost a century of imprisonment, interrogation, and torture under Inquisitor Thrax, Titus was eventually found to not be guilty of corruption, freed, and has been serving as a Black Shield of the Deathwatch as penance.
The humongous gap between the events of the two titles make it so those who haven’t played the first game won’t have a difficult time getting into Space Marine 2. It also helps that it does a good job at both calling back, explaining, and referencing some of the important story points from the first game as well as some of the lore that players may not be familiar with. Space Marine 2 also pits players against both Tyranid hordes and the forces of Chaos, offering a new experience compared to the Orks of the first game.
The game’s first mission puts you right into the thick of things. Titus and his fellow Deathwatch brethren are sent on a suicide mission to deploy a “Virus Bomb” to stall the invasion of a Tyranid fleet on the planet Kadaku. After being the lone survivor of what would become his last mission as part of the Deathwatch, Titus is forced to undergo the Rubicon Primaris operation to save his life. Now a Primaris Space Marine, Titus is given the opportunity to return to his chapter, the Ultramarines, and redeem himself under the watchful eye of Chaplain Quintus. Titus is given the rank of lieutenant and command of his own squad under the new captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company, Sevastus Acheran.
The turning of Titus into a Primaris Space Marine at the start of the game is both fitting and expected, as it aligns with current Warhammer 40,000 lore and Games Workshop’s continuing efforts to replace its entire Space Marine tabletop line with Primaris units. It also gives Saber Interactive more freedom when it comes to the in-game movement of Titus and his squad as Primaris Space Marines are meant to be stronger, tougher, faster, and more agile than their Firstborn counterparts.
Titus and his squad, which consists of Sergeant Gadriel and Brother Chairon, are initially tasked to assist with the defense and planet-wide evacuation of Kadaku in the Recidious system. From there, the story takes you to several other locations in the system as its plot unfolds, which include some surprising developments. As to be expected, both Gadriel and Chairon, moreso Gadriel, are wary of Titus’s mysterious background, as it’s been mostly hidden, which leads to some internal conflict that also plays into the story. Overall, the story of Space Marine 2 is decent enough and offers players a good glimpse into the much wider universe of Warhammer 40,000.
Space Marine 2 does a great job of representing how it’s like being a 9-foot giant clad in very heavy and bulky armor. There is a lot of weight in Titus’s movement, from his steps when walking and running to when he swings the game’s array of melee weapons. This isn’t to say that movement in Space Marine 2 is clunky. Rather, Saber Interactive has struck a good balance between that weightiness and the speed and agility that Primaris Space Marines are supposedly known for. That weight can also be felt in Space Marine 2’s roster of firearms, with bullets, lasers, and more creating an explosion of blood and guts on impact with enemies.
The game offers a pretty sizable lineup of firearms for you to choose from, from a selection of bolt carbines or rifles to laser or plasma guns. Some weapons will be gradually unlocked in the game’s armory, where you can fix your choice of primary weapon, sidearm, and melee weapon, before every mission. Others are only available to pick up during the mission, including some of the heavier options such as the Heavy Bolter and Multimelta. The options for sidearms and melee weapons are much fewer but still adequate enough for you to mix and match loadouts to suit the mission or your preferred playstyle.
The game’s levels provide a more than ample supply of weapons and ammo, with regular weapon caches scattered along your path as well as the occasional weapon or ammo box you come across. The weapon caches give you the opportunity to change up your weapons if you feel like the next area or encounter will require it.
Given that we’re up against Tyranids and Chaos in this installment, there’s no shortage of enemies to obliterate. Most encounters involve mowing down as many targets as possible with your primary weapon or sidearm before you begin swinging your melee weapon at any enemies that get close. While smaller enemies, such as Hormagaunts and Cultists, go down with a bullet or two, some require a lot more hits to take down. Thankfully, Tyranid Warriors and other larger enemies have an execution state that can be triggered after dealing a certain amount of damage to them. Once in this state, you can either easily shoot them to death or run up and use the execution ability to instantly kill them, which restores a bit of your armor.
As for avoiding damage yourself, you can either dodge or you can parry, which are sometimes telegraphed by a blue glowing circle around the enemy’s weapon. Parrying a leap attack from a smaller enemy instantly executes them while landing a perfect parry may also stagger an enemy and trigger a Gun Strike, which will see your character bring out their sidearm and get a free hit on the target while also restoring a bar of your armor. However, parrying can become pretty unreliable once multiple enemies start attacking you from all sides. Many attacks also don’t have that blue circle so you’ll need to watch enemy animations as well.
While your armor automatically restores itself between each fight, executions and Gun Strikes provide a way to restore your armor mid-battle. As for your health bar, there are aforementioned Medicae stims that restore some health and there’s the Righteous Fury ability, which can be activated when its bar is full. Righteous Fury increases your damage output while also restoring your health whenever you kill an enemy.
There’s a decent variety of enemies in Space Marine 2 and the combination you end up facing in the game’s larger engagements can dictate your strategy as well as the optimal weapon to deal with the specific threats. Longer range weapons will do well against encounters with flying Zoanthopes while a melta rifle works great in smaller enclosed areas with a large number of melee enemies bearing down on you. The game’s locations are also similarly diverse, from deep forests and industrial complexes to hulking cities and more. There are also moments in the game where you don a jetpack, which changes the experience significantly and provides a fun break between the on-foot sections.
Combat in Space Marine 2 can easily get frantic especially when facing a large number of different types of enemies. There are times when you spend a sizable amount of time dodging and running to make space between you and the horde of enemies chasing you while also avoiding ranged fire. Thankfully, you aren’t alone in the fight against the Xenos. Space Marine 2 offers two ways to play through its campaign, solo with two AI allies or co-op with up to two other players. Sergeant Gadriel and Brother Chairon are relatively reliable at shooting down most enemies, and sometimes performing executions themselves.
For the most part, they’re able to take down many of the smaller enemies and get the larger ones into an execution state, allowing you to easily gain back some armor while thinning down the horde at the same time. However, there are moments in the game where the combination of enemies requires more than just a hail of gunfire, so you’re left to try to juggle multiple roles at the same time. Apart from that, and one time where Brother Chairon got stuck trying to get into an elevator, the AI is decent enough.
Apart from the campaign co-op, Space Marine 2 also offers two other multiplayer modes for players to check out. Eternal War is a 6v6 PvP mode while Operations are 3-player co-op side missions that occur and are referenced during the main campaign. Both modes allow you to choose from six different classes that offer different loadout options and abilities. Both modes are pretty enjoyable, depending on your preference, especially due to the freedom of choosing a class of your choice.
Overall, Space Marine 2 is surprisingly good, as both a sequel and a standalone title. The visuals, story, combat, and all of its other elements all feel satisfying to experience. While it doesn’t offer up anything groundbreaking or innovative, it’s able to accomplish what it does really well. Seasoned Warhammer 40,000 fans and newcomers alike will find it easy to get into and enjoy playing through the campaign solo or with friends, as well as delve into its other multiplayer modes. Space Marine 2 is not only one of the best Warhammer 40,000 games ever made, but it’s also one of the better third-person shooters in recent years.