Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Review – The Machine Spirit Lives

It's rare that a game, one that hasn't had a groundswell of support for a sequel over the past decade - and one that isn't tied into a nostalgic trend, gets a sequel so long after the original. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the 2024 sequel to the 2011 game, naturally made by a completely different developer under a completely different publisher due to the death of THQ. It's not that the original wasn't successful; it was one of THQ's few success stories during their final years, but with so much time passed, will this be the sequel that propels the game forward into the collective consciousness?

I must start by admitting my initial time with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was not good. Even just launching the game, there were more than a few crashes, and the early video wouldn't play once I got in. The footage was doing nothing but playing the audio in the background. When I got into the tutorial, following some significant loading, it was pretty jittery. I thought the worst might come as I progressed through the campaign, and while things improved, I can understand why the game was delayed and the beta was cancelled.

Now, I will say that things did improve. I'm unsure why the first half-hour felt like my rig suddenly reverted to an older system, but the gameplay was smooth afterwards. I can't say the same for cutscenes. The audio never matched the video, not once. The lips were always about two to three seconds away from the voices, making me feel like I was watching Kung Pow: Enter the Fist. I must also point out that watching "loading resources" and the bar tick-up was interminably dull every time I launched the game. I've found the loading throughout far longer than I recall in most games. I've also had a few issues when loading textures took a little time.

I may as well stick with the negatives for now. There is no reason for me to be connected to your server or for you to boot me out if it drops. I have played the core missions with the AI controlling my two companions. There's no gain in kicking me out because I had to pause the game and leave the computer for a prolonged period. Take it for granted that when I click to play solo, I don't want to be connected to your damn server, and I don't need to be.

2 of 9

On a somewhat negative note, I found the combat of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 boring after a while. Now, this will be very subjective, and I can imagine other people will thoroughly enjoy the combat, but what started as reasonable enjoyment turned into tedium quite quickly. As expected from an Ultramarine, you are a god amongst men, able to take down thousands. You will mow through hordes of Tyranids; the little ones merely bounce off you while the larger enemies, towering above the fray, will pose a slight bit more of a challenge, but the combat system will make it so your godliness is absolute.

So far, so good. The problem comes with how the combat system balances health and armour. To recover armour specifically, you want to perform executions. You do this by causing enough damage to an enemy that they get stunned, and then you press the required button, and the execution happens. This execution naturally finishes the enemy but also restores some armour. If you don't perform them, you will eventually die, which means they become essential. It also means you will be running around, searching for the flashing red enemy, pressing the button to stay alive (by killing them).

What this essentially means is that you always want to be in melee range, which negates some of the close-range guns, which I found to be worthless for the most part. I don't think all ranged weapons are worthless, if only because you get some ranged enemies - and it's nice to thin the horde from afar, if only for it being cool. There are also a few flying enemies for which you need ranged weapons. You'll also get some grenades you carry in minimal numbers, which I didn't find incredibly useful.

This naturally leaves the melee, and while there are a few weapons, and each has combos, it does become quite the same after a short time. Heavy attack to stun the little buggers, get some executions in, a mix of attacks for the bigger things, when they flash red, execute. You'll also want to watch for some blue and red crosshairs; if it's blue, you can parry; if it's red, you need to dodge. Then it's back to execution city. If I were honest, by the end of the second campaign mission, I was hoping and praying something would change. The game does throw in a few things here and there to spice it up, but it never really evolves.

Which is a shame because the campaign is quite meaty. It takes place across six missions (not including the tutorial), which doesn't sound like a lot, but some are the equivalent of three or four of a regular game's mission; you'll also have six others for co-op play. These six separate levels tell the story of three other random characters you send off to perform a task while doing whatever you're doing in the main story.

If there's anything to say about the missions, they know exactly what they want to do and achieve it perfectly. The linear move from set-piece to set-piece works well in Space Marine 2. Oddly, it doesn't get boring like I would get bored in most games that do this, if only because the world and environments keep it interesting. Saber Interactive has undoubtedly improved their World War Z outing, learning and building on that, swapping the Zombies out for Tyranids (and more, as the game develops).

Of course, the co-op missions are where Saber hopes you'll keep coming back for more, but I can't honestly see myself doing that. There is some development in this, allowing you to unlock new weapons, but the elephant in the room will always be Darktide. They are and feel like different games, but it's hard to ignore the pure 40k co-op action game when wanting to play 40k co-op action. Still, if you are interested in the story, playing a few challenging missions with friends, particularly if you're enjoying the combat, will be a draw, particularly with the promise of more to come.

In all, while Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 isn't a bad game, not in any sense of the word - it's arguably good at what it does - I haven't enjoyed it that much. The repetitiveness of combat, particularly with the limitations directing you down the repetitive execution spam route, was the core reason for this. There's a good story with an awe-inspiring setting, narratively and visually, which will likely keep you going if you're like me. All in all, it's not a bad game at all and a worthy sequel.

Reviewed on PC (code provided by the publisher).

7

WCCFTECH RATING

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a decent game, but one that becomes repetitive quite quickly, though fans of this sort of action combat could find it enjoyable.

Pros

• Excellent visuals and locations, fully in keeping with the Warhammer 40k setting.
• Reasonable length campaigns.

Cons

• Repetitive combat could become quite boring.
• Weapon variety is limited, and most aren't exactly useful.

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