Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, GeForce Now, & PC)

Some sequels simply take forever to come out. Not that the predecessor sucked or that the demand doesn’t exist. Some sequels simply take forever to come out, that’s it. Once they do, though, they prove well worth the wait, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is very much so one of those. It took 13 years to arrive on our doorstep, and we’re all the more grateful that it’s finally here because we can fill the gap on the cliffhanger 2011 Space Marine left us on. Now, whether newcomers can jump into the game without feeling bogged over by the immense lore that has been built over decades remains a question we’ll answer in our Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 review below, among many more concerning how worthwhile the game is.

Titus Redeems Himself

So, a quick do-over, and I promise to leave out the good parts for you to discover on your own. At this point in time, we’re some 100 years or more past the events in 2011’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. The space marine, Titus, was kicked to the curb after he was framed for corruption and treason. He’s been disregarded and relinquished to serve in the Deathwatch. After a Tyranid attack, Titus is badly injured. The Ultramarines rescue him and make him their own. 

Now, Titus has been transformed into an Ultramarine, complete with a badass bulky blue suit that enables him to move faster, bash enemies’ heads stronger, and jump higher, among other cool stuff. With your newfound power, you’re called upon to save the Warhammer universe from yet another Tyranid invasion. And with your experience as a Space Marine, you lead a team of Ultramarines into battle. But your team knows your tainted past and questions your fitness for the role. 

Still, across the six-mission, single-player campaign, you redeem yourself. You gain the trust of your team, building your character to one that resonates with the player. And that pretty much makes up the story. It’s not the most outstanding story, but it sure does have its moments: unexpected twists and turns here and there and engaging plotlines that keep you glued to the campaign. It’s a serviceable plot that, while sometimes cliched, still manages to maintain a campaign worth unraveling. 

World War Z, But Warhammer

Horde technology can be tricky to master. Yet Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 nails the simulation of waves of Tyranids coming at you. They stream in from all angles, overpowering and outnumbering you every so often; it takes only a small moment of lax to lose a battle. But anyway, with Saber Interactive using the same proprietary engine it used on World War Z to create Space Marine 2, the impressive horde technology is to be expected. You aren’t just dealing with mindless foes but bloodthirsty beasts climbing up walls and on top of one another just so that they can slit your throat. 

Indeed, the hordes of Tyranids you’ll be fighting are the center of the gameplay, as they constantly keep you on your toes, trying to survive just long enough till the mission’s end. For your toolsets, you’ll have third-person ranged shooting and melee combat to fall back on. And while you can freely switch from one to the other mid-battle, ideally, you may want to thin the herd from afar first before finishing off the enemies that manage to slip through your bullet fire at close range. Thankfully, weapons are punchy and feel incredibly satisfying to fire. They’re powerful and diverse enough to take on the often swarms of foes coming at you. 

Thick of Battle

Still, the combat often nudges you to the thick of battle with its health recovery and armor replenishing system. You can consume Medicae Stimms, but these only replenish your health moderately. Moreover, you can only carry two Medicae Stimms at a time, forcing you only to use them as a last resort. The best way to recover a significant portion of your health bar, though, is to execute Finishers successfully. These have to be closely monitored when enemies have taken severe damage, and the screen flashes red, indicating that they are primed for executing a brutal Finisher move. Mind you, Finishers can only be executed at close range, and so restricting you to remain in the thick of battle constantly. 

The same goes for replenishing armor, which requires the execution of Finishers against enemies. Moreover, avoiding damage can replenish your armor, too, and you can do so in two ways: dodge and parry. Enemies can have blockable and unblockable attacks, and you will see a warning sign for either one. When a flashing red icon appears, it’s time to dodge. When a flashing blue icon appears, it’s time to parry. And it sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? But remember, many of the battle encounters you will be taking on will flood with swarms of Tyranids jumping at you from wherever, even the ground below. And dodges and parries have to be perfectly timed to reap their health and armor benefits. 

Alien Invasion at its Peak

Still, it’s easy to miss the warning signs in the chaos of it all. Even more so, the punchiness of combat can sometimes be drained out by the sheer sheerness of activity and visual effects on screen. And yet, these issues are never major enough to detract from gameplay. Not when the enemies are far-ranging, with distinct moves and abilities. You’re almost always on top of your game in battle. When people say the combat is intense, they mean it. Combat is a significant piece of the Space Marine 2 pie. It’s where you’ll feel most rewarded for your efforts as you blast through unending streams of enemies and take down formidable bosses.

Admittedly, especially in the mid-to later stages of the game, you can begin to feel a little too potent. Smaller enemies will fall easily with just one strike. Thanks to your bulky armor, you’ll often throw yourself into infested areas, wiping out foes in their waves, and still remain alive to tell the tale. Some part of combat feels a little too lenient, giving you a pretty high chance of survival despite the overwhelming number of enemies you’ll face. But I guess you can solve that issue by upping the ante in the difficulty settings. Yet the issue of multi-tasking comes in when you have to wear the hats of all the classes available on the battlefield. 

Better with Friends

Operations are six missions that offer a different perspective from the main story. They are challenges you can take on solo or with friends in co-op mode and essentially allow Titus to delegate objectives to a secondary team. It all starts to make sense when you can team up with players who can take on the Tactical (best all-rounder), the Vanguard (best melee), the Assault (best agile), the Bulwark (best tank), the Sniper (best long-ranged) or the Heavy (tank and ranged) class.

Suddenly, it all gels well together as you split tasks among one another. Some players focus on picking off the persistent hordes scaling up the walls, shooting the airborne ones circling above you, protecting the tank keen on breaking through a boss’s heavy armor, healing allies, and more roles. And if you want a taste of more multiplayer fun, you can dive into the 6v6 competitive mode, featuring Annihilation, Seize Ground, Capture, and Control. The combat is just as punchy, intense, and fast-paced as in single-player, except this time, you enjoy a more unpredictable opponent. 

Visual Delight

You cannot speak about any Warhammer 40,000 game and not mention its universe—intricately detailed and expansive in depth and space. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has the benefit of inheriting a fully-fledged universe. However, it still goes a step further to incorporate an immersive world that comes alive. The skies rage on with swarms of airborne alien species. The ground reeks of gore and gothic charm. Each planet looks and feels distinct, ensuring that even though you are traversing a grimdark universe, it still retains an incredible and satisfyingly compelling factor to return for more.

Verdict

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is pretty great. Its combat is intense and fast-paced, keeping you on your toes for its entirety. You’re almost always busy wading Trynaids off your back, even as you frantically switch between melee and ranged mid-battle. A cinematic showdown of large-scale battles complements all of the punchy gunplay. It’s a wonder that the single-player campaign is but a war between one Ultramarine and hundreds of foes. 

As for the story, it’s engaging when it needs to be. Meanwhile, the visuals carry forward the grimdark nature of Warhammer 40,000. For a breather, you can team up or compete with friends and online players in Operations and 6v6 game modes. It may have taken 13 years to get our hands on this sequel. But the long wait has proven well worth the wait.