Developed by Focus Entertainment and published by Saber Interactive, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a sequel that we all have been waiting for a long time. The original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was released back in the glory days of Xbox 360 and PS3 and there were a lot of excellent third-person and first-person shooting games with great campaigns back then. However, sadly with time, we have seen a trend of shooter campaigns just fading away as developers shift to more profitable Battle Royale format or PVP multiplayer modes which is evident in the current Battlefield and Call of Duty titles. However, Focus Entertainment has brought back the shooter campaigns, and we are happy to tell you that it is one of the best games we have played this year. This is our review of Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 on the PS5 in which we take down hordes of Tyranids while ensuring that no Lictors can ambush us from above.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 marks the return of the first game’s protagonist Demetrian Titus. If you played the first game, you would know him pretty well but if this is your first game in the series, you should know that he is not someone to mess with. Space Marine 2 ditches the Orc enemies of the first game but this time around, we have a much deadlier alien race called Tyranids who are invading and destroying a multitude of planets across the galaxy. These look something like StarCraft’s Zerg faction, and they use similar tactics as well. Their ships drop living ‘dropships’ from space and when they crash land and open, tons of these crawl out and start destroying everything that comes in their way. They come in various shapes and sizes, and you can see where we are going with this one.
While the first Space Marine game was more closed combat oriented, here the battlefields are huge, and the enemies are massive in numbers. They invade in big waves, and you have to deter their advancements with anything necessary. The main campaign begins with Demetrian Titus crash landing on an important mission to launch a ‘Virus Bomb’ to eliminate the Tyranid invasion. At the beginning of the game, Titus is part of the Deathwatch, but an ill-fated mission leads to a change of events and Titus ends up becoming an Ultramarine. Settling in new shoes, you are now set to take back planets from the deadly Tyranids who won’t stop at anything.
While you are not on a mission, you will be present in the main command ship hovering in space along with a complete fleet. This is called Battle Barge and here you can switch Game Modes, customize your loadout for the mission, and even jump back into previously completed missions. The campaign takes place across multiple planets so once you embark on a mission, your checkpoint becomes the last one that you cross during that particular mission. Sticking to the grim theme of the franchise, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a pretty grim and dark game as well but this time around, the lightning is fairly good, and the color pallet is big as well so do not expect grimly lit and dark locations throughout the game.
The first few levels take place in an alien jungle that looks gorgeous and is meticulously detailed as well. It has lush green areas, swampy battlegrounds, and plenty of military installations and facilities scattered all around it. From there, you move to capital cities with huge buildings and entire cities turn to ruins thanks to the Tyranid invasion. Navigating these massive locations and checking out the level of detail in them is just amazing. While the game is mostly linear and you have to follow a line to complete these missions, certain locations offer small off-the-path locations with some weapon stashes and extra items for your use. Depending on your difficulty, a single item can be a difference between life and death, so exploration is always welcome in Space Marine 2. Apart from wide-open areas, some locations are cramped and extremely dark where every step you take echoes throughout dimly lit corridors and piles of corpses scattered across them. Each level is just a treat to complete because of its design.
When it comes to gameplay, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 requires more strategy than blatant swishing and slashing. You are equipped with a powerful melee weapon along with a side arm and a primary weapon. Your melee weapon comes in handy in different situations such as crowd control when hordes of smaller Tyranids attack you or when you enter a ‘duel’ with a single, bigger one. Each melee weapon in the game comes with its own unique attack combos and moves and you can use them in different scenarios. Some weapons are best for crowd control while some favor solo duels. While playing, if you come across a loadout stash, you can change your weapons on the go but otherwise, you must do it before starting the mission. At some locations, you may find a heavy weapon which adds a third slot to your inventory but you cannot find ammo for these weapons so you can use them as long as you have ammo.
The gameplay and combat are where Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 really shines. The mission levels are divided into sections and once you progress ahead, you cannot access the previous sections. Sometimes you will need to stay at one location and defend it against incoming hordes of Tyranids and sometimes you will come across some epic bosses as well. While most of the time, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a pretty manageable game but in certain locations, it becomes absolutely brutal as you get pounded by relentless hordes of enemies and you have to use every bit of your skill to survive in these situations. The Tyranids attack both from the ground and the air and sometimes the bigger enemies are accompanied by tons of smaller minions.
Your health does not regenerate on its own, but you can find and use Medicae Stems to quickly heal a part of your health back. Some small attacks also do not instantly deplete your health and if you quickly attack back, you can steal some of the lost health back. Perform enough damage to an enemy and when they start flashing red, you can quickly kill them off with a brutal finisher that also recovers back lost shield. Fighting also refills your Fury mode and once it is full, you can unleash your Fury to gain a health and attack speed boost which really makes for some epic fights in the game. The combat is brutal and extremely satisfying as you see yourself slashing through tons of enemies using a chainsaw knife or a powerful hammer that can bash the skull of any Tyrannid that comes your way.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is extremely unpredictable when it comes to combat because at one point, you will be slicing through and cutting Tyranids like vegetables but add in a heavy or two and the tide quickly changes, and you are on the run. We loved this particular aspect of combat because it keeps you on your toes and encourages you to remain at your best. It prevents the combat from becoming dull because you never know when the enemies overpower you. Some sections in the campaign are absolutely brutal and might need a restart or two to complete. We remember one particular bit where we had to defend a reactor from Tyranids, and the onslaught was just too much as the enemies in the air pelted us with air attacks and buffed the ground enemies at the same time. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s campaign is filled with such memorable moments.
The best bit about playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is that you do not need to play the first game to understand the story and the lore. It does an amazing job of telling all of the important bits itself at key points in the campaign. There is random dialogue between the player’s character and the squad mates, you can pick different collectibles with information on them and some cutscenes are also focused on the first game’s story. The Warhammer franchise has a huge lore, but the game is great at making you understand everything that is crucial to the campaign.
Apart from the main Campaign mode, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 offers two additional game modes called Operations and Eternal War. Operations is the main PvE mode of the game, and it includes missions that are directly tied to the main campaign of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. At certain points during the campaign, you will notice that Titus gives commands to other squads for specific tasks which aid in the main missions. These Operations are mostly those missions as you can actually see the story play out for those particular missions. For example, the very first Operations mission is where you have to blow a refinery to create a diversion which helps Titus in the main mission. These missions are a great way to explore the planets in detail while earning in-game currencies to modify your character.
Unlike the main campaign mode, in Operations and Eternal War, you can choose your class and customize them accordingly. You can choose from a variety of visual customization options, select weapons, and create a deadly loadout according to your playstyle. Loyalty also plays a big role here as using the same weapon again and again will increase your proficiency with that particular weapon and once you increase its level, it becomes powerful and better in every aspect. Each class also comes with its unique perks and skills, and you will need to use these perks during gameplay to aid your team members whether you are fighting against other players or the Tyranids. With Campaign progression, you can unlock additional Operations, but the PVP mode is available right from the start in its entirety.
In the end, we are happy to conclude it by saying that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was developed with its campaign at the center stage. Not its online bit. This is becoming extremely rare in today’s modern shooter games because the developers are spending less, and less time making good campaigns and are just focusing on micro-transactions infested online modes because they make more money. Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive are brave to focus on a campaign first and then add some complementary modes in the game in today’s landscape and it has certainly paid off. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is an amazing testament to what a great third-person shooter game is. It is intense, it is brutal, and it is satisfying as hell and it will please every fan of shooting games who miss the days of the classics like Gears of War 3, Resistance 2, and many other great campaigns.
Final Verdict:
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 reminded us how much fun a shooter campaign used to be. It is a reminiscence of the glory days of shooter campaigns when franchises like Gears of War used to own the charts and we spent hours and hours just raining down bullets on the enemies. While it has been some time since the original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine came out, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 returns and instantly revives the franchise by reinvigorating it with new life. The shooting mechanics are fantastic, the level design is gorgeous, and the gameplay is just satisfying. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 proves that a solid shooting campaign can still exist in today’s gaming world. If you have been dying to experience an amazing shooting campaign with great visuals and epic fights, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the game for you.
Final Score: 9.0/10
