Say what you will about Warhammer and the absolute flood of games that come out under the brand every year, but credit where credit’s due, they tend to be at least okay and quite often, excellent. Between its latest releases such as Rogue Trader and Boltgun, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is one of the latter, a follow-up that’s been in the works for a while to one of 2011’s surprise hits. Ultramarine Titus is back and this time he’s got bugs to kill, and I’m not talking about glitches.
Years after being banished and forced to serve under the Deathguard, our buff protagonist is brought back to life after his entire squadron is destroyed by the tyranid as he’s just barely able to fulfill his mission at the opening of the game, overwhelmed by the enemy at Kadaku. Now part of the Space Marines once again and seeking redemption, the 200-year old warrior is tasked with taking the fight to the enemy, in even bigger, flashier, and bloodier fights than the original game.
Back during the original’s release, it was obviously compared to the big boy in town when it came to third-person shooters, Epic Games’ Gears of War and its sequels, and for good reason, since both franchises deal with similar themes, aesthetics, and of course burly, armor-clad, chainsaw-wielding protagonists. Admittedly, even with all these similarities, Space Marine set itself apart thanks to its excellent melee, and it’s surely back in the sequel, with a bang.
The third-person combat in Space Marine 2 is in-your-face intense as you square off against the dozens upon dozens that litter the battlefields, leaving the ranged weapons as secondary means of defense, as they come into play during combos that allow you to quickly dispatch even the biggest of foes. The strongest weapon, though, is your all-powerful parry, which has an incredibly generous window in which you can put it to use, denying an incoming attack and countering it savagely.
That’s not to say that guns aren’t put to use in more classical ways, as there are a number of them that can be aimed or fired off the hip, but it’s clear that the developer’s focus as gone into making characters feel like walking tanks that were made to get right up to the enemy and destroy them. Thanks to all that weight and the ability to go into a healing but also aggressive rage mode at the tap of a button, Titus might feel slow at first, but that goes away once you get used to the flow of combat which is one of the game’s highlights.
There are few and far between moments of calm that are peppered in between the gory insanity throughout Space Marine 2, and those are put to use to tell its story, which is surprisingly interesting, especially to those who are into the lore, or at least have a passing knowledge of what goes on in the Imperium.
To say that Space Marine 2 is a visual spectacle is to put things mildly. The original, especially on PC, was easily one of the best games of its generation, and this sequel only ups the bar presentation-wise. The grim and dirty feel of 40,000 is put front and center here, with scarred, battle-damaged armor, war-torn locales, and the all-to-serious mugs of the soldiers that know nothing but fighting their entire lives. That coupled with the sheer absurdity of the graphic violence on display makes the entire affair feel all too comical at times, much like Gears did back in the day.
Popular character actor Clive Standen is back voicing Titus, delivering line after corny line as well as if not even more straight-faced macho style as his first time around, coupled with a varied cast of faux British toughies. They all help convey that this exaggerated sci-fi take of the 40th millennium is a place you wouldn’t really live in, but makes up for darn good videogames.
The best aspects of Warhammer are the idiosyncrasies of its far-flung version of the history of humanity as it conquered space and fully embraced tyranny and fanaticism, and that’s also splattered on screen every second the game gets to do so. Characters talk about glory and honor constantly, and it’s clear that at no point in the game where we’re playing as the good guys as there’s no such thing in this universe. Still, the overall tone for as gruff as it is, certainly carries the ridiculousness that 40,000 is known and loved for, there’s no denying it.
For those who thoroughly enjoyed the original Space Marine, it’s been a long time waiting for this sequel, and I’m glad to report that it’s been worth it. Saber Interactive took what made that game great and expanded upon it for this sequel, offering one of the best linear action releases in the past few years. That, and the chance to play through the entire thing on co-op help cement Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 as the franchise’s biggest release in 2024. No action and/or WH fan should go without it.
