The best thing about Warhammer's last decade of explosive popularity is it means there's something for everyone, especially in the video game sphere. Boomer shooter? Boltgun. XCOM-like? Daemonhunters. Baldur's Gate 3-esque CRPG? Rogue Trader. Mobile card game filled with obnoxious monetisation? Warpforge. Hotel? Trivago.

Space Marine 2 is the latest addition to the esteemed pantheon of Warhammer video games, of which some are great (Dawn of War 2), some are terrible (Eisenhorn: XENOS), and some are janky misunderstood frolics through the 41st millennium that are still worth checking out (Necromunda). Space Marine 2 is closer to the higher end of the scale, but it's not without its foibles. Like a platoon of plucky Cadians facing a horde of mind-shattering abominations from the Warp, let's don our trusty shovels and dig in.

Space Marine 2 isn't interested in those futile Guardsmen digging their trenches, it's not interested in showing you the horrors of war (although, come to think of it, Conscript with Kriegsmen would go hard). Neither is Saber Interactive’s sequel interested in giving you a look at the grand scale of humanity's vast empire 38,000 years from now. This is a power fantasy through and through, so don your power armour, pick up your Thunder Hammer, and purge this world of xenos filth.

The game starts with a little story, as a treat. You play as a Deathwatch marine – a novelty – who, at the end of the tutorial, is revealed to be Titus himself, protagonist of the first game and, if you've seen any of the marketing material for the sequel, the protagonist of this one, too. No sooner has he removed his helmet, however, is his face engulfed by the oozing maw of a Carnifex.

This tutorial is the most narrative-heavy section of the entire game, and constantly stopping for long cutscenes as well as pausing to teach new mechanics and button combinations makes for slow, frustrating progress. Thankfully, it's all just a prelude to allow Titus to enter the rubicon Primaris and don the iconic Ultramarines garb once more, now in an armour variant you can currently find at your nearest Games Workshop store.

After the first hour, though, the only thing you'll be bogged down in is the entrails of Tyranid Gaunts and shattered ceramite plates of Thousand Sons traitors. There's not so much a narrative to Space Marine 2 as there is a series of plausible excuses to send you back into the fray to hit bigger monsters with bigger hammers. Or you can shoot guns at them I guess, but that's not my style.

Repayable PvE Operations missions are weaved nicely into the story with the conceit that this is what other squads are doing while Titus is busy ploughing through the main missions.

With little story to go on, Space Marine 2 relies heavily on its combat and gunplay. Thankfully, it nails both. Every weapon feels weighty, every swing feels devastating, and every shot fired explodes on impact with satisfying gore. You’ll struggle to choose between the swift chainsword, graceful power sword, and brutal thunder hammer – the combat knife always gets left untouched – because each feels completely different in your power armoured hands.

I did, however, quickly find a preferred ranged weapon. The heavy bolt rifle was unparalleled for my playstyle, and few other weapons felt as good to me. Too many of the bolt weapons felt too similar to each other, and the special weapons are hit and miss. The pyreblaster is really handy for wiping out hordes of Gaunts, but the melta rifle and plasma incinerator don’t feel intuitive to use, and struggle against most common enemies. I never had one to hand when faced with a Carnifex, and they were too inaccurate for nailing down Zoanthropes.

That said, when close-quarters combat feels so good – especially the graphic executions Titus can enact on the Imperium’s foes – you can easily ignore the ranged portion of the game. I played through most missions and multiplayer fights with a thunder hammer/jump pack combination that I couldn’t tear myself away from, and I heartily recommend you do the same.

I should mention the foes that you’re so brutally smashing, slicing, and exploding. The Tyranids are a horde of rabid xenos bugs, and you have to battle through swathes of the annoying little gribblies while tactically taking out the leaders. Even a couple of Tyranid Warriors can prove a problem when surrounded by a horde of Hormagaunts, as both require different strategies to tackle. When you add in Lictors or Ravenors launching surprise attacks from the shadows or the ground beneath your feet, Carnifexes charging at you, or Zoanthropes launching psychic attacks from afar. Zoanthropes in particular were annoying, which made them all the more satisfying to take down.

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After the excitement of the Tyranid foes, the Thousand Sons were a little bit of a let down. It was refreshing to change up the enemies, but there were a few problems. First of all, the Thousand Sons were much easier to defeat than the Tyranids. While each Chaos legionary was more difficult to beat than your average ‘nid, the lack of small foes surrounding each of them made it easier to single them out one on one. Sure, there were some Tzaangors to rush you occasionally, but the difficulty curve heading downwards over the course of the game feels odd.

While I had a great time suplexing psychic Terminators, I longed for the more difficult challenges of the Tyranids. However, I think your experience would be different if you were playing with friends. Space Marine 2’s campaign is co-op friendly, and getting rid of the AI companions will make things significantly easier. The AI for your two squadmates is fine for most of the linear sections, but in boss fights it feels like you’re flying solo.

The linear levels are fun to run through, but the design often feels dated. You’ll always get a big loot drop of ammo and meds before a boss fight or strong wave of enemies.

Against the Lictor in particular, my AI teammates were useless. They barely fired upon the sneaking creature, which retaliated by only ever attacking me. This was the one boss I really struggled with, taking three or four attempts to defeat, but the AI teammates were terrible in most boss situations.

Space Marine 2’s ten-hour campaign is good fun. The combat feels fantastic, and the level of detail put into the world will excite Warhammer fans no end. I loved exploring the battle barge to unveil its secrets – a Dreadnought in construction or a Carnifex undergoing Mechanicus testing. The whole package looks gorgeous. However, this game will live or die by its multiplayer.

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Operations missions are nigh impossible with aforementioned AI companions, but will be good fun with friends. However, the six missions are repetitive and there’s not much replayability. Developer Saber Interactive promises new Operations on its post-release roadmap, which should sate appetites, but the main replayability will come from the PvP Eternal War mode.

I couldn’t fully test this in pre-release, as few people are playing the game (even fewer on Xbox than Steam), but the crunchy combat should be great fun when fighting alongside intelligent players rather than janky AI. And while I liked working to unlock my beloved Iron Hands Chapter iconography for multiplayer, better support for Chaos players is necessary to placate the heretics among us – Chaos legions currently have fewer cosmetic options than Ultramarines successors.

Saber has made exciting promises for the future of multiplayer. If the additional game modes, Inferno maps, and lush cosmetics (I’ll be buying the Dark Angels skin for sure) keep coming, then there’ll be plenty to keep us engaged. But with live-service games being taken offline with ruthless, regular efficiency these days, that’s a big if.

Space Marine 2 doesn’t seek to reinvent the third-person shooter or hack-n-slash genres, but it’s a competent addition to both. That said, it’s a great game for Warhammer fans, and nails the feeling of being a Space Marine better than any other game. The combat is crunchy and satisfying, executions are beautifully brutal, and the thunder hammer is one of the best weapons in gaming. But issues with linear levels, ally AI, and the unknown future of multiplayer mar the experience a little. Warhammer fans will pick this up, everyone else is probably better off waiting for a sale.

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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

Reviewed on Xbox Series X and Steam

Third-Person Shooter Hack and Slash Systems 3.5/5 7.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 81/100 Critics Rec: 87% Released September 9, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence Developer(s) Saber Interactive Publisher(s) Focus Entertainment
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Pros & Cons
  • Embodies the ultimate power fantasy of being a Space Marine
  • Combat feels fantastic
  • It looks beautifully grimdark, with plenty of details for Warhammer fans to note
  • Very linear
  • Plot is threadbare
  • Isn't trying anything new in the genre