Have you ever thought about traversing planets, hacking through hundreds of thousands of Tyranids and heretics while wearing a few thousand pounds of sweet power armor, and being a part of the well-respected Ultramarines? If so, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2 is just the game for you. Featuring 3 modes from serving the emperor with the Loyalist marines of the imperium, to serving the Heretic marines of Chaos. Warhammer truly has something for everyone.
Releasing with 3 modes this Warhammer installment aims to recapture the attention that space marines 1 received. Space Marines 2 follows the story of Captain Titus and while we do not know what year the games take place, we can tell that they take place roughly 200 years apart when inspecting the service studs on Titus’ forehead. He has 2 gold studs in Space Marines 1 and an additional 2 gold studs in Space Marines 2, these gold studs represent 100 years of service for stud.
This new installment has 3 modes to choose from, first, the campaign. Second, a co-op mode serves as a secondary campaign telling the story from the second fire team that works alongside Titus and his men. Lastly, there is a PvP mode where players can face off to show skill and proficiency through all classes. The PvP and Co-op modes have the same classes for players to familiarize themselves with from the standard classes every shooter game needs like tactical, heavy, and sniper classes. But also more exotic classes like bulwark, and assault. Bulwark gives the player a shield and a pistol with the ultimate power to heal teammates around you when used. Assault gives you a jump pack with a pistol and melee weapons such as something as tame as the combat knife and as intimidating as a massive hammer.
Space Marines 2 launched with 3 maps in the PvP map pool. They are just your average shooter game maps that are easy to balance, easy to pick up and learn, and easy to get bored of at times. Co-op or operations has 6 maps but they are based around the campaign missions as they are just the other side of the coin that is the storyline. The PvP skilled-based matchmaking isn’t as bad as other games but can be pretty bad at times. Personally, I find maybe 95% of most matches to be fun at best and tolerable at worst.
While some maps can get repetitive, there is no denying that they are stunning. You can tell that Saber Interactive took their time to create the best experience possible for the player. The co-op and campaign being set in vast settings with thousands of enemies in the background makes you feel truly overwhelmed. You may be leading a slaughter and even feel on top of the world, but then you get to the next section, only to be met with a hoard charging you and an onslaught heading towards your allies. The feeling of being an unstoppable force one moment and then as if you were nothing but a grain of sand in the grand scheme of things is a truly humbling experience.
While many shooter games have toxic communities where players who lose try to hurt their opponents through hate crime at worst and petty insults at best, the Warhammer community is very different. The players uplift others when they type as if they were their characters, often mimicking how the characters speak. At worst, they might use light-hearted insults that are more like teasing than anything harmful. Of course, there will always be that rare occasion where someone new to the franchise will make a switch from a more toxic community and spew that toxicity but that’s very rare. The community of Warhammer is not like others. Most players are very involved and care about the game. For example, it is very rare to see people rage quit or just give up completely. Normally people will play to see the end of the match and will give their best effort into winning.
Space Marines 2 was nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards for Best Visual Design of 2024 and the Game Awards for Best Action Game and Multiplayer of the Year. Along with other nominations such as the Steam Awards of 2024 Game of The Year and Better With Friends category nomination. Although they didn’t win after the nominations, it’s further than most games get. Every review this game receives is usually very positive with many describing how enjoyable the game is.
Warhammer is truly a beloved game just about everywhere. No filler content, no filler weapons, good roadmap and expectations for the future. I would give this game a strong 8/10 and recommend it to anyone looking for a refreshing gaming experience.
