Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II Review

Warhammer is one of those franchises with so much lore and content that it’s hard to keep track of. With offerings in both the fantasy (Warhammer Fantasy Battle) and the sci-fi (Warhammer 40K) genres, it’s no surprise that it’s such an immensely popular franchise.

Much of this is no doubt down to its accessibility. Whilst it has its roots in classic tabletop gaming, numerous editions and spin-offs have seen the world of Warhammer expand to include comic books, novels, and video games. That’s a whole lot of different ways for someone to get into the franchise if the sheer amount of lore does not put them off.

Warhammer 40K is particularly rich in terms of lore and is one of the most, if not the most, popular tabletop games in the world. It also serves as the setting for Space Marine II, the long-awaited sequel to 2011’s Space Marine.

Developed by Saber Interactive, Space Marine II is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Story

Set almost two hundred years after the events of the first game, the story once again follows Demetrian Titus. After being wrongfully accused of treachery and a stint in the Deathwatch, he’s reinstated as an Ultramarine. He’s been demoted from the rank of Captain to Lieutenant, but he is now a Primaris Space Marine, so physically, he’s stronger than ever and ready to serve.

The developers state that you don’t need any knowledge of the Warhammer 40K universe or the original game to enjoy this one, but in my opinion, it definitely helps. The game doesn’t stop to explain any of its lore, just throwing you from mission to mission as you travel the galaxy, taking on swarms of Tyranids, and going up against the forces of chaos.

Core Gameplay

Space Marine II, like its predecessor, is described as a hack-and-slash shooter, and it definitely lives up to that label. You carry two guns – one light and one heavy – a melee weapon, and a couple of grenades. You can switch them either at the armory before each mission or with whatever you find lying around as you explore. Initially, you will have limited options, but as you progress through the campaign, you will unlock more weapons.

You operate primarily in a unit of three, with Titus as the playable character. AI will control your squadmates, but if you prefer, you can play through the campaign online with two other people who will control them instead. Playing with friends offers a lot of fun, but unfortunately, the game doesn’t duplicate resources, so only one person can pick them up. This isn’t ideal when you’re all low on health and you find one health pack.

Combat Mechanics

Combat in Space Marine II is easy to learn but hard to master. The controls are simple enough: shooting, light and heavy melee attacks, tossing a grenade, using your skill, and that’s about it. Parrying is where things start to get a little more complicated. When an enemy launches at you with a blue ring around them, you can parry them, but you need to make sure your timing is spot on. If you’re successful, you can launch a powerful follow-up attack.

Nothing you face in Space Marine II is particularly challenging on standard difficulty – by themselves, that is. The problem is Tyranids often swarm you in large numbers, breaking through your armour and knocking down your health bar in seconds. Your shields will regenerate, but it takes time, and time isn’t something you have in huge amounts.

Still, the game does a very good job of making you feel like a super-powerful Ultramarine. As chaotic as the combat is at times, you feel immensely powerful when you’re cutting through swarm after swarm of Tyranids.

Game Modes

There are three game modes within Space Marine II. The first is the campaign, which I’ve already covered in a fair bit of depth. The other two are Operations (PvE) and Eternal War (PvP).

Where the campaign follows the story of Lieutenant Titus, the Operations mode allows you to experience parts of the story that Titus doesn’t directly encounter, giving you a different perspective. There are six operations to match the six chapters of the campaign. As such,  the developers recommend playing the campaign first to avoid spoilers.

There’s a bit of an issue in that you can only have one of each Marine class in your squad. I understand that variation is important for balance, and this probably isn’t a problem if you’re playing with friends, but if you’re matchmaking, it might cause some conflict if everyone wants to be the same class, especially since you upgrade your chosen class as you play. It would be more effective if matchmaking took class into consideration to avoid duplicates. It might take longer to find matches, but it would be better than people joining and either leaving or being kicked out because their preferred classes clash.

Eternal War, on the other hand, pits two teams of six against each other in one of three gameplay modes – Annihilation, Seize Ground, and Capture & Control. Like Operations mode, there’s a limit to the classes you can play, so you can only have two of each class on a team, which might cause some problems if people aren’t willing to switch.

I haven’t tested this myself as I’ve played with other Xbox players, but the Campaign and Operations modes support full cross-platform multiplayer. To keep things fair, the Eternal War mode only supports cross-platform play between either consoles or PC, respectively.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is a solid addition to the Warhammer universe. The graphics are good, performance is mostly smooth, and it delivers fun, fast-paced action that is even more enjoyable when playing with friends. There are definitely some improvements to be made in terms of online matchmaking, and I’d have liked resources to be duplicated for co-op, but for the most part, Space Marine II is an enjoyable game that succeeds at making you feel like a badass super-soldier who can face off against anything thrown your way.