Warhammer 40K is one of those massive franchises that seems to get multiple new games every year (in addition to all the other stuff that gets released). And yet, if you’re like me, it’s a franchise that can entirely pass by you. I recognize its iconic imagery the moment it pops up on my screen, but the only time I’ve actively engaged with the franchise was the original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011). So when Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was announced from developer Saber Interactive and publisher Focus Home Interactive, I was immediately hyped despite my usual disinterest in the franchise. So this isn’t a review of a diehard Warhammer 40K fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of the lore; this is a review of someone who’s vaguely familiar with the concept of a Space Marine and just likes badass video games.
My lack of familiarity becomes most obvious when I have to explain the plot of Space Marine 2. You’re a Space Marine (ok, that much seems obvious) who is fatally wounded in battle but, thanks to a special operation, is allowed to continue to live and, in the process, becomes a Primaris Space Marine. Now stronger than ever, you’re put in charge of your own squad as part of the Ultramarines, each of them with their own baggage and complicated past (including yourself). You’re needed to fight the Tyranids who’ve been swarming your habitats, and so it’s time for another war. These are the broad strokes of what’s going on, and while I never struggled to follow the general plot, I won’t pretend I entirely understood the specifics of it. I can guess what sets a Primaris Space Marine apart from a regular Space Marine, and I more or less understand who or what the Tyranids are, but for anything more than that, you need outside knowledge that you’re bringing to the game. And honestly, I don’t mind it. I got the information that I needed, and nothing is worse than an exposition dump for things that are already well established in-universe, only for the audience.
What I liked about the original game and love about this one is how powerful it makes you feel. As a Space Marine, you can obliterate your enemies and hordes of them. The Tyranids usually come rushing at you in masses; dozens, if not hundreds, of them that will pile onto each other to scale walls come to try to overwhelm you, but you can decimate them all without much trouble. As a sheer power fantasy, Space Marine 2 is as effective as Doom (2016), and the only other game that has truly come close to that level since is Robocop: Rogue City (2023). You can customize your Space Marine too, with different weapons and abilities to better fit your specific playstyle. And don’t worry, you will feel like an overpowering force no matter what you decide to go with. At the end of the day, you can slice enemies into small pieces with a melee weapon, or you can open fire with a gun, and if an enemy is foolish enough to attack you, you can always just parry them, catching them in the air and ripping them apart. If enemies are low enough health, you can also trigger an execution, leading to a badass animation and immediately refilling your armor. And by the way, the gore in Space Marine 2 is more than satisfying as well.
Going into Space Marine 2, I was expecting incredibly fun gameplay; what I wasn’t expecting is that it would quite possibly be the best-looking game I’ve played this year (with the exception of Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga (2024), which was a truly ridiculous visual achievement). A lot of that is thanks to the outstanding visual design of the environments. Despite Space Marine 2 being a level-based game with fairly linear corridors and nothing that even so much as resembles an open world, the game feels absolutely massive. Levels are smartly designed around vistas that allow the battle to stretch into the horizon and are always stunning to look at too. You visit megastructure after megastructure with ceilings so high you can barely see them and buildings that practically pierce the sky. All of it makes you feel so small and miniscule by comparison. It’s an interesting contrast for a game that makes you feel this powerful in its gameplay. But it’s a stark reminder that yes, you are a super soldier stronger than basically anyone who dares stand in your way, but you’re also nothing more than a pawn in a war that’s so much bigger than you.
Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine 2 is a deceptively simple game, but what a game it is. With bone-crunching gameplay and breathtaking visuals, Space Marine 2 takes what made the original so great and builds on it to create something that’s improved in every way. And with an existing plan for future updates, it seems this will be a game you can play with friends for a while to come. Because as long as there’s content, there’s no reason to stop playing it.
Nairon played Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine 2 on PC with a review code.
