During a simpler time and when I wasn’t yet privy to the horrors of our world, my cousins and I used to huddle around a clunky CRT television with stained Xbox 360 controllers in hand and virtually stride in the heavy boots of Dom and Marcus, tearing through hordes of Locusts with our chainsaw-laden rifles. It’s a fond memory, not just because of how we kids – who probably shouldn’t have been playing such a game in the first place – were in awe of the gruesome awesomeness that was Gears of War, but also because it reminds me of a time when playing games with friends and family, cooperatively, felt special.
Cooperative multiplayer hasn’t gone anywhere, obviously, but it seems most games (and gamers) are different now than they were during the heyday of Gears and Halo. Whether that be because of big-name publishers churning out live-service slop riddled with predatory business practices year after year, or game streamers sparking the flames within every twelve-year-old to become the next Shroud, I have yet to find a sense of joy or casual kinship whenever I dive into a modern-day multiplayer game. That is, until a little game by the name of Warhammer 40k: Space Marines 2 came out last month and has completely reinvigorated my love for cooperative play.
Space Marines 2 was not a game I had on my radar. It wasn’t a game I was even remotely considering picking up. This was mostly due to me not having any kind of familiarity with the massive Warhammer universe. Frankly, the only thing I knew about 40k was that Witcher actor Henry Cavill was a diehard fan. But when reviews began trickling in and I saw critics around the globe – including our very own Nairon – highly praise the work Saber Interactive had done with the sequel to an otherwise relatively unremarkable original, my interest was piqued. After watching a few gameplay videos, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia. “This is Gears of War,” I whispered to myself. A sentiment that would be corroborated by fellow journalists who reviewed the game, adding that the game takes inspiration from both Mr. Fenix and Co. and the modern Doom titles; a marriage that no doubt accentuates an already ludicrous power fantasy that is playing an Ultramarine. When I saw one of my online friends make a post online about how he’d jumped into SM2 and was having a blast, it was the last bit of convincing I needed to spend the ninety Canadian Loonies to fight for The Emperor.
I’ve spent over thirty hours thus far in the boots of a Space Marine. During this time I’ve partnered up with friends both new and old, some of whom I hadn’t played games with in years, and have fought through hordes of both Tyranids and Heretics alike across multiple runs through the campaign and all of the game’s PvE operations; all in the name of our glorious Empire. From performing countless “Glory Kills,” parrying pesky Hormagaunts and bashing them to smithereens against the asphalt, ripping the heads off of a Carnifex, to saving a downed brother in arms from imminent death, it’s all been an incredible ride–one that I don’t plan to have stopped any time soon. I haven’t had this much fun with a multiplayer game in years. I haven’t had a game push me to find new friends online and bring together old ones. The reason why Space Marines 2 was the game to do this is simple: the game, at its core, is pure, unadulterated fun. No tedious loot grind, superfluous gameplay mechanics, or scummy live service practices. Just punchy, gritty, uber-violent and unnecessarily awesome fun. Space Marines 2 hones in on what it does well and polishes it to a near-perfect sheen.
Combine this with the expansive and dauntingly deep lore of 40k, which the game adds to with its very solid campaign that continues the story of Ultramarine Tidus, and it’s easy to see how one can get sucked into the deep end of the universe of Warhammer. A universe that I am now wholly invested in, having already picked up some of the books and watched my first three-hour-long YouTube lore video (God help me). All this is thanks to a single game. Saber Interactive has not just created a game that is beautifully reminiscent of a time long gone with its endlessly fun gameplay loop but has created something that brings back a sense of community, kinship, and simple joy–something that has been woefully lacking in the games space in modern times.