Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 Review (PC): Back to the Early Days of Gaming With a Modern Twist

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 brought me back to my childhood in a way that no other game has managed to do for years. The over-the-top gore and non-stop action transported me back to the early 2000s, putting me into the mindset of my younger self who wanted to sit back and enjoy a game without the need for an overcomplicated story. As I swung my chainsword around, slaying Tyranid one after the next, I couldn’t help but be reminded of games such as Gears of War and Bulletstorm. While I never played the original Space Marine game, I never felt left out and instead felt welcomed into the Warhammer universe – one that I admittedly know very little about. 

Action above all else

I am not going to pretend like I understand the Warhammer universe. My knowledge of the series is based on playing a tabletop game once and hearing my brother-in-law speak of the Space Marines as if they are gods. With that being said, I base my entire review on what was presented and not how well the game depicted the franchise as a whole. Despite my limited knowledge of the series, the action-packed thriller that is Space Marine 2 never once made me feel like I needed this knowledge to understand what was happening. There is a war that needs fighting and I, playing as Titus, must rise to accomplish my duty, and that I did.

As I readied my chainsword, loaded my bolt rifle, and donned my rather glorious armor, I felt empowered and emboldened by my faction of brothers. Jumping onto the battlefield, I stared down the Tyranids with little fear in my eyes, ready to meet my fate. As the gore enveloped me, I remembered the days of early gaming where action and fun were the primary focus. I soon found myself hours into the game and not realizing that time had passed at all. It is this kind of fun that players are looking for in a game nowadays and that too few companies manage to create.

Space Marine 2 feels like Doom and Gears of War had a baby and that baby’s name is mayhem because I was constantly covered in Tyranid blood, mind-numbingly staring at the screen with joy. Even small issues such as framerate drops or the occasional freeze during an assassination were insignificant to me. With a bunch of tools and weapons at my disposal, I felt like a kid at a candy store and I had free reign to get whatever I wanted. Space Marine 2 does not break the mold by any means but that is not what I wanted it to do. I wanted it to bring me unadulterated entertainment and it did just that and more.

While there is plenty of good, there are some notable downsides to the gameplay. For starters, the unlocking system is rather slow and it takes a long time to get to the customization and to unlock newer weapons that you can take into battle. The slowdown is jarring in a game that is rather fast-paced everywhere else. Along with this, enemy variety could have been stepped up a bit because it felt like I was fighting the same Tyranid over and over again with the occasional break for a tougher foe or boss. Some missions switched this up with other enemy types but there were two main variants that I would see throughout my multi-hour sessions.

War has never looked so good

I typically am not one to focus very heavily on graphics as I grew up in the era of 64 pixels and muscles that looked like blocks. However, I can appreciate great art design when I see it and, boy, does Space Marine 2 have amazing designs. From what I know of the series, each of the characters wore amazingly studded armor with embellished skulls, chains, and markers. These small details helped make the world feel much more enriching. The environments each felt unique and never once did I get bored of seeing the world. I would even sometimes stop and stare at vegetation or machinery and just think about how much time must have been spent to craft it.

The design team went above and beyond to make everything in this masterpiece look fantastic and it shows. The color helps tell the story of each location. Where you go after each mission is a dark and dreary place that reminds you of the horrors of war but yet there is beauty when you look out into space and see planets mixed with stars. Darker locations make you feel how tough and brutal the world is but yet there are beautiful locations with vibrant forests as well.

Final Verdict

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 does a great job of reminding you how to have fun and just enjoy a game without the need to throw in a lot of unnecessary theatrics. The gory mess brought me back to my childhood and reminded me what gaming is about and I think that says a lot about what modern gaming has become. Scenic beauty and unadulterated violence are all I needed to enjoy this game despite my lack of knowledge of the franchise as a whole. I recommend throwing on some heavy metal as you chill out to the non-stop action of Space Marine 2.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was reviewed on PC with a code provided by Saber Interactive. It is also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

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