Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 hands-on preview — Bloody and brutal

It’s been a long time since the Warhammer 40K’s Space Marine game was released. Almost thirteen years to be exact. Thankfully, that is about to be rectified, with Space Marine 2 dropping a few days after the original’s anniversary. Sometimes you wonder if there’s any way a game can live up to expectations after such a long break. After spending a few hours playing Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2’s campaign and co-op missions, this seems like the perfect sequel, and potentially a player in the Game of the Year space. Yes, it’s that good. Let’s armor up and talk about it.

Recently, we got to assemble a few veteran battle brothers for a brief peek at both the campaign and the cooperative multiplayer aspects of the near-final game. At this point, the game isn’t even out and I’m clocking half a dozen hours. There is a LOT of meat on this Xeno carcass’s bones.

First and foremost, I am a Warhammer nerd, but not precisely a devotee. I have a 15 pound full-size Chainsword replica. I’m 3D printing an Ultramarine helmet to start my journey to building a full size (yes, a full 7 to 8 feet tall) Space Marine cosplay suit, Bolter and all. To say that I’m beyond excited to see this series continue is an understatement. I enjoy the lore of Warhammer 40K, if not the miniature board game. I apologize in advance for any of that lore I might get incorrect, but it’s not for lack of enthusiasm. This game is going to absolutely immerse you in it as well, so get ready!

The demo for the campaign kicked off with Lieutenant Titus and two more Ultramarines in a Thunderhawk dropship, preparing to land. True to form, they complain about the drop, imagined slights and betrayals by the Empire, and cast aspersions on the recently-demoted Lieutenant Titus. Although they are complaining, they are still under his command. Grabbing their bolters, they exit the Thunderhawk and right into the thick of the fight.

The trio of Ultramarines hit the ground fully armed and ready, but a nearby pylon allows them to change between three different loadouts to match what might be the upcoming threat. Walking through the courtyard, you see the assembled might of the Astra Militarum, complete with Baneblade, Fellblade, and I think I even saw a Leman Russ tank. Surrounding the artillery are the regular soldiers of the Militarum who look tiny by comparison to your 8 foot hulking frame. They bow and dodge out of your path in deference as you stomp through their ranks. It isn’t long before the real differentiator between you and them shows itself.

The world of Warhammer 40K is absolutely slathered in Gothic imagery and Space Marine 2 is no exception. The crumbling citadel is awash in debris and being overrun by Tyranids. Tyranids are an extragalactic amalgamation of various insectoid species, often bipedal and always vicious. They see humanity as a lower form of life to be devoured and served up as prey. Like insects, they breed in staggeringly large numbers, throwing an impossible wave of disgusting biomechanical hunters at whatever they intend to consume until they are overwhelmed. Amidst the ruins of the citadel, hundreds of them skitter across the landscape, unchecked.

Moving the game to their proprietary Saber Swarm Engine has proved to be an incredible boon to Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. The engine was used to make World War Z, bringing thousands of zombies to life for the player to fight. Here we see that same tech pushed to a whole new level, allowing the Xenos threat to be portrayed as it should be – overwhelming.

It also allowed the team to really focus on the little details that make Warhammer dorks like me giggle with glee. Each piece of armor is lovingly crafted, with small dents and scratches. During our multiplayer session we saw higher level armor sets, complete with various reliquary items like bones of saints preserved and brought to battle. The pauldrons gleam with the chapter heraldry of the various Astartes chapters. Laurel crowns adorn their helmets or brow to denote special honors. The plastron (chest armor) has the Imperialis (the winged skull) or the double aquila (the winged double eagle crest denoting the Imperium of Man). The loincloths and honor badges move realistically as your marine moves. It only gets better, growing even more gorgeous once the carnage starts.

Warhammer is, if nothing else, brutal. Engaging with your foes at close range splashes blood everywhere. On your armor, on the ground, on other Xenos – everywhere. Pulling out a Chainsword only spreads it further. It also highlights one of my favorite parts of the game – parrying and regenerating your armor.

There are very few health packs (read: Medicae) in the world of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, so your armor is important. You’ll regenerate that by engaging a foe at close range and rending them to bits with a brutal execution. That means whipping your blade into their stomach, yanking it back while it continues to run at high speed, and watching the entrails and gore fly. Similarly, bashing your foe in the face with a powerfist, cutting them to ribbons with rapid cuts via your Astartes Combat Knife, or taking out massive chunks with a Power Sword. Doing so restores a little bit of your health. When combined with the perks you can earn, however, it might also trigger a number of other effects like instant shield recharge, or at higher levels, even cause damage to every foe around you. We’ll talk more about perks in a moment.

The other important part of Space Marine 2 is the need to block. Preserving your health means shrugging off damage when possible, or dodging when you can’t. Before a foe strikes, you’ll see a small indicator advising that you have incoming damage (it works for snipers as well as melee foes). This gives you a chance to dodge or better, to block. Blocking opens an opportunity to counter attack, doing additional damage, stunning your foe, or a variety of other effects. When that indicator is an orange-ish red, it indicates that it can’t be blocked — you need to move out of the way.

Each Space Marine has a special power that can be triggered to help turn the tide. In the campaign, or at least as far as I can tell from this version, you have a roar to unleash a vicious attack that not only dishes out extra damage, but also heals you completely. It can turn the tide, but it has a short two minute cooldown, so don’t feel like you need to conserve it. In the multiplayer portions of the game there are a variety of them based on your chosen class, shaking up gameplay significantly.

Before long, we’ve stomped our way to the final portion of the campaign levels. Without ruining the surprises, the levels are about 40 minutes to an hour long, and each are capped with a boss battle, and it’s not always the Xeno threat you’ll be facing. Before long, you’ll reach the point where you can embark on the non-linear portions of the game.

I’m not sure if this build is designed this way, or if after a few levels you move into a portion where you can run co-op missions for extra XP and unlocks, but that’s how it worked for us. Here we jumped into the power armor boots of a rookie Ultramarine and were presented with a list of half a dozen missions to tackle. Here you get to pick between Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper and Heavy classes, each with their own progression systems. That means unique perks, weapon unlocks, cosmetic armor changes, cosmetic weapon improvements, and much more. That’s not to say there aren’t microtransactions – there are a handful of optional DLC to give you access to a handful of specialized Astartes chapters. It’s not going to give them an advantage in the field, but they do look really damned cool.

Each mission has a variety of rewards available, as well as several difficulty levels, though I’d recommend you grind out some perks and improvements before you try that – the game is a challenge even on normal difficulties. The levels are chunky too, with each co-op mission we played averaging around 40 minutes like the campaign mission. Mastery points, gear unlocks, perks, and more give you not only an advantage in the field, but also a fresh look to go with it. I’m not sure how (or if) this is carried back into the single player game, but I can confirm that I’m going to fall backwards into the gaping maw of the Warhammer universe, never to be seen again…

We did run into one challenge with Space Marine 2. Frankly, the AI isn’t the best battle buddy. David and I took to the field together and let the AI join as our third brother, and we struggled mightily. Being wounded has a Gears of War-like system that means you can be picked up by a fellow Space Marine. Suffer enough wounds and the next is likely to be fatal. Well, fatal meaning you have to wait a full minute to get back into the game, which can be too long a time when your battle brother is in trouble from overwhelming forces. Occasionally the AI would just stand over your broken body, seemingly confused or perhaps making value judgements over your fallen form. I guess what I’m saying is the AI could use a bit of work.

Back in the field, we played through the missions several times, picking different classes along the way. Each one played entirely different in practice, so let’s get a closer look at each one:

The Tactical class is your standard Space Marine. They have an Auspex Scan that can reveal enemies in a selected area, but also make them more vulnerable. They employ a wide variety of weaponry, including several types of Bolt Rifle, Auto Bolt Rifle, Heavy Bolt Rifle, Stalker bolt rifle, Bolt carbine, Meltagun, Chainsword and more.

The Assault class has a far more narrow choice of weapons, limited to two types of bolter, but also fielding the Chainsword, Powerfist, and room-clearing Thunderhammer. They also have a jump pack that allows them to dash forward, or leap into the sky, crashing down in a devastating ground pound to scatter their foes.

Vanguards are close combat specialists, using a Grapnel Launcher to lock onto an enemy, pulling them in for a close range strike using either a Chainsword or a Combat Knife. They can also use submachine guns and bolters as well.

The Bullwark is the shield for your team, both literally and figuratively, carrying a massive Combat Shield. They can employ a Combat Sword, bolters, a Chainsword, Powerfist, or bolters. They are also able to drop a Chapter Banner, restoring armor to all squad members. With perks, it can even heal them.

The Heavy class is a beast on the battlefield. Carrying the largest of weapons, including the Assault Cannon. They can also bring bolters to the field, though their heavy weapon restricts them a bit. They can also deploy the Iron Halo, a barrier that blocks all ranged damage in front of the Marine, making a powerful moving front for the team to assemble behind to press their advantage.

All of these classes play wildly differently, and only time will tell how they operate at higher difficulty levels, but after half a dozen hours it was clear that there are some complex timings for button presses, parries, and attacks to be more efficient in combat. This is an “easy to play, difficult to master” game, to be sure.

While there’s a little bit more time until the game launches to iron out the last bit of technical issues, we’ve not yet seen the PvP modes. I personally cannot wait to jump into the armor of a Khornate Berzerker and cut other chapters in service of Angron, or as a vicious Death Spectre, wielding Death Scythes. Ok, I’m wishfully thinking aloud with these last things, but there’s nothing stopping the team from doing precisely that. Saber has done a magnificent job of bringing this expansive universe to life, and one thing is for sure – it can’t get here soon enough.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 takes to the field of battle on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on September 9th, 2024. By the Emperor, stay tuned right here for all of our Warhammer news!

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