‘Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2’ review: A beautiful, gory mess of a sequel

When Relic Entertainment dropped Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine back in 2011, it quickly carved out a niche as one of those solid, under-the-radar action games of the sixth-gen era. Sure, it wasn’t the most mind-blowing title on the shelf—more of a straightforward, linear hack-and-slash—but that didn’t stop it from being a perfect gateway drug into the chaotic, sprawling universe of Warhammer 40K.

Over the years, Space Marine developed a cult following, particularly among 40K fans hungry for more video game adaptations of their favorite universe. For more than a decade, players clamored for a follow-up. With so much potential left on the table, the question lingered: why hasn’t this game gotten the sequel it so clearly deserves?

Now, Saber Interactive has answered that call with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2—a sequel that aims to be bigger, bolder, and more bombastic than its predecessor. Space Marine 2 retains the blood-soaked, brutal gameplay of the original, but with a much stronger emphasis on cooperative play, allowing players to team up with friends and tackle massive swarms of enemies together. The result? A slicker, more polished experience that fully embraces the scale and chaos of the Warhammer 40K universe, bringing the series to new heights while building on the foundation of what made the original special.

Space Marine 2 plot

This section may contain mild spoilers for ‘Space Marine’ and ‘Space Marine 2’.

Space Marine 2 marks the long-awaited return of Captain Demetrian Titus—recently reinstated to the Ultramarines as a Primaris (an enhanced, genetically upgraded version of a standard Space Marine). At the end of Space Marine, he was dragged off in chains for the crime of resisting the lure of chaos, accused of heresy by the Imperium. Fast-forward a century of brutal torture, and another hundred years serving a self-imposed penance in the Deathwatch, and Titus is back on the front lines. His shot at redemption? A planet on the brink of annihilation thanks to a Tyranid invasion, with a top-secret superweapon lurking in the background.

But it’s not all heroics and glory. Titus has to fight not only the swarming Tyranids and Forces of Chaos but also the cold skepticism of his Ultramarines brothers—suspicious of his sudden appearance and secret service record.

This might not be your stop if you’re hoping for rich character development or villains with layered motivations. Titus and his squadmates, Chairon and Gadriel, are essentially overpowered, oversized death machines being shuffled from one apocalyptic mission to the next, playing the part of glorified, blood-soaked errand boys for their commanders.

And yet, within the bleak, war-torn confines of the Warhammer 40K universe, the lack of nuance in the plot doesn’t feel like much of an issue. In all fairness, these are Ultramarines we’re talking about—stoic, rule-obsessed supersoldiers devoted to the Codex Astartes like it’s a holy scripture. That’s translated in-game as military bro-speak dialed up to eleven. Their sole purpose? To kill. Over and over. And over again.

So yeah, don’t expect philosophical musings on the horrors of war. Instead, Space Marine 2 delivers what the universe demands: a swift 6-to-8-hour campaign packed with righteous, violent efficiency. War and death are the only constants here, and Titus knows the script well. Kill first, ask no questions later.

The campaign of Space Marine 2 assumes a baseline understanding of the Warhammer 40K universe, with little to no hand-holding when it comes to the deep lore. There’s no in-game codex or glossary to explain the various factions or enemies you face, which can leave newcomers feeling a bit lost. Considering the massive hype surrounding the game, this feels like a missed opportunity. For a title that could easily serve as an entry point into the 40K universe, it would’ve been great to include explanations on the different factions or enemies—especially when it comes to key antagonists like the Thousand Sons legion, who take center stage in the latter half of the campaign.

Space Marine 2 gameplay

Space Marine 2 builds on its predecessor in every conceivable way, especially in the combat department. Where the original game often felt a bit floaty, Space Marine 2 delivers satisfying weight and impact with every swing, smash, and stab. As Captain Titus, you’ll gradually unlock a robust arsenal of melee and ranged weapons, making every fight feel visceral and dynamic.

On the melee front, you’ll wield iconic tools of destruction like the chainsword, power sword, sledgehammer, and combat knife. The Boltgun is your go-to for ranged combat, available in different variations with scopes, grenade launchers, and beefier ammo. The arsenal also includes the Bolt Pistol, the Melta (a close-range, shotgun-like flamethrower), and devastating one-use heavy weapon variants of the Boltgun and Melta.

Space Marine 2 delivers jaw-dropping, dynamic set pieces, as its core gameplay revolves around battling relentless swarms of Tyranids—vicious, hive-minded aliens hellbent on devouring every shred of biomatter in the universe. In the heat of combat, you’ll face smaller Tyranids that swarm and claw at you while simultaneously fending off larger, sword-wielding brutes, making every encounter a chaotic survival dance.

At the heart of the combat system are the parry and execution mechanics. Simple in practice, enemies telegraph their moves with color-coded indicators—blue for parryable attacks and orange for those you’ll need to dodge. A perfect parry will instantly kill smaller enemies, while larger foes get stunned, allowing for a quick, satisfying gunshot finish. Mastering this is key, as Titus can soak up damage fast. Like the first game, you have a health bar and shield, but your health doesn’t regenerate—you’ll need to rely on sparse health pickups. Instead, keeping your shields intact is crucial, which can only be done through executions. Once you’ve chipped away at larger enemies through strikes and parries, you can pull off brutal glory kills, which restore your shields. You can do this on smaller enemies too, though it’s hit or miss.

Weirdly, when playing co-op this creates a scramble for execution kills since your health and shields tend to whittle down fast. I understand the intent from the developers is to basically “git gud” at the dodge and parry mechanics but it’s almost impossible to do that with the amount of range and melee enemies all coalescing on you at one time.

This melee-heavy combat loop, while thrilling at first, can become repetitive, especially when playing solo. As you fend off the constant barrage of enemies—both melee and ranged—it’s clear the game is designed with a PvE co-op experience in mind. With friends, this chaotic swarm combat feels intense and strategic. But playing alone, as I did, it often felt more like a slog: I was either overwhelmed by the enemy hordes or frustrated by the underwhelming AI companions that left me to handle most of the heavy lifting. This isn’t me saying I’m bad at the game, but it does feel the Saber Interactive didn’t balance the game well enough for the single-player experience.

Each mission will have you return to the Battle Barge, which serves as the community hub where you can change weapons and switch game modes. Space Marine 2 offers three main modes: The campaign, Operations Mode which is the main PvE experience, and Eternal War, which is the game’s PvP offering.

Operations Mode

Operations Mode is the true core of Space Marine 2, offering eight missions that run parallel to the events of the main campaign. In these missions, you take on the role of a squad of Space Marines handling secondary objectives that directly aid Titus and his team. Along with Eternal War, these modes are where you can gain XP and points to buy gear, weapons, and armor skins to upgrade for your Space Marine.

The standout feature here is the ability to play as your own fully customizable Space Marine across six unique classes, each with its own distinct set of weapons and perks. The Tactical class is your versatile all-rounder, capable of using most weapons. The Bulwark is a defensive powerhouse, armed with a shield to block incoming damage. The Sniper excels at long-range precision, while the Assault class, equipped with a jump pack, thrives in aerial melee combat. The Heavy class is your go-to for carrying the biggest, most devastating weapons, and the Vanguard is a hybrid of Tactical and Assault, able to grapple enemies and take them down with fast-paced mobility.

No two runs of a mission in Space Marine 2’s Operations Mode will ever feel quite the same. Larger enemies can call in relentless swarms if you don’t stop them in time, and special enemy types can randomly appear to throw even more chaos into already intense battles. This unpredictability keeps the action fresh and ensures each mission feels dynamic.

However, much like the campaign, these missions are best experienced with friends. As the main PvE content that will likely fuel countless viral clips on TikTok, these missions can be frustrating to play solo. There are no checkpoints, and once again, the AI teammates are lackluster at best. What’s more, you can’t choose your AI companions’ classes—they’re automatically assigned based on your own class choice. For instance, when I played with the Assault class, the AI chose a Bulwark and a Sniper to fill out the team, often leading to unbalanced strategies.

Currently, there are only eight missions, but with Saber Interactive’s season pass structure, it’s safe to expect more content in the future.

Eternal War

In contrast to Operations Mode, Eternal War is Space Marine 2’s PvP multiplayer offering, featuring 6v6 team battles where players can choose to fight as either the loyal Adeptus Astartes or the traitorous Heretic Astartes. Unfortunately, this mode feels like the sparsest part of the game, with only three match types and three maps. The modes themselves are pretty standard: Annihilation (Team Deathmatch), Seize Ground (Domination), and Capture and Control (King of the Hill).

One glaring issue is the balance—or lack thereof. You can use the same six classes from Operations Mode, which works great in PvE, but in PvP, it creates a mess. Some classes are vastly overpowered when pitted against others, leading to unbalanced matches. These classes complement each other well in co-op, but head-to-head, they feel awkwardly mismatched.

Another downside is that melee combat, which shines in single-player and co-op, loses all its impact against real players, making it almost useless in PvP. It’s a shame because, with more time and thoughtful tweaks, Eternal War has the potential to be fun. As it stands, it feels like a tacked-on afterthought rather than a fully fleshed-out experience.

Space Marine 2 performance

Like its hulking death-dealing warriors, Space Marine 2 runs like a well-oiled machine—most of the time. Playing on PlayStation 5, I encountered only a few technical hiccups, but they stood out when they happened. One memorable instance occurred during a mission set inside an Adeptus Mechanicus facility. While fending off waves of Tyranid enemies and swarming Rippers—tiny, maggot-like creatures that cover the entire floor and can, at times, entwine themselves like a Rat King to attack you—there’s a visually intense scene with lightning flashing everywhere as you power up a generator. It was chaotic and where the framerate took a noticeable dip, even in performance mode.

The most frustrating issue, though, came during the final boss fight. The boss glitched, getting stuck in a loop of endlessly summoning Chaos enemies. It was a section where you’re supposed to dodge until the next phase, but instead, for 20 agonizing minutes, my AI companions and I stood on the edge of the arena while the boss mindlessly hurled projectiles at us. Needless to say, it was a huge letdown.

One of the most impressive feats in Space Marine 2 is how smoothly it handles swarms of enemies on screen, all while maintaining a steady 60fps. Saber Interactive, the team behind the fairly forgettable World War Z (2019), clearly brought some technical expertise from that project into this one. While World War Z might have been mediocre overall, it was notable for its zombies’ ability to pile up and scale walls. That same tech finds new life in Space Marine 2, where massive Tyranid swarms often tumble over each other in a frantic attempt to reach you and your squad.

Visually and technically, these moments are jaw-dropping and serve as some of the game’s biggest highlights. Even more impressive, during certain missions, you can see these swarms in the distance, crawling over the horizon like a living tide, creating an unnerving backdrop that constantly reminds you of the scale of the threat. It’s impossible to look away, and it adds a palpable tension to the already intense action.

Is Space Marine 2 worth it?

If you’re a fan of Warhammer 40K or enjoyed the original Space Marine, then Space Marine 2 is absolutely worth your time. The game is a clear evolution of its predecessor, with combat that feels more impactful, smoother, and downright visceral. The weight behind every swing of your chainsword or shot from your Boltgun is satisfying, and the set pieces, especially when facing swarms of Tyranids, are both visually impressive and technically remarkable. Saber Interactive has done an excellent job crafting massive, chaotic battles that run smoothly, even with countless enemies on screen.

That said, there are some issues. While the campaign is enjoyable, it can feel a little shallow at times, with repetitive mission structures and a lack of deep narrative. The lack of any lore explainer for newcomers is also a missed opportunity, especially considering how massive the 40K universe is. The absence of checkpoints in Operations and inconsistent AI in solo play can make some missions frustrating, and the PvP multiplayer modes, feel tacked on and unbalanced. Melee combat in PvP is practically useless, and the mode itself is the weakest aspect of the game.

Despite these shortcomings, Space Marine 2 still delivers on what matters most in a Warhammer game: brutal, high-octane combat in a war-torn universe. The co-op PvE missions shine when played with friends, and the spectacle of battling massive Tyranid swarms is an experience in itself. Saber Interactive has laid a solid foundation with the promise of more content to come, so if you’re in it for the PvE action and 40K immersion, the game is definitely worth picking up. Just be aware that it’s best enjoyed with a squad, and the multiplayer modes could use some refining.

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