I used to be midway by means of the opening degree of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s marketing campaign, unloading bolt rifle rounds alongside my two squadmates, when I discovered myself smiling at simply how good it feels to be again on this futuristic grimdark fray. It’s been over a decade for the reason that unique, however Space Marine 2 reinvigorates the squad-based shooter collection with seeming ease. The environments are diverse and breathtaking, the running-and-gunning feels nice, and the sense of comradeship whereas preventing along with your workforce, be they bots or associates, might be exhilarating. It might not break a lot new floor in its style, nevertheless it didn’t have to for me to have a blast taking part in by means of its dozen-hour marketing campaign.
Let’s get this out of the way in which early: The unique Space Marine clearly took inspiration from Gears of Warfare, and this sequel follows swimsuit. It’s a squad-based shooter starring closely armored dudes who growl their dialog whereas both taking pictures weapons or revving Chainswords to keep at bay invading aliens. The similarities don’t hassle me a bit (particularly when one might make the case that Gears borrowed from Warhammer first). It’s been years since I’ve performed a recreation that scratched that individual itch, and Space Marine 2 makes use of the wealthy lore of Warhammer 40k to carve out its personal identification. That’s true in each the meaty marketing campaign that may be performed solo or co-op, in addition to two extra modes that allow you to improve your weapons and customise your armor between rounds, which are supposed to maintain you coming again after the credit roll.
The marketing campaign drops you again into the appreciable boots of Demetrian Titus, the hero of the primary installment. It picks up over 100 years later, and does a very good job of explaining all the things you should know, whether or not you performed the unique or not. Regardless of the century-long hole, not a lot has modified for our dour hero since we final noticed him. He’s nonetheless a gravelly-voiced, seasoned soldier who doesn’t seem to have aged in any respect due to his genetically-engineered longevity. He’s spent the final century serving within the Space Marines’ Deathwatch chapter, which fits on essentially the most harmful of missions. After an intense opening degree that has you deploying a “Virus Bomb,” you’re rewarded in your bravery and dedication by being introduced again into the fold as a blue-armored Ultramarine.
The story is greater than serviceable, and it strikes at a quick clip, sending your squad to attention-grabbing places throughout a number of planets. It has just a few twists and turns that deliver it to stunning locations, and there’s even some intriguing inter-squad battle to spice issues up. That stated, the entire thing is fairly one-note: it’s all very severe. I get that there’s a conflict occurring and lives are on the road, however only a sprint of humor – even the gallows humor many different 40k video games use – would have added a welcome additional dimension.
You are accompanied in your missions by two squadmates who’re bots by default, however you’ll be able to invite associates to take their place. The bots are serviceable comrades, able to doing their half to fend off enemies and revive you while you fall in battle. However as with most video games like this, it’s extra enjoyable to play with associates, which you’ll be able to coordinate from your house base, known as the Battle Barge.
Gone are the Orks from the primary Space Marine, and of their place is humanity’s newest intergalactic enemy: the Tyranids. These alien monstrosities are available many types, from hulking Carnifex beasts to hordes of smaller creatures that appear like xenomorphs or velociraptors. Some can fly, whereas others swarm throughout the bottom, piling on high of one another to scale cliffs so as to assault you and the remainder of the Imperial Guard’s forces. You’ll encounter different enemy varieties as you progress by means of the marketing campaign as nicely, which offers sufficient selection that I hardly ever received bored of blasting them to the shreds with an array of Imperial and alien weaponry.
It’s a very good factor the weapons and melee weapons really feel nice to make use of, as a result of that’s the way you’ll spend the majority of your time in Space Marine 2. You possibly can customise your loadout between missions, choosing a major weapon, sidearm, and close-combat accent to begin out with. You additionally discover loads of weapon caches scattered all through the degrees, letting you swap in flamethrowers, plasma blasters, sniper rifles, energy swords, and all method of explosives, from sticky bombs to shock grenades that deploy an electrical area-of-effect. There’s a weapon for each fashion of encounter – although you normally don’t know what’s forward when it’s important to select. Checkpoints are frequent, although, so when you get wiped you may make a extra knowledgeable selection the following time.
Hitting an enemy with any of these weapons produces a satisfying splatter of blood. Bigger enemies getting ready to dying flash crimson, indicating you’ll be able to execute them with a ugly ending transfer. Performing executions recharges your shields, which is useful, and you may choose up Medicae Stimms to heal, or allow Titus’s Righteous Fury particular means, which boosts your well being bar as you slice by means of enemies along with your melee weapon. I at all times respect it when recovering well being in a shooter is tied to placing the harm in your enemies.
The truth is, simply shifting round feels nice in Space Marine 2. You’re a hulking, closely armored soldier, and strolling feels appropriately chunky – however your character can be extra nimble than he was within the earlier outing, in order that weight isn’t aggravating. It feels good.
One of many predominant drawbacks of the unique Space Marine was its drab brown-and-gray coloration palette – an ill-advised development of the period it got here out in. Fortunately, that’s gone in favor of way more colourful and full of life environments within the sequel. Some ranges have you ever tromping by means of alien worlds which might be inexperienced and purple and luxurious with extra-terrestrial flora. Others are set in towering city areas stuffed with gothic buildings with stained-glass home windows. Wherever your squad is deployed, the artwork design is uniformly beautiful, attractive sufficient to justify leaving the earlier technology of consoles behind.
Most areas are lively conflict zones, with human troopers preventing hordes of enemies each within the foreground and the background. Typically you’re following a tank by means of the ruins of a metropolis, backing up squads of Astra Militarum troopers. Different occasions you’ll see flying Tyranids swarm by means of the sky like a murmuration of starlings whereas platoons of troopers blast projectiles at them. Greater than most army video games, Space Marine 2 makes it really feel like there actually is a conflict occurring, and also you’re just one a part of the trouble. I’m normally not susceptible to taking screenshots, however right here I discovered myself switching to photograph mode in nearly each degree so I might seize the sweetness.
The marketing campaign is a wonderful sufficient chunk of recreation by itself, however that’s not all you get in Space Marine 2. Along with Titus’s saga, you’ll be able to play two different modes that aren’t so linear, every related to the opposite: Operations and Everlasting Warfare.
Everlasting Warfare is a PvP mode, however sadly the pre-launch inhabitants was so low that I wasn’t in a position to try it out for this evaluate – I’ll add an replace later with my impressions. I used to be in a position to spend time with Operations, nonetheless, which helps you to play facet missions which might be immediately referenced in the primary story however are carried out by different groups whereas Titus does his factor.
In each Operations and Everlasting Warfare, you get to select from six courses of Space Marine, every with completely different loadout choices and particular skills. There’s Tactical, which might use an Auspex Scan to spotlight and weaken enemies; Sniper has a limited-use camo cloak; Bulwark vegetation a banner flag that restores the shields of any close by squad mates; Vanguard has a grapnel launcher to tug himself into the motion for shut fight; Assault has the Bounce Pack that Titus makes use of often within the marketing campaign; and Heavy get a bubble protect. The entire skills are helpful and enjoyable to make use of in fight.
Taking part in these modes additionally earns you varied currencies you’ll be able to spend to improve your weapons and customise your armor with cosmetics, which seems to be nice enjoyable. You possibly can unlock a ton of neat emblems and charms for every bit of your armor, in addition to new colours that characterize the completely different Space Marine chapters. Just about all the colours look cool as hell, and the decoration choices allow you to adorn your dude with chains, skulls, and different particulars that wouldn’t be misplaced on the quilt of a heavy steel album.
The Operations ranges themselves aren’t all that completely different from those within the marketing campaign, even going down in the identical environments, which does make them a bit bit much less thrilling. There are at the moment six missions, and whereas taking part in by means of them as soon as was enjoyable – particularly with a workforce of co-op companions – I don’t actually really feel compelled to replay them, even to earn forex to improve my weapons and customise my armor. I’m nonetheless desperate to check out the Everlasting Warfare PvP mode, in addition to the extra modes promised in developer Saber Interactive’s post-launch roadmap, however not less than at launch the PvE choices are extra a short however amusing distraction moderately than a mode I’ll maintain returning to.