Substantially improved game design and pacing when compared to the first game. With a blend of high octane action with calmer moments full of cinematic set pieces and a sense of scale. While most of the scale this game shows is actually just set dressing (hordes of gargoyles flocking in the sky, battles exploding in the background ect.) it still accomplishes creating the scale even if you can't directly interact with it. The game world is small and very linear but effectively creates an illusion of immensity.
They will include brief animations in the battle barge to breath more life into the NPCs. I do wish they took these moments a bit further. Such as a captain giving a bold speech before kneeling space marines, but when his speech ends he just stands there gesticulating the same way he did while giving the impassioned speech. It becomes a bit silly where they could have had the crowd dismissed to make it feel more alive. Another example is after the mission with the mechanicus factory and discovering evidence of chaos, you walk to your ship and another thunderhawk is landing with one of it's engines on fire. It lands shakily and troops gather around the crafts door, but then nothing happens. Would have been really cool to see wounded soldiers lumber out of the dilapidated craft and then be tended to by medics ect. What is still neat about this moment is how it foreshadows the next mission where a similar thing happens to you almost immediately. To be fair, most people who play this game are certainly not as interested in environmental storytelling and lore as I am.
Combat is brutal and engaging. Blending melee and ranged combat seamlessly like the original. But adding more weight and variety through the larger arsenal and more fluid controls. Melta gun is awesome and I found myself preferring it with a plasma pistol. In fact, I basically beat the whole game with that loadout and used it in the multiplayer too. Really allowed me to steamroll most tough enemies. Sucks the jumper pak is also limited to set levels because the improved controls for it are legit really fun. To be fair this would break many levels, but that's part of the fun from a power fantasy game like this one. The PVE scenarios do allow you to use the jump pak for all missions which is nice.
While there isn't really much to talk about plot-wise, I do like how the game incorporates the lore and world building of Warhammer. Spacemarines combines together mysticism with sci-fi tech, which makes for an interesting and unique game world that the game effectively leverages. Both in its set pieces but also in the art direction. It's both silly and kind of awesome watching Titus light incense candles for a prayer in order to get a hi-tech computer to respond to him. My main issue with the plot is how seriously it takes itself. Spacemarines are evil and a clear reference to Fascism. The writers of Warhammer are hyper aware of this and lean hard into satire which works for me. The first game accomplished this mostly due to the fact that Space Orks are hilarious and inherently campy. Tyranids are fun to fight against but lack the same campy personality of Space Orks. That said, so did the bugs in Starship Troopers, but Paul Verhoven compensated for this by making the Marines and their propaganda gleefully satirical. That said, I don't think the game's writing is bad. But certainly firmly saber rattling. I think the game is still enjoyable but it would have been elevated for me if it was self aware. Still, it delivers in the set pieces and engaging gameplay.
I also felt the use of Chaos Marines was substantially improved over the first game. My main gripe with the first game is how the Chaos Marines felt so dissonant from the established game play loop. You went from a brutal 3rd person hack n' slash game to a cover shooter without cover shooter basic mechanics. If you didn't awkwardly hide behind pillars and objects, you died immediately. Making the last 3rd of the first game a slog to get through. Here Chaos marines feel significantly better to fight against. There is a downside though... Tyranids and Chaos Marines feel too similar to fight. They both have very similar AI and fighting habits with a combination of melee and ranged fighting styles. This does result in enemy variety feeling a bit stale. Fortunately the campaign doesn't overstay it's welcome but I'm not going to lie, I missed Space Orks. Maybe we will get lucky with a DLC?
I did enjoy the PVE content. Matchmaking does kinda suck though. On one hand it's nice to have matchmaking happen while you wait in the Battle Barge. Which I do really like as a hub. On the other hand, the game does a poor job of communicating matchmaking status and the time it takes to get matched varies significantly. Once you get in though, the game is quite fun. Still incorporating set pieces and it was genuinely clever to have these scenarios run parallel with the main campaign. The AI companions are brain dead though... which is a bummer because of the co-op focus of the game. I do plan to re-play all content at some point with a buddy. It was still enjoyable solo, but the PVE content feels best with players. I had fun with random people I queued with, just annoying how finicky matchmaking itself is.
The co-op is firmly what this game is about and I do like the variety of classes for the PVE scenarios. The Vanguard in particular is a blast featuring a grappling hook. When paired with the Melta Rifle makes you a total wrecking ball. Certainly a lot to play around with, but I don't like how grindy the game is. You need to play through the scenarios an egregious amount of times to max out a class... I don't like this CoD endorphin manipulating gameplay loops. But to each their own. Still enjoyable even if you don't plan to max out a character and fully explore the multiplayer.
Overall performance was good, though I had the game crash/freeze multiple times while trying to close the game. Which honestly isn't an issue since I was done playing anyways.
If you like 3rd person action games or shooters this is an easy recommend. You don't need to like Warhammer to appreciate it, but if you like Warhammer this will definitely be a game you will enjoy. Curious what they will release with DLC and future content patches.
