Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (2024)

I want to like this game more than I do, but similar to the first game, I felt like something was off about the combat. Now compared to the first game which I could only get like 45 minutes through, this was definitely better, I completed the campaign and tried out the PVP multiplayer a little bit. I ended up not trying any of the extra PVE content.

To start with the good, the spectacle of everything going on and some of the environmetns and areas was pretty cool, was really enjoyable experiencing those moments. The comabt was hit or miss with it feeling right or not, but when it hit, you really did feel like a badass, especially with the really cool and pretty large amount of glory kills.

The story was very ehhhhhh. I watched a summary afterwards, but I feel like there should have been a bit more explanation for someone not caught up with the 40k universe.

Now for the main part of the game, the combat. The shooting felt pretty decent, but a lot of the guns felt samey and looked pretty boring. I also think it fell into the issue where nothing had much impact, shooting the small mobs didn't feel that good because they auto die and felt basically fake, and shooting the big mobs didn't feel great because they were bullet sponges. That then goes to the melee combat, which just felt really off. The parry mechanic felt very weird and didn't feel super enjoyable in the fights where it was tons of minions everywhere, it honestly felt the best during the couple of boss fights that were in the game. The melee overall felt pretty clunky, I did like the lightning hammer that was given in the very last fight.

Those combat gripes are why I ended up not doing any of the extra PVE missions, I felt like nothing about the comabt except for the cool glory kills was actually that fun or impactful.

Overall, I think this was a fine game, and if the third one ends up on Gamepass as well, I'll try it out, but nothing super special to me. High 6/10.

Dipped my toes in Space Marine 2. I can see how it could get repetitive but the world is brand new to me. I'm enjoying it so far but I feel the itch to try other things like Avowed and/or Silent Hill 2. I'm so fickle.

I don't know much about this universe, but the idea of us proceeding down a single-minded track of absolute warfare is a scary one. I have a lot of questions. War is religion, religion is war - it's made very clear from the outset that this is what's going on. How does a society survive and maintain cohesion? What does culture look like, or is it entirely married to war? What's the system of governance? Sounds like a warfare church hierarchy of sorts. Pretty cool. I'll probably watch some lore videos tonight as I try to fall asleep.

Might hold off on this one until my friend picks it up, if he does.

So far, this game has met all my expectations and then some. I may write up a more detailed review once I've spent more time in all of the game modes (I've been sinking all my time into the campaign / PvE and haven't tried the PvP mode yet) but for now my initial impressions are very positive.

The story for the campaign has been pretty enjoyable, and the missions have all been fun to play through. The set pieces and map design are phenomenal, and there have been a few times where I honestly felt surprised that it was possible for my PC to properly display everything that was on screen.

The handling of your character is spot on. It's clear that a ton of time and attention was put into hammering home that "space marine" feel. Everything from moving and shooting to the handling of the jump pack aligns perfectly with what you'd expect from an eight+ foot tall slab of muscle wearing a giant suit of power armor.

And yet, as much as I can gush about the set building and the immersive controls, it still pales in comparison to the actual combat itself. All the different weapons and abilities are a blast to use, and the game lets you blend them together seamlessly. Transitioning between shooting and melee feels buttery smooth and flows like nothing I've played since Doom Eternal with its glory kills. Sometimes there are even more cinematic "on-rails" experiences that happen mid-fight. The parry system feels like its was pulled right out of arkham, and you have moves (such as a charged melee with a powersword, or a perfectly timed dodge) that allow you to follow up with a bolter shot that locks onto the target and has an AoE effect. The game flows beautifully, and I can't get enough of it. Being swarmed by tyranids, cutting waves of them down with a heavy bolter until they close in and then hacking away with a chainsword, blasting into the air with a jump pack once the swarm gets too thick and coming crashing down onto a group of termagaunts that were harassing you with gunfire, then blasting away with a plasma pistol at the nearby tyranid warrior that is rushing to attack you with a bonesword...it's an incredible loop with a deceptive amount of difficulty on harder settings. It still hasn't gotten boring, and I honestly wonder if it ever will. That's not even mentioning the bigger, badder Tyranid monsters which I'll refrain from discussing due to potential spoilers.

I have a few issues, but most of them boil down to either me not being adjusted to the controls or to the AI allies in the campaign being a bit awkward at times. Really nothing major.

TL;DR: Play Space Marine 2.