Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 is set to be released on September 9th of this month with reviews already out for it from various journalists and reviewers on youtube. They all echo the same words of praise and awe at its graphics, the swarm mechanics of the tyranids and most of all the amazing gameplay.
This sequel is developed by Saber Interactive, they had previous;y developed and maintained World War Z for 3 years from 2019 and 2021, Snowrunner and many more titles. Saber Interactive consists of a seasoned band of developers and they have definitely shown their mastery in making this game.
Do I Need To Inhale 900 Petabytes Of Warhammer Lore?
No, the story, although a little short, is clear enough to follow to know what is going on with our main protagonist Titus and the tension that is apparent about his presence as a space marine. What should be done is to know what happened in the first game, as this is a direct sequel.
Of course it would be difficult for any potential player to come out of this experience and not even be slightly interested in the world of Warhammer 40k. What the game gets right here is introducing the player to what an ‘Ultramarine’ is, they are essentially walking tanks, having combat prowess well above any human and can take on entire hordes by themselves.
The Feel Of A Power Fantasy
Now to make the player FEEL like an ultramarine is the tricky bit, the game does from the get-go make players play on the hard difficulty setting, stating it as the intended way to play the game.
You are expected to earn your power fantasy, you have to fight through some hordes in each mission to finally get to a big minigun or something that lets you mow the hordes down, you have to beware of enemies that dodge your strikes or use snipers on you, you have complete mini objectives as these swarms surround you.
There are the usual mechanics of you must dodge some attacks and you can parry or dodge others, there is a trend here with parrying, more and more games have come out since Sekiro to take a second look at the mechanics of parrying, look at Stellar Blade, Thymesia and most recently Another Crab’s Treasure.
In this game, the parrying feels so rewarding and satisfying due to the level of brutality that gets inflicted on the tyranid that dared, Titus rips their arms or bodies apart and throws them to the ground to stomp them, which reward the player with health and armor.
The Gorgeous Graphics And Masterful Sound Design
There is no doubt about how good this game sounds, that really makes you feel every step that you and all the ultramarines around you take, the sounds of bullets hitting the tyranids and the sounds of them being ripped apart, every frag exploding every sound of hitting them with the chainsaw swords or hammers just immerses the player more and more.
The game also looks gorgeous, the incredible lighting and detail as you start of as a blue armored, almost shiny ultramarine but at the end of the mission, the armor is covered in blood of your fellow soldiers and tyranids, the gleam of the mud in the daylight and gleam of the bloody floors under artificial light look absolutely amazing.
The lush greenery that is present in some planets look so photorealistic, the metal pylons that serve as mini checkpoints, open up to large open areas where you have to defend against the hordes look so battleworn with soldiers helping their wounded, bloodstains of bodies that are being dragged back, bullet shells littering all around you as you walk to your objective.
In Short, Buy The Game
It is clear that Saber Interactive have poured their heart out in this game, for example there are logs stating that some soldiers who deserted their forces are set to be executed and sure enough as you walk by there is a firing squad readying themselves to execute them, there are logs stating that a recent ultramarine had died and sure enough at a checkpoint you can see a memorial ready, with other soldiers and ultramarines talking about his legacy.
This game has its flaws, for example the campaign is a little bit short, that’s the end of the shortcomings, for the positives re-read the entire article. The game also has multiplayer support meaning you can play with your friends in completing specialized missions or campaign missions with Saber Interactive working on a new game plus mode.
