Titus is back. The unyielding Ultramarine captain from the original Space Marine was a huge part of its success, and now, despite things looking less-than-positive for him at the end of the last game he’s returned. In the interim he’s clearly been through a few trials. He’s been demoted to lieutenant, he’s now a Primaris – an even bigger, stronger and taller breed of Space Marine – and he’s now well over 200 years old. He’s still, however, just as firm and fearless as before.
After Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide it already feels as though we’re in a Warhammer 40,000: Golden Age. And now there’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 coming along with the potential to be the mainstream hit that can stretch even further beyond its tabletop roots. We were lucky enough to go hands-on with an early portion of the game at Gamescom, and if you were a fan of the original it’s safe to say that you’re going to be well served by its sequel.
As you make landfall on an Imperial planet, you’re met by Major Sarkaana of the Cadian Guard who tells you of the punishing situation they’re suffering. They’re beset by the Tyranid, an extra-galactic race of vicious chitinous beasts arriving in vast swarms to try and consume the nougat-y goodness of our Milky Way. This finds Space Marine 2 matching the narrative of the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000, a fact that’ll no doubt please fans of Games Workshops’ real-life tabletop game, which is currently ramping up the stakes surrounding the arrival of Hive Fleet Leviathan.
The first thing that strikes you coming from the original game – I’ve recently replayed it on Steam Deck – is how lush and green this jungle environment is. It’s teaming with life, though a large part of it wants to slice you to ribbons so it’s not all a sightseeing trip. The jump in generations has meant a huge increase in detail, texture and colour – Space Marine shipped on the 360 and PS3 and was resolutely brown and grey – and it’s really a feast for the eyes. Well, so long as you like alien viscera splattering around the place.
Combat in Space Marine 2 is unapologetically gritty, focussing on the risk and reward of executions to renew your ability bank. Blood flies out of everywhere, which is little surprise when the Space Marines are packing swords with chainsaws built in and boltguns with ammo the size of your fist. There’s a cool parry move to utilise, and you have to mix up your approaches as you deal with ever-larger Tyranid enemies. They behave as you’d expect, like a flood of alien locusts that swarm towards you, intent on turning you to mulch. Better you do it to them first, then!
There’s a frantic fight to hold back the swarm as you try to get a pair of heavy gates open, with wave upon wave coming to you. The chitinous throng climb and clamber on top of one another as they attempt to reach the top of your installation, with shades of zombie-actioners like World War Z – this game is built on an enhanced WWZ engine, after all. The mindless hordes here are just as terrifying. There’s some great drama as the great doors slowly open, and once you’re through there’s a few remaining moments of frantic stand off as they try to follow you in.
After wading through the facility you locate Captain Iden, and you set about recapturing the orbital gun controls that you’ve lost. The other Space Marines certainly look down on the human soldiers, both in terms of their imposing stature and in repeatedly stating that they’re cowards, but Titus shows his balance and leadership by standing up for the Imperial Guard’s efforts throughout. While Titues is longer voiced by superstar Mark Strong, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference with Clive Standen’s take on the character, and there’s still that paternalism and fraternity to Titus that sets him apart from his fellow Space Marines. After the events of the first game, you have to hope that he doesn’t set himself too far apart.
The only slight question mark about Space Marine 2 is how far its truly come from its predecessor. I love the 40K world, and here it looks as good as it ever has, but 12 years is a long time in video games and the original’s ‘Gears of War without cover’ gameplay may not be what everyone’s looking for in 2023. That said, the brutal, brusque world of Space Marine 2 is as evocative as ever, the gameplay retains the heft of the original, and frankly, who needs modernity when you’re pirouetting a chainsword through hordes of foul alien creatures?
