Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s Eternal War was always going to be a little out of place compared to the game’s stellar campaign and online co-op Operations. One of the major ways the game has evolved since THQ’s 2011 original is the emphasis on dynamic melee combat that rewards well-timed parries and dodges, all while gunning down waves of swarming enemies, but Eternal War is a mode with its heavily armoured foot stuck in the past.
Eternal War isn’t a score chase to see who can kill the most Tyranids: it’s a small spread of PvP modes that put two teams of six players in direct opposition, the God Emperor’s elite warriors going up against their Chaos-tainted brethren. Space Marine 2 offers a trio of game modes including Annihilation, Seize Ground, and Capture & Control. In Call of Duty speak, that’s Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint.
If you’ve spent hours Chainswording your way through Tyranids, Space Marine 2’s PvP gameplay will give you a bit of a shock. Despite being clad in Ceramite Power Armour, Space Marines are surprisingly squishy when caught in the crosshairs of their fellow superhuman soldiers and in those first few matches you’ll no doubt find yourself obliterated within seconds of entering a firefight. The TTK (time to kill) will feel jarring at first, though the more time you spend in Space Marine 2’s competitive multiplayer, the more it makes sense. It forces strategic play through cunning ambushes and tactical retreats, preventing teams from locking down areas of a map for too long.
Much like Operations mode, Eternal War offers six playable classes. Each has their own unique ability, weapon loadout, and armour stats with bulkier, less mobile Space Marine archetypes being tougher to kill. The abilities attached to each class aren’t quite as powerful or disruptive as ultimates are in Overwatch, but they can help turn the tables if used effectively while also giving each class their own distinct flavour. For example, the shield-wielding Bulwark can jab a Chapter Banner in the ground that restores the armour of nearby comrades, while the Assault class can unleash hell from above using their Jump Packs.
As you play Eternal War, you’ll level up and unlock new weapons, giving you more ways to play though – for the sake of balance – these don’t have a natural upper hand on the starter guns available. Additional customisation and appearance options are also unlocked over time, with some pretty gnarly armour sets up for grabs as well as an extensive palette of Chapter colour schemes.
Space Marine 2’s PvP completes a pretty stellar all-round package that, while not as flashy as the other modes, has kept us coming back match after match. There’s a tempo and simplicity, akin to multiplayer experiences like the original Gears of War and Halo, that meshes well with Eternal War’s class-based antics. However, a sparse handful of maps and cookie cutter game modes won’t be enough to keep players fixated for long – it’s a good thing that a batch of free Eternal War content is planned for season 3 in early 2025…
