Space Marine 2 review (PC)
To say the Space Marine 2 Warhammer 40,000 universe and its lore is large and complex would be a massive understatement.
It is a world created by Games Workshop in the late 1980s, I believe, as originally a tabletop game that – in its most simplistic – pits a plethora of human and alien factions against each other as they battle for supremacy across the galaxy.
I am pleased to report, however, that you don’t need a PhD in the lore of Warhammer 40,000 to enjoy Space Marine 2.
The Warhammer canon is one steeped in extreme religious overtones, with gothic architecture rising from cathedral like buildings, hundreds of candles burning in alcoves and corridors, bible verses pinned to the armour of the genetically enhanced ultra marines – and heretics put to the (chain) sword.
For a newcomer it’s a lot to take in.
Set around 200 years after Relic Entertainment’s Space Marine (which came out in 2011), disgraced ultramarine Demetrian Titus returns but has been demoted to a lieutenant. Together with ultramarine Chairon and Gadriel – who has suspicions about Titus’ questionable past – having to battle the invading alien tyranids to save a galaxy in turmoil. For the uninitiated in the lore, Ultra Marines are giants of men. Titus, for example, is said to be 175 years old and stands at around 7.1 feet tall.
Space Marine 2 has strong Gears of War and Doom vibes about it with combat that is a fluid mix of melee combat and ranged gunplay. Combat encounters feel weighty and solid, and they’re satisfyingly brutal, with Titus able to switch effortlessly between a sword and gun to dispose of the marauding tyranids, leaving a bloody trail (literally) in his wake, splattering his blue power armour with blood and alien guts.
Titus is protected by his ultramarine armour but take too much damage and his protection will drop, leaving Titus vulnerable to incoming attacks. I found the best form of defence is to get stuck into battle and execute enemies, which helps replenish the armour and health bars.
One of the best ways to do that is to successfully parry incoming attacks (they’re telegraphed by a blue marker just before an enemy pounces) that will instantly kill smaller enemies. Cause enough damage to tougher enemies and Titus will be able to perform an execution where he will skewer tyranids with their own limbs or rip the heads off chaos marines. The bodies of slain enemies quickly pile up as does the blood.
You’re not alone Marine
I played the single player campaign solo with bots controlling Chairon and Gadriel and they did a great job of supporting me during combat, even to the point of taking down enemies once they had been staggered before I could get to them and reviving me when I had been downed. I can see this being a great one for co-op play with two friends.
The sense of scale and attention to detail in Space Marine 2 is breathtaking, too. Often, you would walk through a door and in the distance you’d see sprawling buildings stretch into the distance, often punctuated by battles taking place, while swarms of tyranids swooped through the skies, circling your position. The detail is impressive, too, with allies dropping to their knees and bowing as the ultramarines stride past and troop briefings taking place while soldier torch the remain of the tyranid invaders, piled high in the strong holds.
Space Marine 2 doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to mission types but the game is punctuated by memorable moments including one mission where Titus and his colleagues having to hold off a wave of tyranids in a blackened room in an underground station until power is restored and another during a jet-pack planetary drop near the end of the game where you have to negotiate between the wrecked hulks of space craft. It is just breathtaking at times.
I was captivated by Space Marine 2 from the start until the credits rolled and if I had any criticisms it would be too many “hold position A until thing B happens” or “protect this thing until this other thing gets sorted” missions for my liking, typically involving tyranids attacking vital pieces of equipment that are being used at the time.
PC Performance given the scale, blood and guts?
How did it run on my PC, though, given I’m still running an old generation AMD RX580 GPU? It ran pretty damn well, actually, and I was realistic with my graphical expectations, setting things to a mix of low to medium settings, hoping to get a consistent frame rate. I think I succeeded with the game seeming to sit consistently around the high 40s, peaking into the mid-50s. Remember, this is an 8Gb GPU that came out in 2017 and it can still play a new release game at a pleasing frame rate (well, for me).
I noticed the odd stutter from time to time but given how much was going during the midst of combat that was to be expected given the age of my GPU. The game is also very CPU intensive on PC, too, so keep that in mind.
Graphically, too, it looked very nice, with the ultra marines highly detailed and suitably chunky in their power armour. The game offers performance and quality modes, as well as a balanced mode, and the more powerful your graphics card, the nicer it will look. Apologies for playing state the obvious.
If I had one piece of advice when installing Space Marine 2 on your PC, it would be this: Install it on a solid-state drive (SSD) not a mechanical drive.
I originally installed it on a mechanical drive (thinking it had more free space than my SSD did) and I did not have a good time: The game continually froze during the opening cut scene, black screened constantly and generally wasn’t a fun experience. An SSD is definitely the way to go, especially given how much action the games has.
As someone who isn’t invested in the Warhammer universe, Space Marine 2 was one of the most engaging games I’ve played all year with a narrative that captured my attention from start to finish, top-notch voice work for all the key players (actor Mark Strong hasn’t reprised his role as Titus but Vikings actor Clive Standen does an excellent job) and combat that makes it a bloody good time, literally.
For the Emperor!
