Review of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Eternal War

The pedigree of Space Marine 2 is interesting. On the one hand, we have the original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine from 2011 from Canadian developers Relic Entertainment. At the time, it usually got seven points in reviews, but I still remember its unique, harsh atmosphere and strong storytelling. On the other hand, we have the authors of this year’s sequel, American developers from the Saber Interactive studio, whose portfolio includes the most relevant game for this case, World War Z, which, in addition to 15 million players and impressive graphics, is characterized primarily by the unique technology of an avalanche of hundreds of enemies on the screen, which they used for the Space Marines, including the accompanying mechanics.

• Platform: PS5 (review) XSX|S, PC
• Release date: 09.09.2024 (EA 9/5)
• Manufacturer: Sabre Interactive (USA)
• Genre: Third person action
• Czech localization: yes (subtitles)
• Multiplayer: Yes
• Data for download: 54 GB
• Play time: 15+ hours
• Price: 1799 crowns (Alsa)

The Dark Future of Endless War

Following the events of the last game (and the Inquisition’s investigation into his mysterious resistance to the forces of Chaos), genetically enhanced Space Marine Demetrian Titus has been serving with the Death Watch for nearly a century when he is sent into the jungle covered planet of Kadaku, which has been attacked by deadly Tyranid insectoid monsters. The mission fails almost immediately, but Titus still manages to release a virus bomb into the atmosphere before he himself is killed. He is subsequently brought back to life as an even more powerful Primaris Marine aboard a ship called the Resilient, from where he is sent with a new squad of soldiers back to the planet’s surface, as it contains, among other things, top-secret research code-named “Project Aurora”.

Titus returns to life as an even more powerful Primaris Marine.

The story has a great dark atmosphere and cinematic presentation, stylishly written dialogue and convincingly dark acting. But the plot itself was a bit of a letdown for me. Although it swaps the Orcs for Tyranids, it’s otherwise too similar to the previous game: Titus once again arouses suspicion in everyone around him with his continued resistance to the forces of Chaos, which, like in the last game, puts him right in the middle of the most important action, but don’t expect a satisfying explanation of where his unique abilities come from. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the story unfolds in an epic manner, and especially the final battles are truly epic. The Czech localization (in the form of subtitles) is good, but some things in Czech just don’t sound as rough or “cool” as in English.

Avalanche of enemies, explosions and blood

Aside from the very honest and at the same time unique atmosphere of the Warhammer 40K universe, the game will primarily interest you with its quest, which is truly extraordinary. From deadly alien jungle wastelands to absurdly gigantic factory complexes and gothic metropolises, the creators perfectly know how to offer stunning views of the surrounding landscape. At the same time, thanks to the technology from WWZ, these views are flooded with literally hundreds of enemies that roll across the landscape in a giant avalanche, and every time you see them, it seems like there is simply no way to stop it. An absurd amount of blood splatter and explosions flood the screen after impact. Moreover, all this is drowned in a suitably dirty and cold color palette, emphasizing the overall gloom of this world. Both the sound and music further enhance this gloom.

An honest and at the same time unique atmosphere of the Warhammer 40K universe.

The game offers two graphics modes on the console: quality at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second, or performance at 1080p and 60 frames per second. I spent most of the game in performance mode, and I’m happy to report that the game remained smooth for most of the time. If it did stutter for a while, it was less during the frantic mob battles and more during the transitions between some of the more complex in-game cinematics – and even then, it was pretty rare. Otherwise, I didn’t encounter any technical issues. I’m just a little sad that the developers didn’t manage to keep the transitions between individual playthroughs smoother, as all the blackouts take away a bit from the atmosphere of your heroes’ continuous journey.

Your craft is death

Not only in its graphics, but also in its gameplay, Space Marine 2 can easily remind you of the Gears of War series. First of all, this is caused by the rather cumbersome movement of your marine in an absurdly massive metal armor, but also, perhaps, by the presence of a motor sword, with which you can properly cut through the flow of enemies at close range. Although there is “no” mechanism for covering behind obstacles, in practice there will be moments when you will have to at least look for cover of your position in relation to the enemy, for example under fire from an enemy sniper or in front of some enemy attacks from massive bosses. These moments can be a little frustrating, since the game is noticeably at its best when you hold your weapon in the middle of a mass of enemies, like a meat grinder.

The rather clumsy movement of your marine in his ridiculously bulky metal armor.

Although most of the gameplay is spent on intense action, the quiet moments when exploring the location should be used wisely, because there are not so many ammo and first aid kits. It is also worth checking the weapon rack, because for the next playthrough, the designers will usually offer you more “suitable” equipment. As for health and armor, both can be replenished to some extent directly in combat, but for this you need to use well-timed special attacks. This is not always easy, because sometimes the chaos on the screen with hundreds of enemies is too wild, and when combined with the somewhat clumsy movements of your armor, you cannot achieve the mechanical precision that the game may require. This frustrated me not only in some wild fights with a bunch of enemies, but also in some bosses, who moved and attacked noticeably faster than my marine could handle.

Your work is not finished

The story campaign offers 6 missions and about 10 hours of fun (this also depends on the difficulty level), seasoned with impressive cinematic scenes and supported by the ability to play from one to three players (the lack of players can be replaced by quite convenient bots), including cross-play support on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms. The movie clips really deserve to be highlighted and praised, some of them are pre-rendered, and their content and processing can remind you of the famous films from the final act of Diablo 4. After completing the campaign, you have the opportunity to go to the so-called operations, which are additional PVE missions, nicely connected to the main storyline of the campaign – here you play as other units performing different missions during the same campaign as in the main campaign. In addition, there is also a PVP mode “Eternal War”, in which 12 players can fight each other (6 vs 6) in a classic deathmatch or in two options for capturing territory.

After completing the campaign, you have the option to move on to Operations or Eternal War.

In the story campaign, your character’s stats and equipment are almost the same, or Depending on what you encounter directly on the battlefield, for Operations and Eternal Warfare, you can already start improving and “pumping up” your own marine. You can choose from six combat classes, from a close combat specialist to a sniper. Each class has access to different equipment (some weapons are common), unique perks that you gradually unlock, as well as stronger weapon options or a variety of cosmetic modifications to your armor and equipment. For higher-difficulty operations, it is highly recommended to use higher-level characters. It is clear that the publisher promises a longer life from this side of the game, as it has already announced future additions of new missions and modes. It will be interesting to see how the game behaves in this regard in the long term, although I am a little concerned that it is not as rich in mechanics and precise as, say, Helldivers 2.