“My pledge is eternal service.” – Demetrian Titus

“Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II” is a blast and sure to be regarded as a classic for both long-dedicated fans and newcomers alike .

“Space Marine II” is the long-awaited sequel to the 2011 original “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.” This game is a third-person shooter hack-n-slash, similar to the first game. The “Warhammer” series has been going on for over 40 years, originating from the initial tabletop game in 1983. Since then, dozens of games have been released for this franchise, with “Space Marine II” being the most recent addition. The game offers three modes of play, all branching from the central story mode.

Campaign
Right from the jump, you are taken straight into the action where you learn the basics of combat, including the new parry system, which brings an extremely satisfying loop of destruction into the battlefield sporting sleek and smooth controls. “Space Marine II” features an addictive combat cycle, where you are motivated to play aggressively through parries and educations, which refreshes armor as you battle. The game’s combat is built around a “push forward” system derived from id Software’s “DOOM” (2016), where pushing through combat encounters of high aggression rewards you with the health to keep going. You are constantly moving from enemy to enemy, cutting through the hordes or charging at Tyranid Warriors to get that armor refresh from a well-timed execution.

Throughout the story, you play as Demetrian Titus, an Ultramarine who longtime fans will recognize as the first game’s protagonist. He is a great lead with a clearly troublesome past, allowing players to experience the vast and lore-dense “Space Marine” universe through his jaded perspective. His two subordinates, Gadriel and Chairon, fight with us as the story progresses, each offering interesting arcs and experiences to the campaign. If other online players join you on your journey, they take control of either of these two alongside Titus. The story is straightforward and admittedly serves as a great entry point for newcomers into the series. This was my first journey into this universe and I was never confused or lost in the narrative or the alien swarms.

The best comparison I can make for “Space Marine II” is a beautiful cross between the newer “DOOM” releases and the even newer “Helldivers 2.” Throughout the roughly 10-hour campaign consisting of six missions, players will fight seemingly endless waves of alien enemies to the point where it’s technologically impressive, and yet through it all Saber Interactive maintains the ability to keep those encounters engaging. The weapons sound and look great, each providing a different purpose on the battlefield. Players are given a lot of different options to choose from between guns and melee weapons, offering opportunities to experiment and find the combination that best suits their playstyle. The studio’s latest combat additions keep players engaged, requiring them to constantly plan their next move with parries, educations, satisfying quick-shot counters and destructive enemy interceptions.

The hordes have never looked better, as the “Swarm Engine” which powers the game, enables high memory management and simulates hive-like behavior for the game’s various enemies. You can learn more about this fascinating technologyfrom “Space Marine II” creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick. Overall, the campaign was great, although you are more likely to remember the impressive set pieces and beautiful scenery more than the individual story elements themselves. In my opinion, the game really shines in its co-op Operations.

Operations

Operations are by far the most fun I’ve had in my 25 hours with “Space Marine II.” Each of the six missions currently available in this mode coincide with the campaign’s and take place  in separate parts of the planets. They all offer a ton of replayability and reasons to grind through, and they are best experienced with friends or other players. The campaign also allows for co-op, but not nearly to this degree, as operations allow for full customization of your character. This ranges from your armor, loadouts and most importantly–your class. In both Operations and Eternal War (The PvP mode), you are given the choice to play between six unique classes, all with distinct weapons, abilities and functions for your 3-player team. This is where most players will spend the bulk of their time, grinding each class and earning new perks and skills to make their own ideal Space Marine.

Leveling up each class can take some time to max out, but this is to the game’s benefit. It keeps engaged, making your playtime meaningful–there is always a goal in mind as you battle on. Without a convoluted battle pass like most games in this genre, the grind is something free and fun that can keep players coming back for hundreds of hours. This system provides a very strong sense of progression along with new customization options as you continue play. These features help live-service games like this one maintain a healthy player base as time goes on. The missions in Operations are a randomized each time, featuring you play them, with different enemy encounters, spawns, pickups and difficulties to try. This is the best way to experience “Space Marine II’s” combat. With the planned future additions and expanded content, it has potential to keep this as a live-service experience, that millions of players will be enjoying for years to come.

Eternal War

Finally, Eternal War is “Space Marine II’s” 6v6 PvP mode that offers its own unique experiences. Eternal War feels very reminiscent of the Xbox 360 era of multiplayer shooters, that is to say, it is plain and simple dumb fun. Currently, it does not feel fully balanced, as certain classes offer much greater advantages over others, but there is still a lot of fun to be had here. There are currently three game modes: Annihilation (Team Deathmatch), Seize Ground (Domination), and Capture & Control (King of the Hill). Nothing here is something you haven’t played before, and it is all relatively simple, but that is not to the game’s detriment.

The classes from Operations are here too, and you’re able to customize and pick what class suits you best while battling other players.

Eternal War is a fun mode that is a nice change of pace from the other two, which I am sure a lot of players will enjoy. I think that with further content and additions to this mode, there is potential for a lot of growth and improvement. In its current state, however, it is still a great addition to the overall package.

“Space Marine II” was a breath of fresh air to play through and a game I strongly recommend to fans of this genre. Besides some slight performance issues and bugs I experienced on PC, I really enjoyed my time in this universe, and I am excited to hop back into it. You should definitely play “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II.”

“Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II” is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam & the Epic Games Store.