Space Marine 2: A First Look at Warhammer 40k's Brutal Return

Warhammer 40,000 has spread far and wide from its humble tabletop origins, and now the fantasy of being a Space Marine, an Adeptus Astartes, feels as attainable as becoming Batman or a Jedi Knight. Space Marine 2 brings us closer to this fantasy than any game before it, offering moments of pure 40K nirvana. Whether you're mowing down hordes of Tyranids with a heavy bolter or carving a path through them with a chainsword, you'll feel the power of a superhuman warrior.

While the controls can feel clunky at times, particularly with a controller, that's to be expected when you're playing as an eight-foot-tall, ceramite-clad juggernaut. I had access to an early section of the campaign, which sees Clive Standen, known for his role as Rollo in "Vikings", returning as Captain Titus from the first game. He's immediately thrown into a complex situation with his new squadmates due to his past actions. Despite their initial reservations, they soon put aside their differences to face the Tyranid hive fleet threatening the gothic spires of the Imperial world Avarax.

What immediately struck me was the level of detail and animation on display. From the humble Cadians whispering prayers as the Emperor's Angels approach to the intricate gilded details on the architecture, the game immerses you in the Warhammer 40,000 universe like never before. The graphics are stunning, the chaotic soundscape is spot-on, and every inch of the environment is filled with small touches that will delight long-time fans.

Space Marine 2 also excels in capturing the experience of playing as one of the Emperor's Finest. Titus and his comrades' Primaris armour is rendered with impressive fidelity, showcasing moving parts that manage to feel both imposing and agile. The feeling of clearing obstacles with pure superhuman strength is exhilarating. Most of the weapons feel satisfying to use, from the classic bolter to the plasma gun that makes enemy armour seem trivial.

Unfortunately, the melee combat wasn't as convincing. While carving through gaunts with a chainsword is as exhilarating as it should be, the game's attempt to implement a "Sekiro"-esque system of telegraphed dodges and parries to counter enemy special attacks felt clunky. Perhaps six hours wasn't enough time to master the system, but the canned animations felt like they slowed down the close combat, breaking up the flow.

The same can be said for the "Doom 2016"-style finishing animations, which, while gloriously brutal, felt like interruptions rather than part of the action. Witnessing Titus rip a traitor marine's head off and discard it like trash is undeniably awe-inspiring, but the animations felt too long and locked the camera in place too much.

The main enemies in the missions I played were primarily Tyranids, although the forces of Chaos were certainly lurking in the shadows. The variety of chitinous foes is impressive, from hordes of gaunts that serve to showcase your power to slippery lictors requiring a more finesse to subdue. These enemies, like everything else in the game, look phenomenal, showcasing the complex model updates from the tabletop in all their creepy splendour.

The mode I spent the most time with, however, was the new three-player co-op, which seems to be where the heart of Space Marine 2 lies. There are tons of perks and weapon upgrades to unlock, and – much to my delight – character customisation includes the ability to unlock armour colours and liveries from dozens of Chapters, including my beloved Space Wolves and some more obscure ones. On top of this, you have six different classes to choose from, each with at least three primary weapons to level up, allowing for a huge amount of build diversity.

I personally had the most fun with the standard Tactical Marine, despite my initial disdain for Ultramarines. The Assault Marine can also be exciting, but as I didn't master the melee combat and found the jump pack fiddly to use, it ended up being the build I wanted to be good at but never quite achieved. The Heavy is also a blast when you can unload a heavy bolter and watch swarms evaporate, but they become less useful when they run out of ammo, which is less of an issue for other classes. I felt some levels could use some rebalancing in terms of ammo drops, especially when playing with a Heavy.

Since I was playing on a pre-release build, I was often paired with AI teammates. Unfortunately, they are not very good, even on the lowest difficulty. The Heavy Marine becomes less viable when you can't rely on your AI squadmates to protect you from melee threats. However, when I played with other humans, I had a great time, so this issue should be resolved once the servers are open. The more linear levels and slightly clunkier movement are a change from games like "Helldivers 2," but I could definitely see myself spending countless hours unlocking the cool visual and mechanical gear for my favourite classes.

Space Marine 2 has the potential to become the definitive third-person action game set in the 40K universe. It delivers exactly what it promises: an enormous, super-strong, nearly invincible battering ram of post-human destruction. You'll be able to unleash your fury on countless hordes of xenos across beautiful and detailed battle spaces that bring this universe to life like never before. Ideally, you'll have a couple of friends to join you. You can experience it for yourself on 9th September.