I am not a big Warhammer person. I’ve read an omnibus about Caiphas Cain and listened to a friend explain some lore for about an hour, so I’m not really informed. When this game dropped, people were singing its praises for how “Xbox 260 era” it felt and that it was a generally fun time. I waited until now to try it, just in case those opinions influenced me (also I have a massive backlog so) and I am glad to say they weren’t wrong.

I do want to say that the environmental art in this game is incredible. The gothic architecture in cities, biomechanical ship interiors and alien plant life in the jungles were all wondrous. Every place felt unique, yet familiar enough that everything flowed together. I had a couple visual glitches, but overall the game was just a beauty to behold.

The story of this game follows the events of the first (which I didn’t play) and stars Titus. He’s a disgraced soldier that’s being given a second chance, which is uncommon in the Imperium. Titus is assigned a squad consisting of Chairon and Gadriel, two relatively close soldiers with their own service records. There’s some initial tension as it seems Gadriel was next up to become lieutenant before Titus took the role from him. This isn’t the only tension the squad has, but it adds a needed layer of complexity to their dynamic. Serving in the Imperium leaves no room for questions or insubordination. You do your duty and that’s it. Chairon is a good soldier, so he holds his tongue until his new lieutenant steps out of line. Despite the tension, they work well together. The three are sent on missions of varying importance including rescuing an important scientist, defending anti-aircraft weapons and disabling an artifact that a cult is trying to use to summon a demonic entity that they plan on using to decimate a planet and rule the stars. It’s a wild ride. The plot here is similar in vein to older fps games in that it’s fairly simplistic on the surface. Your commander gives you a mission and you accomplish it. It’s simple and keeps the focus on the moment-to-moment gameplay.

As a shooter, this game rules. You’ll be mowing through hordes of aliens called Tyranids for most of the game, but there are a few human/ robot enemies in the latter half. There’s many different weapon drops in each location and each gun has its own use cases. In some spots you may use a laser rifle to snipe enemies from afar or a minigun to mow through the hordes. Most of it depends on your preference though and it allows you to choose the weapon you prefer. Every gun I used felt great, especially the melta which is essentially a molten shotgun. On top of the main weapons, you have a couple pistols and grenade types (which are fine) but the melee options are what make the “Space Marine” what they are. I mostly used the chainsword as the other options, excluding the hammer, felt relatively the same. You have a standard attack, coupled with a charged, heavy attack to allow for complete decimation of your enemies. There’s also a parry system interwoven here that helps tremendously with specific enemy types. The window for parries is generous yet effectively satisfying. Parrying or shooting an enemy can put them in a stagger state, which allows for execution. These aren’t just for aesthetics or to feed into the power fantasy (which this definitely is), they allow you to recover health. Otherwise there are combat stims, but they’re few and far between. I found that this parry and melee system was a great go-to for most combat scenarios. The only time you really need to use guns is if there is a sniper or flying enemy giving you trouble. It does get a bit dicey if there is a large group of enemies rushing you as well, but if you pay attention and look for parries, you’ll be fine.

Enemy variety is something I think the story lacks somewhat. As I said, most of the time you’re fighting Tyranids, which are relatively mindless. There are a couple variations, but you’ll only need to parry a couple attacks to combat them. It equates to a mindless gunslinging/ swordswinging campaign that is still a good amount of fun. A couple more different enemies that require unique takedown methods would have bolstered the experience quite a bit. I still had a good time with it however.

One side of the gameplay that bothered me a bit was the traversal. There were a lot of button presses, elevator rides and moving obstructions that all required the holding of a button. It helped pace levels a bit, but there was a seriously insane amount of it. It’s a small nitpick, but I felt that I needed to mention it.

Characters are deeper that I thought they’d be for a soldier-focused shooter. Titus has been through a lot and is generally distrustful, but still overall a loyal marine. Chairon is the epitome of a “drank the koolaid” military man and is always looking to prove himself. Gadriel had a hard life growing up and still harbors some hatred for a specific cult because of it. Each man’s trauma comes to the forefront at certain moments of the story and seeing a bit into their histories made me feel some sympathy for their situations. As soldiers, they don’t break down and cry or anything, but you can feel the gravity of their pasts in an authentic way. I liked the dynamic these guys had, but the breaking point of Titus finally telling his squad the truth about his past was way too late. I get that he’s supposed to be distrusting, but after everything they went through and the looming threat, I was frustrated that he wouldn’t tell them anything. What he knew would provide much needed context to his squad, but he held off until the last moment. Other than this, I think the story and characters were written well enough. I was intrigued to the point of finishing the game, and that’s all I really needed!

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a power fantasy. You get to be an all powerful Space Marine and shred through the enemies of the Imperium and make the stars safer for all humankind. Though the story was basic overall, the moment-to-moment gameplay kept me invested until the end. Ripping Tyranids and traitors to pieces was a lot of fun. The guns and melee gameplay were satisfying and marching through the various war zones as a powerful Space Marine was a satisfying power fantasy. Enemy variety was lacking but the core systems, and a serviceable storyline, kept me playing until the end. Titus is a character I came to understand and even like. Warhammer is a dark universe and the need for soldiers will never cease, but I hope that man finds rest one day. For the glory of the Emperor!