Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 Review- Doom, but in 3rd person... without Mick Gordon

Okay so I may have exaggerated a tiny bit with my title, but I think the comparison is not entirely without merit. A lot of the moment-to moment gameplay is more-than-slightly similar between the two: fast paced and unrelenting combat, glory kills to refill health and armor, and an extensive array of over-the-top weaponry are all common elements between these two games.

This game appeared on the forefront of public attention in a rather unexpected way (at least for me). Coming off the back of something like Helldivers 2, which presents a similar human vs bug dynamic, I was surprised to see people still had enough enthusiasm for an over-the-top 3rd person shooter game with co-op elements.

While we're on the topic of spectacle, that is absolutely the focal point of this game. It impresses with sheer scale, disturbing enemy numbers and fantastic attention to detail. Every single surface is wonderfully detailed even upon close inspection and this makes for a very photogenic game.

The gameplay is not lacking either, with a potent array of weaponry of varied types and efficiencies. I think it's a bit more of a melee game with guns than a gun game with melee abilities, as most enemy hordes are too large to mow down with the usual assault rifle-type weapon and thus a melee-based approach is preferable.

This was my first real contact with the 40k universe and I can see why people like it, though I cannot quite bring myself to take it very very seriously as some of the names and designs are very over the top. ( some examples could be the Machine Spirit, the Adeptus Mechanicus and Ultra Marines, which unfortunately sound very ironic to my brain)

Story

This game's focal point is definitely not the story, though it's not overtly lacking in this regard. I enjoyed the ride in the roughly 10h runtime, and I feel that overall it's just about short enough to not overstay its welcome. It does occasionally feel like the they could do more with the building blocks they have at their disposal, as I feel no major plot point uses the reincarnation of Titus via the body rebuilding operation he had, nor does the game truly explore the potential corruption arc that our protagonist could have undertaken.

I feel like the game would have benefited greatly from a little bit of nuance to the "loyalty is everything" mentality, although I am certain they plan to use that in the surely-upcoming Space marine 3. As things stand, it's just enough of a story to keep you hooked in, in order to deliver more fantastic visual spectacle.

Gameplay

I can only speak to the strengths and weaknesses of the single player campaign, as that's the only game mode I played. I feel that the gameplay loop is very engaging considering its simplicity in both enemy types and archetypes. I cannot say I had any different approaches towards enemy encounters as the game went on, which is perhaps a negative, but it somehow never felt tedious.

You don't really have to sit and think and approach different enemies in different ways (at least on normal), and most of the time, your weapon is unimportant as well (you can successfully overcome any enemy encounter with all weapons). As with the story, I am impressed that the game did not overstay its welcome (as many others do nowadays).

Conclusion

I generally have warm feelings towards this game, but I cannot say it will stick in my memory through anything else other than graphical fidelity and design. It's a BADASS game, and it excels at that. However, there is not much cultural substrate beneath the shiny metal-plated exterior.