Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is without question one of the finest co-op shooters we’ve played in the past decade. If teaming up with your friends to brutalise hordes of Tyranids sounds like your bag, then you’ll likely join us in our new obsession. From its grand vistas to the tiniest details, every inch of this sci-fi spectacle is charged with decades of masterful storytelling, doing everything it can to make you feel like the living embodiment of badassery. Admittedly, Warhammer 40,000 has always seemed like a step too far into the void for us ‘casual nerd’ types. Yet, despite our ignorance of the Imperium's vast lore, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is a must-play title for Xbox Series X|S gamers in 2024.
Now, as much as we’d love to discuss how well Saber Interactive ported Space Marine 2 to Xbox Series consoles, our hands-on time was with a PC beta build - and no, you can’t blame the Series S for this one. So, we’re going to have to save our thoughts on performance for our full review in September, but as for today, we’ll focus on how Space Marine 2 felt to play, the quality of its content, and our overall experience with its core gameplay loop - y’know, the fun stuff! In this beta, we got to sample one main campaign mission, as well as two co-operative operations, all of which are playable with friends in three-player co-op. Although these missions took us only a handful of hours to complete, we found ourselves spending more than twenty hours fully immersed in the game—and even still we’re driven by an urge to play more instead of writing any of this up.
For the first hour, we hulked around the streets of Avarax, a sprawling, fortress-like metropolis dominated by towering gothic architecture. Our mission, Voidsong, involved fighting our way through the war-torn city to reach the Astropathic Relay, a segment taken from somewhere near the midriff of Space Marine 2’s estimated 12-hour campaign. More than a century has passed since the events of 2011’s original Space Marine, but once again, we’re thrust into the adamantium boots of Demetrian Titus alongside his Ultramarine battle-brothers.
With a skyline darkened by the sheer number of flying Tyranid scum, we armed ourselves to the teeth with bolt rifles, meltaguns and plasma pistols, and got busy churning up Tyranid beasties like a walking meat grinder, carving through tidal waves of xenos as if they were blood-filled pinatas. From the destruction of Avarax to our blood-soaked armour and a climactic boss battle to round things off, this level of epic bombast had us gagging for a photo mode, as almost anything in this game could be spun into a death metal album cover. These are the type of set-piece moments you can’t help but slowly pan the camera around to absorb every morsel of their sci-fi majesty. If Voidsong is any indication of how good the main campaign in Space Marine 2 is, then sign us up to the Imperium immediately.
However, the main campaign is just one third of what Space Marine 2 has to offer. Whilst we didn’t get a chance to test the Eternal War PvP mode, we did dive into two of the six co-op Operations. Teaming up with our battle-brothers from Push Square, we swapped the gothic cathedrals of Avarax for the dense jungle world of Kadaku—an untamed wilderness overshadowed by the remnants of an industrial promethium refinery. It was nice to shake things up in terms of location, and Kadaku certainly held up its end of the bargain if we’re talking visual splendour, though the mission objective wasn’t anything new -y’know, the typical mix of reaching a location, defeating enemies, defending a said location, and extracting before being overrun by Tyranids. It’s all fun stuff, and we love how the co-op operations are interwoven with the story throughout its main campaign too. But our main takeaway wasn’t the mission, it was simply how cool it was to share this experience with others.
Playing co-op in Space Marine 2 was like being transported back to the glory days of the Xbox 360. We found ourselves cheering with friends about how cool that thing we just did was and shouting “did you see that?” after ripping the head off a defeated Carnifex. The game does a brilliant job of making you feel like the walking death machine these supersoldiers are meant to be. However, don’t expect to breeze through the Tyranid hordes without putting in a shift. Combat demands more than just button-mashing until the last enemy falls; it's much more engaging, requires strategic thinking and execution.
Combat in Space Marine 2 boils down to how effectively you can protect your health bar - it's simple stuff, really. With a limited number of health packs scattered throughout the level to share amongst yourself and your squad, techniques like parrying, countering and executing enemies are crucial for survival, as they’re the only way to replenish your shields outside of class abilities. If you're not vigilant, Hive warriors can summon powerful reinforcements that will shred through your armour as if it were butter. Mastering the timing of your parries and executions can mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield. Ammo is also a scarce resource; we frequently found ourselves running out of plasma pistol rounds, having to rely on our chainsword when backed into a corner - a weapon that never seems to lose its appeal.
Leaning into its Warhammer 40,000 roots, Space Marine 2 highlights the customisation of your supersoldier. With six distinct class types to choose from, each offering unique abilities like a grappling hook, and dome shield, the game allows you to tailor your Space Marine to your playstyle. As you level up, you can unlock skill buffs, adorn your soldier in gnarly armour, and proudly don the heraldry of your chosen Astartes chapter. Saber Interactive has truly nailed the experience of living out our sci-fi Imperium fantasy. Honestly, words can’t fully capture how exhilarating it is to see our Black Legion Bulwark build looking so badass—phwoar.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 stands out as one of the most captivating experiences we've had in recent years. Every corner of this sci-fi marvel is brimming with intricate details that will enthral long-time 40K fans. However, if you're new to the Space Marine universe, don’t worry about knowing every facet - there’s plenty of sci-fi excitement to enjoy regardless of your familiarity with the lore. Most importantly, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the most fun we’ve had in ages. As we eagerly anticipate its release on Xbox Series consoles, September 9th, we might even dive into the extensive collection of Warhammer 40K novels.