Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Review-In-Progress: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a more-than-worthy successor to the 2011 original. Its brutally gory action is as riveting as ever, but it's also more considered and tactile, making for a much more satisfying experience. There's not a lot going on outside of combat, and it's overly linear at times, but these flaws are easy to forget when you're charging headfirst into battle against an enemy numbering in the hundreds, furiously fighting against a stunning backdrop that brings the tabletop game to life in all its grimdark splendor.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 may not break the third-person shooter mold, but it looks amazing, makes good use of its Warhammer lore, and has brutal combat that just feels great.

Fans of Warhammer 40,000 will be delighted by the spectacle and authenticity—but ultimately disappointed by messy action and unengaging multiplayer.

Nonetheless, in an industry that is currently so fraught and volatile, Space Marine 2 is a smart and effective tactical strike. It at once sparks fond memories of the pre-Souls era of third-person action games, while also being cunningly adapted to survive in the modern gaming scene.

This is how you make a long-anticipated sequel. And, honestly, we’d be sooooo down for a third chapter. The Space Marine legacy can live forever, as far as we’re concerned. Ultra concerned, for that matter.

Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 is an excellent love letter to the universe created by Games Workshop. You can feel the attention and care that went into making the experience from the game’s prologue. Oozing with style and personality, it felt refreshing to return to continue the story of Titus after eight-odd years.

Space Marine 2 is the kind of sequel I like. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, instead, it refines and expands on what made the original so damn good to begin with, and to be clear Space Marine is one of my favourite shooters.