We played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2: nag like never before

The “beautiful game” is a kind of fantasy which would consist in celebrating a perfect execution, the result of chained movements in the best possible way. Example: kill a boss of Elden Ring without getting hit, with dodges always placed at the right time. This concept will not exist in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2, which Numerama was able to play at gamescom 2023. Saber Interactive’s game makes subtlety an abstract notion. We expected it, but maybe not in such proportions.

The demo lasted precisely one hour, taking place from the second mission of the game. The first quarter of an hour looked like a big mess: I kept repeating to the producers: “ I don’t feel like I have much control.” Then, little by little, the sauce ended up taking the time to abandon this sacrosanct search for the “beautiful game”. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, we act first, then we think. Or not at all.

Visually, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is overwhelmingly generous

If Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 does not intend to make the “beautiful game” a priority, it remains on the other hand a beautiful game, in the literal sense. Armed with an in-house engine and supervised by Games Workshop (holder of the Warhammer 40,000 license), the Saber Interactive studio offers a visual setting of overflowing generosity. He simply wants to immerse players in the horror and violence of an epic battlefield. It really takes the eyes, especially when swarms of alien enemies pour out like an erupting volcano. It’s teeming, it’s repulsive, blood squirts absolutely everywhere, the viscera spill out until they’re more thirsty. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a worthy representation of the dark universe of Games Workshop, with some gore effects.

We also praise the sense of detail applied by the developers on the characters. The armor of the Ultramarines – the overarmed soldiers that we embody – are modeled with great care and accuracy. A good point when you know that Warhammer is primarily based on small miniatures to paint while being meticulous and precise. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is aided by its structure of closed missions, which allows more resources to be focused on the overall achievement. The title still needs to be refined to offer technical performance worthy of the name, but we believe in it for showcase approval, despite sometimes chaotic readability.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 also makes us feel very well the fact that we embody an Ultramarine. There is the visual impression (we are so imposing next to the basic human soldiers). There is above all the feel of the controller in hand, with a 100% assumed clumsy fiber, especially in line with the idea that we have of such a colossus when it moves. Otherwise, the gameplay is straight to the point, with a focus on melee rather than shooting. We can of course kill some enemies with well-placed bolter bullets, but it is necessary to learn to master close combat. This is where the concept of “beautiful play” disappears: we type frantically trying to make combos, we parry at the right time and we recover armor by performing enjoyable executions. In short, we throw ourselves into the fight, we do what we can and we pray that it will not be the last.

For further

Note that we can play cooperatively Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, up to three participants (the developers promise exemplary fluidity, with the possibility of joining a friend when you want). It’s typically the kind of production thought for, even if we dare not imagine the mess when there are several of us eviscerating creatures in tight spaces. Count on us to test the experience.

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