Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a 2024 third-person shooter with hack and slash elements developed by Saber St. Petersburg and published by Focus Entertainment. It was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 9 September 2024. And while I initially wanted to play it on release day, I didn’t. Reasons are unknown to me but if I had to guess, knowing me, it just slipped my mind and I completely forgot about it. Anyways, I finally got around to it and here are my thoughts after playing Warhammer for a day:
Gameplay
Before I start talking about the game, I want to make it clear that all the issues I run into are due to me being unable to replace my old PC because it’s still “working”, even though it’s struggling with modern high graphics games. Growing up in poverty does that to you. Anyways, we aren’t here to talk about my childhood traumas but rather about this wonderful game.
… A game that I had trouble booting up. The first time, it took a good 15 minutes to load the main menu and once I hit “Start Game” it crashed on me. I wasn’t able to start it again due to some weird bug which required restarting the PC. MULTIPLE TIMES. But once I’ve gotten over that hurdle and optimized it, everything has been a smooth sail since (kinda).
As for difficulty, I’ve picked “Normal”, just to get some sense of the game. It started great, I was destroying Tyranids left and right until some time after I started getting destroyed by two large annoying monsters that ganged up on me. Which, once I got the hang of it, made everything easier and that last fight was less of a struggle because of it. Also I’ve managed to complete the next two missions with ease. It made me think that I’ve made a mistake when choosing difficulty. I’m reluctant to change it, but this way is too easy, even for my standards.
As for the story, I am highly motivated to learn more but so far, it seems that my chances of grasping quantum mechanics are higher than me understanding what’s happening. I know I like it and I’m aware that there’s so much to know about it. Looking forward to learning more.
Graphics
Like I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this article, I feel like I’m not qualified to talk much about it. Technology is moving forward, maybe I should too. Loading was slow, crashed once, the first cutscene glitched but when it came to actual gameplay, I had zero issues. Even when my screen was overrun with monsters, everything remained stable and my PC wasn’t overheating. Stay tuned to see if it gets better on my next playthrough.
Final thoughts
My biggest regret from this isn’t that I didn’t play it once it came out but rather a realization that I got from it. There’re so many awesome games out there that I still haven’t had a chance to play and who knows if there’ll be enough time to play them all. Maybe if I could have a lifespan as long as a Space Marine. One can dream.
As for my journey as a lieutenant Titus, it continues. You can expect more takes on the game as I progress deeper. I would also like to hear from you about the lore of Warhammer. I would love to learn more about it but I’m scared to search for it due to spoilers.
Pavle is the founder of PlayForge and its lead writer and reviewer, covering PC, PS5, and mobile games, a with a focus on RPGs, MMOs, FPS games, and more. He’s been gaming since the PS2 days and now writes in-depth reviews and guides to help players find their next obsession and get gaming insights from real players, not just critics. His reviews are honest and transparent, but he always tries to stay positive, because in his opinion, almost any game can be fun if you look at it the right way.
In his free time, he likes to (obviously) play more games, spend time with his family, theorycraft about various media with his wife, and watch anime. So yes, he’s a complete nerd, even if he’ll never admit it.
