Crucial disclaimer right off the bat: I likeWarhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. It’s a great game that handles its subject matter well and delivers on all its promises with gusto. Regardless, I bounced off of its post-campaign Operations content because I just felttoo weak, which was wild.
There’s a bunch of context I’d like to go over for this article because all of it matters a fair bit, but the gist of my point is that the developer Saber Interactive has failed to deliver on a key aspect of the Astartes fantasy, and I can’t help but feel that thenewly announcedSpace Marine 3will have those same issues.
ManySpace Marine 2players are unhappywith such a fast announcement turnover for its sequel because it might mean less post-launch support for the currently relevant game, but that’s not the case with me. I’m very much looking forward toSpace Marine 3, however long it might take for it to come out, but I fear it will fall into the same trappings as its predecessor did in Operations Mode.
Space Marine 2 makes you feel weak in Operations, and that’s no good at all
The majority of my problems withSpace Marine 2don’t apply to Campaign Mode. Or, at least, not its highest difficulties. The main Campaign is all well and good, and Titus is an appropriately powerful protagonist for a game such as this. Carefully curated combat encounters and properly balanced enemies ensure as much.
No, my issues stem almost exclusively from the post-campaign Operations Mode, which is supposed to keep players busy for dozens of hours on end. The thing is, you are extremely weak in Operations. So weak that even the regular run-of-the-mill enemies can melt tank-wearing Übermensch in mere seconds when push comes to shove. Now, I wouldn’t mind the Astartes’ apparently crummy armor all that much if I could grind my way through enemies at a reasonable enough pace. Yet, I cannot becauseSpace Marine 2‘s vision of a Bolter is effectively that of a shoddy sub-gun. It takes ages to whittle down anything but the weakest of enemies in this game, and this only gets worse the further you go in Operations Mode.
Crucially, Operations’ entire progression loop is centered around slowly upping the difficulty to access higher-grade weapon upgrades and resources. If you’re not increasing the difficulty, you’re not progressing, and the higher the difficulty, the tankier and harder-hitting the enemies get. Sure, your Astartes does get more capable over time, but there’s such a ridiculous discrepancy between players and enemies inSpace Marine 2that it gets downright unplayable if you’re not abusing meta strategies even at medium difficulties.
I fully understand and appreciatethatSpace Marine 2generally gives you all the tools you need to overcome most situations in Operations Mode. Keep in mind that I also don’t claim to be anything but average at this game.
My point is purely that at no time while playing Operations have I felt like an Astartes. Sure, my character’s footsteps would echo and those Bolters sure didsoundawesome, but they fired to no effect and I’d die to the faintest modicum of gunfire in key situations.
Saber Interactive can do challenging difficulties, but this failed to materialize in Space Marine 2
Before someone jumps at me in the comments, I’m reasonably well-versed in 40K lore and understand just how powerful a Tyranid Warrior or a Lictor truly would be. Having them tear down through Marines like a hot knife through butter makes sense at some level, but is that really what the game is supposed to be about?
Space Marine 2pitches itself as a game about the Astartes: it should be able tosellthe fantasy of controlling what is effectively a super-human tank. Instead,Space Marine 2‘s Astartes are underpowered in every sense of the word, and they face huge numbers of extremely tanky and hard-hitting enemies no matter where they go and what they do.
The strange bit, to me, is that Saber Interactive’s prior flagship release,WWZ: Aftermath, did a much better job of cranking up its difficulty while still allowing the player to feel powerful.WWZ‘s challenge lies in its hordes of weak zombies, where even “special” enemies can be taken down quickly if you coordinate appropriately. In Space Marine 2, this is only possible if all players in your fireteam have many upgrades and an optimum combat loadout. Even then, it sometimes takes a while to get through encounters.
Space Marine 2fails to deliver on a crucial aspect of the Astartes fantasy due to its overreliance on high health pools and a frankly subpar weapon roster. Do I really have to min-max my way through medium difficulty levels in Operations Mode?
The true kicker is that Saber Interactive hasn’t changed how Operations Mode works after player feedback. Things are nowbetterthan they were on day one, yes, but the gist of the Astartes being fairly weak glass cannons hasn’t changed. Will it be any different inSpace Marine 3, then? I’ve got my hopes, but I’ve got my doubts, as well.
