On September 9, the newest installment of Warhammer 40K video games released on Steam and for Xbox and Playstation for $60 on all platforms. Space Marine 2, a sequel to the 2011 hit game Space Marine, is set 200 years after the event of the first game. Overall, the original opinions of people tended to be that the game is going to be an epic experience with heavy action, great graphics, and good plot. Despite this, there are a few early concerns at launch to consider. Quick disclaimer, I preordered this game 2 months ago, so I might be a bit biased, but I will try to be as impartial as possible.
Firstly, I’m going to go the over the positive aspects of the game. In termsof gameplay, Space Marine 2 will include a campaign which is likely going to take around 7-10 hours, depending on difficulty. The main enemies are the Tyranids, a species of hive mind bugs, and later chaos marines. While this is relatively short, it has engaging gameplay, relatively compelling plot and the option for co-op. Then there is the Operations mode, where there is around 6-8 missions with more on the way, and they are designed for replayability. It allows you to pick a class, level and customize your character, and expand a large arsenal of weapons. It can be completely with either a fireteam of AI, or co-op. Finally, there is a PVP mode, where teams of 6 face off in several different modes, such as King of The Hill or Team Death match style conflicts. Overall, Space Marine 2 doesn’t have a super large amount of content compared to other games, but should make up for that in randomized Operations encounters, and high replayability with addicting combat.
Although Space Marine 2 has a bunch of good things, there are a few concerns at launch as of 9/12/24. Firstly, technical issues. Space Marine 2 tends to have really good graphics and people are complaining that their CPU’s are “melting.” This mostly pertains to PC’s, but unless you have a good setup, you might not be able to run it. Additionally, as of launch, there is no support for ultrawide monitors, but this likely to be fixed very quickly, as the devs are actively working on this. Another issue is that it requires you to install Epic Games’ Epic Online Service. There has been a bit of uproar due to this because
Epic Games has a negative reputation in the gaming world. But do not fear, you can immediately uninstall it. These three issues are the biggest technical issues at launch, some of 
which causes parts of the (salty) community to review bomb the Steam page. Secondly, there is some “issues” that are being brought up in parts of the (more liberal) community. The protagonists are all men, and there are a lot of people complaining that there is not enough gender representation in the game. As this is Warhammer 40K, this takes place in “the grim darkness of the far future,” so there isn’t necessarily going to be a game with a positive message or themes to be completely honest. In my opinion, this issues do not adversely affect gameplay, or your gaming rig, so unless this really bothers you I still would recommend the game.
All in all, Space Marine 2 has great gameplay, systems and plot that I really enjoy, and I think that offsets the issues and makes the game worth it to play. Whether or not the game is worth $60 is a different question, but if you enjoy action shooters and smashing lots of bugs, this game is definitely for you. Overall, this game gets an 84/100.
