BETS AND DREAMS - We’re so ready to embrace Space Marine 2 and all its excess
Bash and slice.
By Jonathan Garrett
01/08/24
Gears of War cornered the gnarly executions market when it included the option to use a dismembered Locust head as a football. That truly set the bar for punishing finishers that leave an mistakable impression. Space Marine 2 however is ready to step up to the plate. Throwing in multiple game modes, including dedicated co-op, a single player campaign, and PvP is fine and all, but it’s those crunchy, crowd clearing manoeuvrers that have caught our attention. The delays for additional polish only serve to heighten our anticipation, and we’re grateful that its been allowed to cook.
BETS
SECRET MOVES - Considering our effusive praise for the execution mechanics on show (which were indeed a staple of the original Space Marine title), we reckon it’s a safe bet that you’ll be able to customise your character with additional unlockable finishers. There may even be a select few executions reserved for a context sensitive moment or particularly memorable boss.
DLC REIGNS SUPREME - Saber Interactive delivered an impressive cadence of post launch updates for their previous World War Z co-op shooter, which saw multiple new maps, modes, and content added over time. Space Marine 2 has been cooking for a while now, so we reckon the post launch roadmap is going to be extensive.
GRUMBLE QUIPS - If the size of your typical Ultramarine is any indication, a team of gruff, grunting cannon fodder are probably going to be making their presence known throughout Space Marine 2. Expect a Starship Troopers level of grizzled one liners that will make you fist pump and wince in equal measure. It would certainly suit the vibes!
DREAMS
ASYMMETRIC MULTIPLAYER - Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood both perfected the formula for asymmetric multiplayer, where one side plays as survivors while another takes on the role of the infected / aliens / delete as appropriate. We’d love to see Space Marine 2 fully embrace this one day, and potentially combine the campaign invasion mechanic from games like Deathloop to really inject some high stakes.
APPROPRIATE CROSSOVERS - Given the broad scope of the Warhammer franchise, any crossovers would need to make tonal sense with the established world, especially since we struggled to get on board with cat eared Spartans in Halo Infinite. Fun and levity are an important aspect of any world building, to ensure it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but our dream would be crossovers that are logical. Perhaps Gears or Helldivers?
ARMY OF THREE - An expanded set of attacks that leverage “Army of Two” style co-op moves that allow you to synchronise with your squad and drop some insane combo-tastic finishers. Not only would this look fantastic given Space Marine 2’s visual fidelity, but this would create a whole subset of memorable clips that would serve as the best kind of advertising.
Unwieldy shoulder pads are an expected staple.