The virtual world of Warhammer is a bit strange at the moment. With Darktide’s reputation never quite recovering from its shaky launch, Rogue Trader being solid if unimpressive, and Realms of Ruin struggling both commercially and critically, Games Workshop’s latest virtual ventures – perhaps with the exception of Boltgun – they don’t always live up to expectations. Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2however it is on release – what awaits every heretic and loyal to the Empire. As we get closer to launch, I ask creative director Oliver Hollis-Lake if the team is feeling pressure and if they’re confident enough that Space Marine 2 will escape the shadow of its beloved predecessor.
After all, the original Space Marine is among the best Warhammer 40k games ever made. The perfect mix of hacking, smashing, story and good old fashioned fun, it sits alongside The Emperor alongside Dawn of War and my personal favourite, Vermintide.
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 certainly has a legacy to live up to, compounded by the buggy launches of Darktide and Rogue Trader and the poor performance of Age of Sigmar – Realms of Ruin. I ask if the franchise’s virtual vacillation has added any pressure to a team that’s no doubt already under strain, given that this is, well, Space Marine 2.
“The pressure is on,” he tells me. “It’s well known that we delayed the release of our game [to ensure it launches well]. We felt it was extremely important to polish it and do as much as we could under our control so that it was ready to rock from the moment people got their hands on it. I think that alleviated a lot of the worries and I was really pleased to see the fans reacting well to it – we were worried they would be very angry, but most people said ‘thanks for not releasing a broken game.’
Senior Brand Manager for Focus Entertainment, Sylvain Le Roux, also notes that, using Hollis-Lake’s words from a previous video, “there is no pressure greater than the pressure we put on ourselves.”
Much of this stress no doubt stems from the original Space Marine heritage. With over 12,000 reviews on Steam and an average rating of 92%, Sega and Relic’s interstellar adventure is pretty much the quintessential Warhammer 40k game for much of the community.
But this is Space Marine 2, and it’s not 2011 anymore. I ask Hollis-Leick how the team innovated on the original game while retaining the brilliance that made it so great. This is a question that brings a smile.
“I have a great story about that,” he tells me. “When we were at Gamescom [2023], I was away from the cabin and came back and was told I had a visitor. It turns out that one of the original developers of the original game came to the booth to see if he could take a look. We talked for a bit, then he played the game and it was absolutely great deadly – put it on the hardest difficulty and shred the enemy.
“He stepped back and was like ‘you really took it to where we wanted to be able to take it.’ You did all the things we wanted to do but couldn’t. Of course, that was great to hear because that was our intention.
When I asked what the biggest differences were between the two, he told me that “I feel like our version improves the flow of melee combat through enemies. We have a more swarm-based approach because of the Tyranids, so we had to develop a melee system that was less hack and slash and more [one that] creates a route and cuts a path through all these enemies.
“We also have these cool reactions where you can slash through enemies, then immediately pull out your sidearm, take out a guy here, then switch right back to your Chainsword; it’s this really beautiful flowing system of melee and ranged all together. I feel like our combat system is really a level up.
“In terms of the scale of the first game, they threw everything they had into making that scale epic. I feel like we’ve gone a lot further with that – we have the advantage of new technology, but the level of detail [is incredible]. Our artists are absolutely obsessed with this license.
“I think we’ve created a more vibrant, epic version of the Warhammer universe, and we’ve also got more exciting, satisfying combat mechanics.”
As announced at Warhammer Skulls 2024, Space Marine 2 is getting a Helldivers 2-style PvE mode, which we asked Hollis-Leick about. Additionally, pre-orders are now officially open, meaning you can grab the game ahead of time, as well as tons of cosmetic goodies.
While we wait for Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2’s release date, we’ve rounded up all the best new PC games to play right now.
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