The original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was forgettable. It didn’t leave a strong impression despite the rich lore that the project was embedded in, and that’s a travesty because Game Workshop’s dark sci-fi universe is one of the most fascinating and original franchises out there.

It’s filled with space orks, chaos demons and highly advanced aeldari, to name a few factions. Humanity is at the center of things, but it’s a grim and militaristic version mixed with a religious zeal for authority. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 drops players into this world as Demetrian Titus, the protagonist of the original. After his heroics in the original, he was branded a heretic because of his unusual resistance to corruption energies. He disappeared from the records only to reappear while trying to save the planet of Kadaku from a Tyranid invasion.

The insectlike creatures are a dangerous foe and that’s proven when a Carnifex critically wounded Titus. He was nearly dead but resurrected and ended up reunited with his old faction of Ultramarines. He’s tasked with jumping back into the fray with two new squadmates Sergeant Gadriel and Brother Chairon. They have to fend off waves of the highly adaptable creatures and rescue leaders of a mysterious Project Aurora.

That leads to more conspiracy as the cobbled-together team learns how to work and trust each other as they fight an endless horde and a chaotic foe from Titus’ past.

Spicier ranged and melee combat

From the outset, Space Marine 2 establishes a distinct vision as a third-person shooter, in which players attack from range but can mix it up with melee if needed. Players deal with floods of Tyranid, an alien enemy that overwhelms armies with numbers. As Titus, players are mostly ground dwellers who have to blast enemies from afar, but when they get in close, they can transition to a melee weapon.

Hand-to-hand combat presents its own hurdles as players must learn to parry and dodge attacks. The developer, Saber Interactive, layers more smart mechanics that accentuate the combat without being too complex. For example, players can parry adversaries easily if they hit their block button when they see a blue circle alerting players to an incoming attack. After doing that, players can perform a powerful blow with a pistol.

Another wrinkle is how health is recovered in combat. When wading into a sea of enemies, players must constantly swing their chainsaw sword to stay alive because eliminating the cannon fodder recovers health. In addition, Titus has an armor bar that gives players an extra level of health, but when it crumbles under enemy attacks, players can refill their armor by stunning foes and finishing them off by pressing an execution button for a gory kill.

Right weapons for the job

Weapons provide another element of strategy. Space Marine 2 limits players to two firearms and a melee weapon but it gives them ample opportunity to switch the arms out. They’ll have to adapt their approach for each level based on the environment and what they expect will happen. If there’s an open area with long sightlines, it’s best to pick a long-range Bolt Gun with a scope. If Titus enters an underground area full of corridors, they’ll need a Melta Rifle for those narrow areas.

Saber Interactive also switches up abilities to create more variety. In a few levels, Titus and his crew don Jump Packs that allow them to soar through the air and attack adversaries from above. It’s used a few times and creates a nice verticality in some stages, but sadly, it isn’t used enough.

The varied abilities and limited weapons prop up a mission design that’s simplistic. The main campaign doesn’t ask players to do too many complex tasks. Instead, Space Marine 2 leans heavily on the lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe to create epic moments where players fend off a Tyranid swarm.

An excellent co-op experience

Thankfully, that doesn’t extend to the multiplayer modes, where players will spend the bulk of their time. Eternal War is a decent competitive mode where players of different classes battle each other while the excellent Operations mode allows players to take on the role of alternate squads who help Titus in the central campaign. It’s sort of like the B-side of the main narrative.

Players choose from one of six classes in these cooperative missions and set off in a three-person squad to accomplish an objective. This is where teamwork comes into play as players face more difficult circumstances and have to rely on the squads varied skills to survive. It’s also filled with more complex tasks that require more collaboration.

The main campaign can also be played cooperatively, but what makes Operations different is that players build out their own space marine. It has progression systems that let players put points into perk and weapons trees. It lets players customize a class toward a playstyle while also beefing them up for more difficult missions.

All of this creates a game that feels more fleshed out and focused from the original while leveraging the rich mythos of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S

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