Warhammer 40k: Space Marine II (09.09.24)

[Para]

journalisten & co. durften nun knapp 4 wochen vor release sich nochmal den titel anschauen.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 delivers maximum Warhammer to glorious effect

Eurogamer has played an early slice of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, and we've come away impressed with its grim, gothic fantasy action.

www.eurogamer.net

In some senses, though, this isn't so much a concern with Space Marine 2. This series, like the franchise it's part of, is about unthinking fanaticism after all. Technically, I suppose, it's about the rather horrible places that can lead you, but it's far from its primary purpose. Rather, the joy of Space Marine 2 is in hurtling bluntly into the fray, giggling as blood and alien limbs fill the screen while, somewhere in there, you're stabbing something with its own claw. It's in mashing the emote key to yell some fevered cry of glory to the Emperor and tickling that part of the brain that simply loves to shoot at a rushing wave of squishy aliens on a long, narrow bridge. One of the better parts of the brain, I reckon. This is a double-A game in triple-A clothing, in many senses, simple pleasures and just occasional jank, with a layer of grim, gothic fidelity over the top. Bliss.

Space Marine 2’s great co-op carries a so-far underwhelming campaign

I went hands-on for my Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 preview, and while it looks gorgeous and its PvE is fun, there are some glaring issues.

www.pcgamesn.com

My time with Space Marine 2 has left me conflicted. Operations is a blast, the class system and loadout customization are great, and I love tweaking my armor to my heart’s content. I don’t doubt Saber has worked tirelessly to refine Operations, but as good as the PvE offering is, I’m not a ‘forever game’ person; I want to step away from a game and say I’ve finished it. The campaign is therefore important to me, so I’m sad to say it just doesn’t feel right in its current state. A combination of performance woes, flat melee combat, middling to poor boss fights, and a potentially tiring gameplay loop has left me feeling a little cold.

Within 10 minutes of killing Tyranids, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has become my most-anticipated shooter of 2024

Preview | Thrilling horde mechanics and an emphasis on melee make serving The Emperor a delight

www.gamesradar.com

"Is this really happening?" cries an Imperial Guardsman, fighting for his life as a wave of mantis-like Tyranid aliens tear through his pals like soggy paper. It's a random snippet of background dialogue, but it catches me by surprise because I was just thinking the same thing. But while he's wondering if this is a nightmare he'll wake up from, I'm grinning from ear to ear – because Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 feels too good to be true.

When we're talking about battles involving trillions of soldiers and planet-sized cities, it's hard for anything tangible to live up to our imagination. But in Space Marine 2, it feels like I've fallen right into one of Games Workshop's old 40K novels – which is great news for me, but not so much for anyone without the luxury of power armor to hide behind.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Preview - And They Shall Know No Fear

Space Marine 2 is shaping up to be 40K at its most Warhammer-y in the best way.

www.thegamer.com

Space Marine 2 is a fairly standard third-person shooter, though one that seems more informed by the success of soulslikes than the cover-based fare we've gotten used to. You're always in the thick of the action, dodging and parrying to avoid damage - or better yet, just killing any enemies close enough to be a threat. Basic enemies like the swarming Hormagaunts are mostly there to soak up your ammo and impede your path to actually dangerous enemies like Tyranid Warriors and Zoanthropes. Throw in some timely grenades and melee executions, and the game really lets you feel like one of the Imperium's ultimate soldiers.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 feels like a lost Xbox 360 game, and I mean that in the best possible way

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a game that knows exactly what it is, and how to demonstrate it to everyone.

www.vg247.com

A lot of Space Marine 2's confidence comes from its reliance on tried-and-tested ideas, and executing them well. This is not a game that's pushing the envelope, but it's one that knows what it wants to be and how to deliver that experience to players. It wouldn't be unfair to call its level design outdated; almost entirely made up for corridors with some opportunities for exploration, but fewer than I'd like. These aren't levels you're going to get lost in, nor would that really be necessary. Granted, this is based on a single campaign mission, so it's quite possible the rest of the campaign will be a little more imaginative.

 

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A technically impressive showcase, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's Swarm engine delivers dense geometry, spades of incidental detail and animation - and some extraordinary levels of 'war is hell' mayhem. We've got high hopes for this game and Alex Battaglia and Oliver Mackenzie are particularly excited about it. Both have gone hands-on with beta PC preview code and here's what they think.

 

[Cannibalpinhead]

Uff... der Release scheint ja mal wieder ne Shitshow zu werden. Hier mal ein paar Zitate dazu:

August Community Update - Space Marine 2

Over the past few months, we did our best to tackle your most urging questions in our Community Updates, and this one is no different. This month, we’ve also shared more about customisation and revealed Space Marine 2’s roadmap. Here's the last one!

community.focus-entmt.com

- We support force triggers on the DualSense controller, but not haptic feedback at launch.
- DLSS3 / FSR3: Planned for post-launch
- Wide screen support is planned. While it won't be available right at launch, we're working on implementing it by the end of September.
- We are working on official Steam Deck support, but it's not ready yet. We’re currently targeting the end of the year

Warum nennen sie das nicht einfach Early-Access, oder einen langen Beta-Test?

Das kann doch nicht sein dass alles mögliche erst nach dem "Launch" kommt... vor allem was evtl. gar nicht erst erwähnt wird. Von Performance oder Bugs will ich erst gar nicht reden...
Haben die nicht erst die Multiplayer-Beta abgesagt und wollen sich erstmal auf den Single-Player konzentrieren... joar... hört sich schwer danach an dass das Spiel noch DEUTLICH an Entwicklungszeit braucht... aber man es trotzdem schonmal rausbringt. Wann war nochmal die "Gold-Meldung"... im Juli?

Nee... auch als WH40K-Fan der den Vorgänger zigmal auf allen möglichen Plattformen gespielt hat... hier bin ich raus.

 

[Para]

reviews gehen gerade nach und nach online und hat mittlerweile auf opencritic einen durchschnitt von 83 nach 15 reviews.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Reviews

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is rated 'Strong' after being reviewed by 15 critics, with an overall average score of 83. It's ranked in the top 9% of games and recommended by 93% of critics.

opencritic.com

Gameliner - 4.5/5

The Adeptus Mechanicus at Saber Interactive have earned the Omnissiah's blessing by ensuring that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 appeases The God-Emperor's followers. The latest quest of Captain Demetrian Titus against the Tyranids will quench the yearnings of the bloodthirsty, the warhungry, and those who seek to purge the Tyranids and the Forces of Chaos. All hail the God-Emperor of Mankind for bestowing upon us the magnificence of Space Marine 2.

GameWatcher - 9/10

Space Marine 2 is an old-fashioned triumph that eschews modern trends and vapid bloat in exchange for relentless, gory action and a fully-featured Warhammer 40K package that's presented in gorgeous fashion.

MGG - 75/100

Space Marine 2 offers a gameplay experience that's both short and intense. It's very satisfying to shred hordes of enemies in the middle of an epic battlefield. It's beautiful, polished and easy to get to grips with, but its lack of content will grieve all those who were hoping to invest more time in its cooperative mode. The gameplay quickly becomes tiresome, while the lack of variety in the enemies and missions on offer doesn't help either. But there's potential here, with a very good base. We'll be keeping an eye on how Space Marine 2 develops over the coming months and years.

GinxTV - 7.5/10

Space Marine 2 knows exactly what it's trying to be and makes no bones about its glaring limitations from start to finish. Fans of the Warhammer 40,000 universe will no doubt find more mileage in the campaign and characters, but for players with only a passing interest in 40k (or players with absolutely no interest), it's hard to ignore the patchy narrative and increasingly one-note gameplay. That said, there's a lot of potential here, and we hope to see a third outing from Sabre Interactive in the future.

PureXbox - 9/10

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a spectacular achievement that gives Warhammer fans everything they could possibly have wanted when it comes to roleplaying their favourite chonky space boys. Saber's swarm tech is deployed to dazzling effect, and with purpose and context, too. This is the Tyranid swarm of your nightmares, and you've been given all the slick melee moves, sick finishers and great big shooty guns you'll need to stave it off. Think Gears of War with hundreds of enemies onscreen at once, with the cumbersome cover system removed and the speed dialled up and you're in the right place. And what a place to be, whether solo or with pals online, this is one of the best action games we've played in a long while.

PushSquare - 9/10

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 does its legendary setting justice, offering a high-quality cinematic campaign that is a wild ride to blast through, and it only gets better if you bring a few friends to watch your back. Add to that the clever Operation side stories, the competitive Eternal War multiplayer, and the promise of a dedicated (and free) Horde Mode on the horizon, and Space Marine 2 sets a benchmark for 40k games worthy of its own storied, illustrious lore.

GamesRadar+ - 4/5

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is an exceptional, larger than life shooter that raises the bar for all Warhammer adaptations. A dizzying sense of scale, along with some of the slickest combat around, will leave you often breathless but always grinning.

PCGamer - 6/10

There are moments in Space Marine 2 that I think every fan of Warhammer 40,000 owes it to themselves to see. It's rough and uneven, but still operating on a grander scale and level of production value than we've ever seen from the setting before. It puts me in the odd position of feeling that this is fundamentally not a good game, but one that I think will still be a great source of joy for its intended audience

PCMR - 88/100

It may not win the Game of the Year award, because after all its purpose is not to innovate in the genre but to provide an experience similar to its predecessor, but better, and in that sense it has more than fulfilled its promise. There are too many video games in the Games Workshop franchise, but I have no doubt that Space Marine 2 is the best Warhammer 40K title to date (with honorable mentions to Dawn of War and Rogue Trader).

wird ein fest.

 

[Zerfikka]

Gleich mal ne Schlägertruppe zu PcGamer schicken.

 

[Cannibalpinhead]

Gut... scheinbar ist das Spiel inhaltlich das geworden was man als WH40k-Fan erwartet oder erhofft hat.

Aber hinsichtlich der Performance findet man, z.B. bei der Gamepro eben auch sowas:

Während der 30 fps-Modus weitgehend ruckelfrei bei 1656p läuft und nur in den größten Schlachten ein paar Frames droppt, sieht es im 60 fps-"Geschwindigkeits"-Modus deutlich wackeliger aus.

Vor allem bei riesigen Feindeshorden und dem Partikel-Overkill einiger Stellen in der Kampagne geht es runter auf verpixelt-unscharfe 720p und weniger als 35 fps. In den effektreichen Koop-Einsätzen sieht es ganz ähnlich aus, dort wird der Bildschirm mit Effekten überhäuft.
Die Entwickler*innen schreiben zwar, dass "bestimmte" und "seltene" Framerate-Drops mit einem Day One-Patch beseitigt werden sollen, wie das bei solch heftigen Rucklern möglich sein soll, gibt mir derzeit aber Rätsel auf.

Buh... 720p und 35 FPS im "Performance"-Modus ist schon ne bittere Angelegenheit. Da bin ich mal gespannt was Digital Foundry da so sagt.

EDIT: PC schaut wohl nicht viel anders aus... die Hardwareanforderungen sind enorm.

Ich bin eigentlich echt heiß auf den Titel... aber genau aus dem Grund werde ich jetzt wohl noch ein Jahr mit dem Titel warten. Bzw. so lange bis ich irgendwann nächstes Jahr meinen Rechner mal wirklich auf die Höhe gebracht habe.
Wenn ein Titel in 1440p und sehr hohen Einstellungen nicht mit 60 FPS läuft muss er warten bis die dafür notwendige Hardware da ist. Bei Space Marine 2 ist as wohl leider der Fall. Aber umso mehr freue ich mich drauf dann wirklich optimal mit dem Titel loslegen zu können! Bis dahin gibt es noch genug andere Titel die gespielt werden wollen.

 

[Donald]

Hab noch nie ein Spiel im Warhammer-Universum gezockt, aber das sieht echt ganz spaßig und cool aus! Schön oldschool.
Wird im Game Pass sicher irgendwann mal gespielt.

 

[Cannibalpinhead]

Hab noch nie ein Spiel im Warhammer-Universum gezockt

Oha... dann solltest du da mal ein paar nachholen. Da gibts ja dann doch den einen oder anderen guten Titel. Vor allem solltest du nen Blick auf Teil 1 von Space Marine werfen!

 

[Donald]

Wenn ich mich richtig erinnere, habe ich glaub ich um 2004 herum mal Dawn of War gespielt, ein Echtzeitstrategiespiel. Hat Laune gemacht!

 

[Cannibalpinhead]

Jep... die Dawn of War sind mit die Speerspitze was die Qualität angeht. Dann gibts da noch fast unzählige Rundenstrategie-Teile, Inquisitor Martyr wenn man auf Sachen wie Diablo steht und wenn es ein Rollenspiel sein soll dann ist wohl Rogue Trader hervorragend.

Und dann eben noch ältere Sachen wie Fire Warrior aus PS2 Zeiten...

 

[Zerfikka]

Necromunda hatte ich auch viel Spaß mit.

 

[Cannibalpinhead]

Oh, stimmt... daran hab ich ja gar nicht mehr gedacht. Das war tatsächlich auch überraschend gut.

Das hab ich sogar für Steam hier... das muss ich mal auf meine To-Do-Liste setzen...

 

[Para]

We return to the final build of developer Saber's impressively realised take on the Warhammer 40K universe - where locking at 60FPS is a true challenge on today's consoles. PS5 and Series X offer two modes: the curiously labelled Speed mode (for 60FPS performance), and a 30fps quality mode - of which the latter is the more stable choice. On PC there's a huge range of options, and the sky is the limit - though a powerful CPU is recommended in dealing with the game's high level of on-screen enemies. Alex and Tom link up for an in-depth look at the current state of play.

die ps5 version scheint im 60fps modus noch nachholbedarf zu haben. hier und da mal gerne 10 fps weniger als auf xsx. mal schauen ob der day 1 patch das fixt.

 

[Frank]

Bislang hab ich im Performance Modus keine Framerate Probleme bemerkt, bin aber auch erst im zweiten Abschnitt.

Die Collectors Edition ist übrigens recht hochwertig, letztendlich aber das Geld eigentlich nicht wert.

 

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hat sich bis jetzt mindestens 2 millionen mal verkauft:

 

[Zerfikka]

Gänsehaut bei seiner Ansprache.