Space Marine 2 - Review After 100%

Summary

In this review, the player delves into 'Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2', a third-person shooter where Space Marines battle tyranids and chaos forces. Having invested over 60 hours into the game, the player praises its moment-to-moment gameplay and visual appeal, highlighting the satisfaction of combat against hordes of enemies. The game offers single-player, co-op, and PVP modes, each with its own progression system. Despite some server issues and a desire for more mission variety, the player found the game enjoyable and looks forward to future updates, justifying the purchase of the Gold Edition.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The reviewer played 'Space Marine 2' extensively, putting in over 60 hours into the game, despite it not typically being their preferred genre.
• 👍 The game received praise for its moment-to-moment gameplay, visual appeal, and the satisfying fantasy of playing as a superhuman Space Marine.
• 💰 The reviewer purchased the game voluntarily, specifically the Gold Edition, and feels it was worth the price, indicating a positive return on investment.
• 🤖 The AI for bots in multiplayer modes was criticized for being underwhelming, particularly in directing them effectively during operations.
• 🔍 The game offers a variety of modes including a single-player campaign, cooperative PVE operations, and PVP multiplayer, each with different progression systems.
• 🛡️ The combat system involves managing armor and health while facing numerous enemies, with mechanics like parrying and executing enemies to restore armor.
• 📉 The reviewer noted some server-side issues, including crashes and connection problems, which affected the multiplayer experience.
• 🎨 There is a progression system in operations that allows for customization of the Space Marine's appearance and upgrading of weapons and perks.
• 📈 The game has a class system with different abilities, and the reviewer particularly enjoyed the assault class for its melee focus.
• 🔄 The matchmaking system was criticized for a lack of options and for sometimes pairing players with the same class, leading to potential balance issues in multiplayer.
• 💬 The reviewer expressed a desire for more variety in missions and game modes, as repetition became tedious during their comprehensive playthrough.

Q & A

What is the main focus of 'Space Marine 2'?

'Space Marine 2' is a third-person shooter that focuses on the Space Marines from the Warhammer universe as they fight against Tyranids and the forces of Chaos.

What are the different game modes available in 'Space Marine 2'?

The game modes in 'Space Marine 2' include a single-player campaign, cooperative PVE operations, and multiplayer PVP.

How does the reviewer describe the technical state and performance of 'Space Marine 2'?

The reviewer praises the game's visuals and the number of characters on screen at once, but also notes server-side issues such as crashes and matchmaking problems.

What are the different difficulty levels in the single-player campaign?

The single-player campaign offers four difficulty levels, allowing players to tailor their experience to their comfort.

How does the reviewer feel about the AI in the game?

The reviewer finds the AI bots to be less effective in the campaign mode, often standing around or attacking without strategic benefit, but notes they perform better in operations mode.

What is the progression system like in 'Space Marine 2'?

Progression in 'Space Marine 2' is tied to character and weapon leveling, with the ability to unlock perks and upgrade weapons through experience and Armory data earned in operations.

How does the reviewer describe the combat in 'Space Marine 2'?

The reviewer enjoys the combat, which involves managing large numbers of enemies while maintaining one's armor through parrying, dodging, and executing enemies.

What are the different classes available in the multiplayer modes?

The multiplayer modes feature six classes: Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bullwark, Sniper, and Heavy, each with a unique ultimate ability.

How does the reviewer feel about the variety of missions and game modes in 'Space Marine 2'?

The reviewer wishes there was more variety in missions and game modes, as repetition became tedious during the 100% review process.

What is the reviewer's opinion on the pricing and future content of 'Space Marine 2'?

The reviewer feels the standard edition justifies its price, but expresses caution about the Gold and Ultra Editions' reliance on cosmetic DLC for future updates, hoping that the promised free content updates will be delivered.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Review Introduction and Gameplay Overview

The reviewer, MORM, introduces his playthrough and review of 'Space Marine 2,' a third-person shooter set in the Warhammer universe. He emphasizes his commitment to reviewing games after achieving 100% completion, which includes all achievements and additional content. MORM discloses that he paid for the game during its Early Access period and has already invested 60 hours into it, highlighting his enjoyment despite it not being his typical genre. The game features a single-player campaign, co-op PVE operations, and multiplayer PVP modes. The reviewer praises the game's visual appeal, the ability to handle numerous on-screen characters, and the performance on Steam Deck, while also mentioning server-side issues and minor visual glitches.

05:00

🛡️ Difficulty and Progression Mechanics

MORM discusses the difficulty levels in 'Space Marine 2,' which are adjustable for the single-player campaign and have preset tiers for operations. He notes that the campaign's difficulty is more about mastering mechanics and weapon use rather than character progression. In contrast, operations feature a progression system tied to character and weapon leveling, allowing for cosmetic customization and improved weapon capabilities. The PVP mode is skill-based, with progression linked to earning veteran points to unlock additional loadouts. The reviewer also comments on the AI behavior in different modes, finding the bots more effective in operations mode.

10:03

🌟 Single-Player Campaign and Story Insights

The paragraph delves into the single-player campaign, where players assume the role of Lieutenant Titus, a Pris Marine, in battles against Tyranids and forces of chaos. MORM appreciates the campaign's brevity and its storytelling, which includes showcasing non-Space Marine characters and their interactions. He also praises the writing and the representation of Warhammer 40K lore. The campaign serves as an introduction to the game mechanics before moving on to other modes like operations and PVP. MORM also touches on the progression system, which is straightforward in the campaign, offering new weapons and gear as the player advances.

15:04

🤖 Class-Based Combat and PVP Dynamics

MORM explores the various classes available in 'Space Marine 2,' each with unique abilities and playstyles, suitable for both PVE and PVP. He details the differences between the tactical, assault, vanguard, bullwark, sniper, and heavy classes, discussing his preference for the assault class due to its melee focus. The reviewer also covers the combat mechanics, including managing armor, parrying, dodging, and executing enemies. He notes the importance of mastering these mechanics for effective gameplay, especially in higher difficulties and PVP matches, where quick reflexes and strategic use of abilities are crucial.

20:06

🎖️ PVP and Steam Deck Performance

In this section, MORM focuses on the PVP aspect of 'Space Marine 2,' describing it as fast-paced and reliant on quick bursts of damage to defeat opponents. He mentions the limitations in PVP matchmaking and the desire for more customization options. The reviewer also shares his experience playing the game on the Steam Deck, noting its good performance and controller support. He concludes with a discussion on the game's pricing models, the value provided by the Gold and Ultra Editions, and his anticipation for future free updates that promise to expand the game's content.

25:08

🏆 Final Thoughts and Review Conclusion

MORM concludes his review by reflecting on the enjoyment he derived from 'Space Marine 2' despite it not aligning with his usual gaming preferences. He commends the game's moment-to-moment gameplay, visual appeal, and the immersive fantasy of playing as a superhuman Space Marine. The reviewer lists the negatives, including matchmaking issues, limited mission variety, and the underperformance of AI bots in certain situations. He expresses his satisfaction with the game's value, having purchased it during Early Access, and looks forward to future content updates. The review ends with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content and a general appreciation for the audience.

Keywords

💡Space Marine 2

Space Marine 2 is a third-person shooter video game and a sequel to the original Space Marine, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is the central focus of the video review, with the reviewer discussing various aspects such as gameplay, graphics, and progression systems. The game features the Space Marines, superhuman soldiers fighting against the forces of chaos and the Tyranids.

💡Third-person shooter

A third-person shooter is a genre of video games where the player views the character they control from a third-person perspective, typically from behind or above. This genre is characterized by gunplay and combat mechanics. In the context of the video, Space Marine 2 is described as a third-person shooter, emphasizing the player's role as a Space Marine battling hordes of enemies.

💡Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000, often abbreviated as Warhammer 40K, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is set in a dystopian science fantasy universe and has expanded into various forms of media, including video games. The video review discusses how Space Marine 2 captures the essence of the Warhammer 40K universe, with its lore and setting being integral to the game's narrative and aesthetic.

💡Co-op and multiplayer

Co-op (short for cooperative) and multiplayer modes refer to gameplay options where players can team up or compete against each other in shared game sessions. The video mentions that Space Marine 2 is heavily focused on cooperative and multiplayer gameplay, with modes like operations and PVP (player versus player) that allow players to engage in combat together or against each other.

💡Progression systems

Progression systems in video games refer to the mechanisms by which players advance their characters or unlock new abilities, weapons, or other content as they play. The reviewer discusses the progression systems in Space Marine 2, which include leveling up, earning experience points, and unlocking perks and cosmetic options for the player's Space Marine.

💡Matchmaking

Matchmaking in multiplayer games is the process of connecting players with others of similar skill levels or goals to create balanced and enjoyable game sessions. The video script mentions issues with the matchmaking system in Space Marine 2, particularly in the operations mode, where the reviewer found it difficult to play solo due to the game's insistence on finding other players.

💡PVP (Player versus Player)

PVP is a term used in gaming to describe game modes where players compete against each other rather than playing cooperatively or against computer-controlled opponents. The video review touches on the PVP mode in Space Marine 2, discussing the different classes available to players and the fast-paced, skill-based nature of the combat.

💡Difficulty levels

Difficulty levels in video games adjust the challenge presented to the player, often by modifying enemy strength, player abilities, or other game parameters. The script discusses the various difficulty levels available in Space Marine 2, including settings for both the single-player campaign and the operations mode, which cater to different player preferences and skill levels.

💡Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming device developed by Valve Corporation. It is mentioned in the video as a platform on which Space Marine 2 can be played, with the reviewer commenting on the game's performance and the suitability of the controller-based gameplay for the device.

💡Achievements

In video games, achievements are accomplishments that players can unlock for completing specific tasks or reaching certain milestones. The reviewer mentions that they review games after achieving 100% completion, which includes unlocking all achievements, as part of their unique approach to game reviewing.

Highlights

Review of 'Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2', a third-person shooter focusing on Space Marines.

The reviewer completed the game 100%, including achievements and additional content.

The game was purchased by the reviewer during Early Access, with 60+ hours of playtime invested.

Space Marine 2 is praised for its visuals and depiction of massive sci-fi battles.

Technical issues were mostly server-side, with matchmaking and connection problems noted.

The game offers a single-player campaign, co-op PVE operations, and multiplayer PVP modes.

The campaign features a difficulty setting and a focus on story and character progression.

Operations mode offers co-op play with varying difficulties and progression systems.

PVP mode is skill-based and offers a different class system for multiplayer combat.

The game includes a hub area for mission selection and character customization.

Enemy variety includes minoris, majoris, extremist, and terminus levels, each with unique combat behaviors.

Parrying and dodging are key combat mechanics for restoring armor and dealing damage.

The game's progression system allows for weapon and ability upgrades in operations mode.

PVP combat is fast-paced, with a focus on quick bursts and class specialization.

The Steam Deck version runs well for single-player and co-op modes, with controller support.

The game's replayability is high, but some may find the mission repetition tedious.

The reviewer spent over $90 on the Gold Edition and feels it was worth the price for the experience.

Future free updates are expected to add more content, including missions and difficulty levels.

The game's business model includes cosmetic DLCs, with the promise of free updates for gameplay enhancements.

Transcripts

[Music]

what's going on everybody morm here this

time bringing you my review after 100%

for Space Marine 2 a third person

shooter focusing of course on the Space

Marines from the Warhammer universe as

they fight against tier endid and the

forces of chaos but before we get into

all that to get my usual stuff out of

the way I review games after 100% all

the time to set me apart from other

reviewers on the platform and while that

does include the achievements and also

includes a lot more though in this case

the achievement list is fairly thorough

outside of I would say the PVP mode

which we'll get to but if you want to

learn more there's a video down in the

description below and my steam profile

is public and link below as well with

that in mind when it comes to Space

Marine 2 I did in fact pay for this uh

specifically I bought the access that

came with Early Access which is how I'm

bringing you this review I've already

put about 60 hours in it since that

initial Early Access period which is

honestly on its own probably a little

remark able because this is not my usual

type of game I just had so much fun

after trying it out that despite this

being a pretty heavily Co-op and

multiplayer title that I knew I simply

wanted to play more and all of it and

with that in mind I'm going to try to

cover this as thoroughly as possible but

again it's a little outside of my normal

range so that's something to know with

that out of the way though let's dive

into this one Space Marine 2 is as I

mentioned a third person shooter

specifically a follow-up of course to

Space Marine which was itself a fairly

popular popular title for the Warhammer

Universe the single player campaign

picks back up as Titus who Begins the

title by becoming a pris Marine a sort

of souped up version of regular Space

Marines only to be immediately called

upon to take the battle to the tyranids

specifically and then later on some

forces of chaos that naturally

predominate the setting as well now in

service to that though the game does

encompass a few different modes so we've

got the single player campaign primarily

though you can play this with a friend

if you want you've got the operations

which is Co-op PVE for the most part but

can also be done solo and then the

multiplayer PVP so there's a fair bit to

go over though first let's start with

the technical state of things how is

this game running so right away I think

a game like this looks incredible I

think it is really really cool to see

these gigantic sci-fi battles playing

out in the background as you fight your

way through hordes of enemies like

literally swarms of them and I think

it's especially impressive how many

actors so to speak that they got on

screen all at once which is something

that even the steam deck manages to do

very well surprisingly so I thought it

was going to run much worse there than

it did but that's not to say it's all

sunshine and rainbows now most of the

problems I ran into personally seem to

be on the server side of things when I

was playing things other than the main

campaign that is to say some sort of

crash related to lost connection I got

booted from a couple of matches servers

seemed to be down at one point the

matchmaking itself I think could use

some tweaks and work as you have very

little control over that or even even

say applying for custom game modes a lot

of the matchmaking even for operations

which can be done solo is automatic and

there's no way to like just turn it off

outside of disconnecting from the

internet which is its own headache and

then I ran into a variety of just small

visual stuff like some armor and assets

kind of freaking out here and there in

cutcenes and looking a little silly so

there's definitely that now I have seen

reports of other people suffering more

serious issues but they don't seem to be

especially widespread but there

certainly seems to be poten itial for

issues now with all of that out of the

way let's move on a little bit to the

difficulty side of things so this is

broken up into mostly operations and the

single player campaign so the main

campaign if you will is a little more

set in its difficulty because there is

not so much progression for the single

player version you mostly just get

access to different weapons as you go so

ramping up the difficulty on that

campaign means having to engage with the

mechanics and weapons just dealing the

damage that they deal etc but you can

choose between one of four difficulties

and kind of tailor that experience to

what you personally are comfortable with

which is especially important if you're

playing solo because one thing you'll

notice pretty quickly is that the Bots

while not completely useless definitely

could stand to be a little better and

they are a little prone to just standing

around or worse just seemingly attacking

random stuff with little to no benefit

to you now strangely enough I actually

found the Bots to work better in the

operations mode of the game which is

where I thought they would do worse just

because of the open-ended nature of that

but it seems like they have some sort of

Health protection in that mode that

makes them less likely to die on you and

so while not nearly as good as an actual

person they are better in that mode now

speaking of operations this version also

has four different difficulty modes

minimal to ruthless this UPS the

strength and health of the enemies

you're going to be facing and seeing how

you're going to be facing so many of

them at once it's pretty easy to die if

you go too big too fast now unlike the

campaign this is mostly tied to

progression specific Ty Al the damage

your weapon is dealing by your ability

to upgrade it as you go so while

ruthless starts out basically impossible

right at the beginning as you gain

upgrades and everything it becomes

easier and easier and then at max level

for the operations side especially with

a team of other people who are also

leveled you should be more than okay

whereas the PVP mode is more skill-based

of course now from there let's talk a

little bit about the single player

campaign basically the setup for it and

my thoughts on it now do be advised of a

few spoilers here and there it's a

relatively short campaign so talking

about it much at all is realistically a

spoiler to some degree but this is

really the only part of the video that

we'll touch on that because it's a sort

of Standalone mode unto itself now in

the campaign mode we play as Lieutenant

Titus as he is welcomed back to the

ultramarines after some exceptional

service in the Death Watch which he was

in after being under suspicion of

corruption by the forces of chaos but

having proven that was never the case he

was not only rescued from a life

endangering situation he was restored as

a pris marine an upgrade and power

essentially for those who don't want to

get deep into Warhammer 40K lore but as

I mentioned earlier we are immediately

thrown into a fight against the tyranids

which is what we were doing on the

planet as death watch anyway as our job

was to set off a virus bomb to

temporarily weaken them and then the

rest of the campaign is all about trying

to stop the tyranids and fight against

them as much as possible before the

forces of chaos get involved and you do

a little bit of fighting against them as

well so the story is Mission based as

you might expect you operate out of a

hub which is true for all of the modes

and you can replay these missions as you

please so it's a relatively shorter

linear experience as tends to be the

case with these types of games I would

say it'll probably run you somewhere

between 7 to 10 hours depending on how

much of the sites you decide to take in

but during that time I think it does a

fantastic job of representing Warhammer

40K and one thing especially that I

really liked is how much it showcases

people who are not Space Marines the

everyday soldier who do the bulk of

Defending against these threats with the

Space Marines being more of a special

operations unit at this point so seeing

their interactions both with the

everyday Defenders and how well that was

done while also capturing a bit of what

their life was like I thought was a

really great touch and that's to say

nothing of some pretty fantastic writing

in places some really great moments and

while I have some minor gripes some

Mission moments that were especially

annoying due to combat AI them going a

little crazy CRA on using the word

brother constantly but that's pretty in

character if anything but overall I had

a really great time with it I thought

the last couple missions especially were

really really cool and it was mostly

over-the-top non-stop action which is

what I want from a game like this

personally but I would say that

realistically the story's primary

purpose is to get you familiar with the

game's mechanics alongside the weapons

and stuff before you go and tackle the

rest of the game that is to say

operations and PVP so we're going to

switch to talking about progression a

little bit here and it's different for

each one of those three modes now the

campaign is pretty simple as you advance

in missions you basically just get

access to other weapons and whatnot and

that's really all there is you're

playing as Titus he has a sort of set

strength if you want to put it that way

so the progression for the campaign is

mostly just you learning how the game

works before moving on to the other

modes now the real progression is in

operations and PVP we'll do PVP first

cuz it's also pretty simple basically

the more you participate in that mode

you'll earn points toward veteran levels

which allows you to unlock Extra like

weapons and loadouts that you can take

into a match right away as one of the

six available class is available both in

PvP and operations so basically the more

you play it the more you can tailor what

you're doing to how you like to play

which for me was absolutely the assault

class but as we switch over to

operations we'll talk a little bit more

about that so operations is your Co-op

PVE if that's how you want to play the

game you don't have to do this in Co-op

you can in fact play this solo but the

game does try to Auto matchmake you

which means it can be a little Annoying

to get the game to let you do these solo

but if you quit out of a squad enough it

seems to just finally stop trying to

matchmake you and I would honestly just

prefer an option to turn the matchmaking

off since it's intended to be allowed

that you tackle those things solo if you

want so it's ridiculous I can't just

click a button to do that but otherwise

I enjoyed operations so what are they

now narratively speaking these are side

missions that take place alongside the

main campaign as you're going through

that there are support groups that will

be aiding your main character's mission

in that mode and operations allows you

to actually play through those

individual missions and tasks now

unfortunately there are only six of

these and a little more variety would

have been nice but otherwise I enjoyed

them a lot they have those four

different difficulties as I mentioned

but then as you play through those

missions you start engaging with the

game's biggest progression systems so

right away as you successfully complete

operations you'll earn more and more

cosmetic options that are available even

in the PVP mode for your Space Marine so

you can look cool while you kill

everything but you're also going to be

earning experience and Armory data so

experience both levels you and your

weapons up now you have a character

level up to a maximum of 25 and as you

level up you unlock perks that you can

then buy with the currency that you get

for just winning versions of operations

so if you successfully complete a

mission you get this little currency to

spend in the Armory Hall at your Hub and

then you can buy your perks with that

which are all pretty pretty cheap and

then also unlock further cosmetics and

decals with it but your weapons are as

much of a focus as these perks so as you

take on higher difficulties of

operations you can earn a rarity

Associated Armory data your sort of

normal epic and legendary versions of

these that allow you to upgrade your

weapon as you hit certain experience

caps unlocking the next tier for your

weapons both upgrades them visually

while also allowing you to equip

versions of those weapons that deal more

damage each of those versions of AAP

weapon can further be mastered as you

earn experience which then unlocks perk

points for that weapon specifically

which makes it even deadlier and the

damage and the perks from that is I

would say the biggest part of operations

progression as that's what's really

going to allow you to push those higher

difficulties now something that took me

way too long to notice is that while you

don't need a ton of Armory data to

unlock these you can actually instantly

Master the different versions of the

weapons for its perk point if you have

extra Armory data for that tier which

can be handy if there's a version of a

weapon you don't want to use because say

take the melee weapons for instance

there's a few of them but some of these

versions come with different methods of

blocking now some of them will literally

say blocking and that's actually the

worst one because those ones don't allow

you to Parry the enemy and parrying

especially more melee oriented special

enemies is like the best way to deal

with them so you might want to watch out

for that but that's the bulk of what to

know progression wise so let's move on

to the game play the world world and the

combat as that's kind of all one and the

same here but primarily first and

foremost I want to talk a little bit

about how this game is structured and

some important things to know as I

mentioned we operate out of a hub area

this includes the launch bay and the

Armory Hall primarily the Armory Hall is

what is going to allow you to customize

your Marine your loadouts that you can

have up to three saved for you can

access the other two outside of the one

you're using in operations missions

sometimes at certain little checkpoints

which is Handy and in case you want to

switch weapons like Mid Mission and the

launch bay and the terminal there is how

you'll determine the game mode that

you're in and what you want to do next

now that's important because while the

campaign is pretty well curated in terms

of the experiences and encounters you'll

have the operations operate a little bit

differently as you might expect there's

slightly more Rog light in nature where

your overall goals stay the same every

time you do them but what you might

encounter will and can change sometimes

you'll be attacked by big Terminus level

enemies which take a significant amount

of Firepower to bring down effectively

acting as boss fights you can also get

attacked by enemy waves as you go and

even some of the actual objectives that

you are pursuing will change slightly

based on what you've got going on which

again I think would have been better

served over a bigger variety of missions

but otherwise was pretty fun now while

you are on any of those Mission levels

basically most of what you're going to

be doing is fighting and pushing forward

there's not too much to do in the levels

besides taking the scenery and

occasionally find items that'll be

laying around such as ammo or Med packs

that type of thing standard stuff really

and occasionally you'll find a data

slate which can give you like a little

bit of lore but that is about it so the

missions themselves outside of fighting

the enemies are definitely a little

sparse but probably the coolest thing

about this is definitely whatever

technology is running these swarms of

enemies that will come at you and at

least to my mind it's wild how many of

these they manag to get on screen all at

once without at least in my experience

having much problem at all and again

even the steam deck seem to perfectly

manage this now initially I thought some

of these swarms might have just been

like a visual trick because they often

come up to like Ledges and whatnot and

then they sort of climb on top of each

other so I thought maybe those swarms at

the bottom were maybe just visual

effects and weren't actually enemies but

they are in fact enemies they will all

eventually climb up to fight you you can

even throw grenades down and you know

prevent them from climbing up to begin

with if you've got the Firepower for it

and that was genuinely wild to me but

from there I want to talk a little more

about operations and PVP specifically in

particular though the classes for both

of them and then the game modes and

stuff for PVP before we start talking a

little bit about how combat specifically

works so the classes you've got tactical

Assault Vanguard bullwark sniper and

heavy each of these has a different sort

of ultimate ability personally my

favorite was assault by far mostly

because while a lot of this game is

shoot Shing the assault class really

leans into melee weaponry and jumping

around and smash attacking everything

and both in PVE and PVP I had a ton of

fun with that but it did seem to have a

bit more of a skill ceiling because you

know range wise you don't have a lot of

options but each of them is pretty good

tactical is a great all-arounder has a

buff that deals more damage to everyone

inside an area Vanguard was also really

great they've got like a grapple thing

and they're fantastic and like Quick

Melee actions bullwark is obviously L

more defensive they've got one that will

restore your armor points personally my

least favorite but I could see why

someone would enjoy it snipers all about

ranged attacks less useful against the

large swarms of enemies but fantastic

for taking down the bigger enemies and

then finally heavy slow but devastating

as you might imagine their iron Halo

ability protects them from ranged

frontal damage while they just focused

on shooting and combined with heavy

weapons which you can only temporarily

carry in the main campaign that they

just get all the time is a ton of fun I

liked heavy but I liked assault a lot

more and then as you progress these and

get perks and operations mode they get

even better and better whereas in PvP

you progress and unlock the exact load

out you like to play for that class but

there are some minor gripes that are

associated with class specifically now

in PvP I think this makes more sense but

you are limited in the amount of each

class you can have on one team basically

two per and that's fine again I think it

makes sense there though I do wish there

were more open rules to be adjusted in

PvP generally because you only have

access to three game modes and I really

just wanted to see more options there in

general but I think that just about

knocks out that section before we can

talk specifically about combat and how

some of this works now this part might

be a little dry but there's some

interesting stuff I want to talk about

here so combat as you've almost

certainly seen here is US battling

against hordes of enemies but in order

to do that there's some important stuff

to know enemies are divided up into one

of four levels minoris Majoris extremis

or terminus minoris and Majoris you're

going to see everywhere it's the bulk of

what you're fighting minoris are the

little swarm enemies they're mostly easy

to kill if you're on the difficulty you

should be on but their goal is to

basically kill you with just sheer

numbers now Majoris on the other hand

are the characters that are able to do

some real damage to you and have a lot

more Health requiring more of your

attention to take out but you will still

be fighting quite a few of them which

means it's necessary to learn their

attack patterns now thankfully the enemy

variety being down to tyranids and some

chaos Marines but also specific enemies

performing specific actions makes that a

little easier to learn now where things

start to get a little more tricky is

with the extremist and Terminus enemies

now extremist are specialty Monsters of

some description like a lior or a

ravener that have special attacks and

methods that you'll need to deal with in

fact theor goes invisible and likes to

attack from ambushes but a tactical

special ability will reveal it a

zoanthrope is a tyranid that sort of f

FES up and shoots energy at you which is

incredibly annoying to deal with as an

assault character who doesn't have a lot

of ranged options as an example but all

of these enemies typically have very

specific attack patterns that can be

then dealt with accordingly in

particular this is where parrying comes

in the most though it's also a thing

with Majoris enemies enemies will

occasionally Flash Blue that is a

parable attack and if you time it right

you can do that the windows pretty

generous but it does depend upon which

weapon you have personally I liked

weapons with a balanced approach as the

timing for that Parry seems to be

exactly in line with how I thought about

parrying but there's also ones that have

like fining for instance which is a

little different speed-wise now if you

perfectly Parry something or perfectly

Dodge out of the way of it that enemy

will be opened up to a gunshot which is

a very large damage single shot attack

that restores armor more on Armor

momentarily but both gunshots which can

also be done to smaller enemies by

simply heavy attacking them if that

doesn't kill them to begin with and

you're parrying those big attack a is

realistically probably the easiest way

to deal with a lot of these bigger

enemies and if you master that you're

going to do very well at combat

especially because those actions are

often what is going to restore your

armor now your armor varies a little bit

by the class and difficulty but

typically you're going to have three

points small enemies will chip away at

this whereas bigger enemies will deal

several points all at once potentially

and deal with it very quickly so in

order to get around that armor loss you

have to constantly be regenerating it

through those perfect par perfect Dodges

executions as well when enemies get low

on health they start flashing red and

you can execute them in a single attack

that both gives you armor and makes you

immune to other attacks for a few

seconds and as you take damage to your

actual Health you do have a moment where

attacking enemies will get some of that

lost Health back and executions in

particular will restore all of it so

much of combat in my experience with

this game comes down to managing just

the sheer numbers of enemies you're

dealing with while also maintaining your

own armor which against certain

combinations of enemies is certainly

more difficult than it might initially

sound but for the most part I enjoyed

that setup enough to have played this

game as much as I did despite it

normally not really being in my

wheelhouse though I did gravitate

towards melee specifically because of

how much fun I had parrying everything

but ultimately I will say how much you

like that system is going to determine

how much you like this game and while I

think it is easy enough to learn and

decently challenging to master

especially again against large enemies I

could see it not being everybody's cup

of tea but for the most part I had a ton

of fun with this but before we wrap this

section up a little bit let's talk a

tiny bit about those Terminus enemies I

mentioned basically these are like large

enemies with health bars they have set

attacks and everything they deal massive

amounts of damage and they can pretty

easily kill you when you kill them in

operations they actually drop Armory

data which is why you would want to stop

and kill them despite the fact that you

can typically run by most of them but

these include things like a car effect a

neuroth or a hell brute all of which are

appropriately big terrifying enemies

that going head-to-head with is a lot of

fun though as I mentioned in operations

a lot of times like any combination of

these things can spawn in a given area

but there are some general rules it

would seem after like an enemy wave or

an extremist enemy you're often not

going to see either of those things for

at least a couple of minutes and then

while a Terminus level enemy is on the

field those other things typically will

not happen unless you're progressing

past the point where the kind of like

arena for lack of a better word for the

previous enemy was the Terminus one in

this case so once you kind of learn the

ins and outs of those rules and what

will attack you when you can get really

good at tackling each of these

individually which I think again for me

was a lot of the fun of this title now

last but not least for this particular

section is talking a little bit about

PVP combat cuz that's obviously

different PVP is much faster than the

other game modes matches typically don't

last particularly long and they tend to

be very I would say glass Cannon versus

glass Cannon type of matches both you

and the enemy will typically die in just

a few hits so it's really more about

like bursting enemies down before they

can do the same to you than anything

else now when you get good at that and

you expect it it can be a ton of fun and

with the assault class in particular I

was having a blast especially because

your jump attack in that mode actually

functions a little differently than in

PVE where it takes longer to recharge

but your V vulnerable up in the air

while you're charging that down so the

best way to use it realistically is to

surprise enemies who do not see you but

even in that case you don't have access

to a lot of properly ranged Weaponry as

an assault class who focuses on melee so

you're pretty easily taken down at range

yourself and every class kind of has

something like that but for the most

part I had a pretty good time with this

though I fully admit I was mostly just

after the multiplayer achievements

before dipping out on the PVP so I fully

admit I did not play this nearly as much

as the other modes and mostly just

wanted to get a good idea of how it

functioned so there is that but it's

definitely the kind of thing where you

want to pick a class and figure out how

you want to play and get really good at

it to do the best you can that brings us

to the steam deck version however so

surprisingly the steam deck I think runs

at least the operations and Main

campaign side of this pretty well you

got controller support Cloud saves

naturally and the frame rate is even

decent if you bring all of the settings

down which even on low looks pretty good

on that screen now the catch here is I

think fairly obvious in that a lot of

the fun of this game is the multiplayer

modes for many people and with the steam

deck being more on the- go that might

not necessarily work out and I think

that would be my primary consideration

for playing this on Steam deck for most

people personally I don't like playing

stuff like this with a controller I'm

keyboard and mouse all the way but I

know that that's opposite of many but

for others again I think the steam deck

part just comes down to are you always

using your steam deck where you have a

proper internet connection so you can

play in those modes with other people

and if not are you fine with playing

just the solo side of things which is

possible but with that out of the way

let's move on to our positives and

negatives before we wrap this thing up

so on the positive side of things

definitely the moment to moment gam play

fighting against what seems like

innumerable enemies only to wind up

coming out on top when you get the game

play down and the feel of that all

around is fantastic I think visually

it's a very stunning game as well and it

really captures I think the fantasy of

playing as one of these giant

superhumans tearing through the enemies

of the Imperium of man and that's by far

the best thing this game has going for

it now on the negative side of things

that's where things get interesting

because I do actually think there are a

variety of negatives to this game but it

really just depends on how much any one

of those individually bothers you for

instance I don't think the matchmaking

of this game is particularly good it's

often matching you with people who are

already playing the same class and

operations which it doesn't allow you to

do you have to go either change class

which might change the level of the

people it matchmake you with making the

mission that you signed up for

impossible you also can't simply turn

the matchmaking off despite being able

to play that solo which seems silly and

just not having options to customize

that experience a little more than is

available especially when it comes to

like PVP which seems super limited if

fun is definitely I think a bit of a

bummer it's also sad I think that the

bot AI is kind of woefully underprepared

for a lot large amount of situations you

might find yourself in and in operations

you can get yourself to a point where

that's not such a big deal but even then

the max difficulty with Bots is going to

be really hard because those Bots are

difficult to direct properly whereas I

think on the difficulty just below that

substantial Bots are perfectly fine if

your character is kitted out for it but

the other negative for me realistically

is just that I wish there was more

variety to the missions and gameplay

modes and stuff that were available

because as it stands right now I think

those are pretty limited and in the

course of this 100% review it did

absolutely get extremely tedious to run

through the exact same missions over and

over again even if I was having a ton of

fun with the combat itself now

personally I don't see wanting more of a

game as the worst thing a game could do

that is to say if I walk away from a

game going man I wish I could have

played more of that and that there was

more content Etc that's not necessarily

the worst thing a game might have going

for it so again how much that bothers

you is going to be up in the air which

brings me to my conclusion simply put I

played this game for 60 plus hours I

think it was like 61 or 62 something

like that despite this normally not even

being the kind of game that I like to

play but it felt so incredible to play

the story was really cool the

over-the-top feel of it all really drew

me in and again I paid for this one out

of pocket uh specifically the Gold

Edition which was like $90 us and I feel

perfectly good about that I had a lot of

fun for that price and now that we're

past the Early Access period I think the

standard version for $60 definitely

justifies the price tag however there is

a pricing thing I wanted to mention uh

specifically the Gold Edition and the

ultra Edition the ones that come with

the uh season pass and everything that

mostly appears to be cosmetic stuff

which you would only really bother to

know if you actually navigated to the

steam page for the season pass

specifically now supposedly these are

also supposed to be coming with free

updates to the game that add things like

another difficulty uh more missions and

new enemy types but obviously those

things aren't in there right now so it

looks to me that long term they probably

plan on keeping these servers up via the

sale of these cosmetic dlc's that allow

you to customize your Space Marine in

various ways which I don't necessarily

think is a bad thing if the actual

updates the game does get those extra

missions lethal difficulty the new modes

Etc over the course of I believe like

2025 they have planned right now are in

fact free and added at no charge to you

then I think that's not so bad but I

mention that specifically here at the

end because that is the kind of

situation that let's be honest we've

seen turn South many many times for many

many games and while I don't think

that's the case here now I just want

people to be aware of it but as it

stands simply put I paid for this game

out of pocket I had a ton of fun with it

and I'm honestly looking forward to when

some of these free updates drop because

as I said mostly I just want to play

more of this game so that I think is

where I'm going to leave this particular

review so I hope you enjoyed it if you

did don't forget to like comment

subscribe all that YouTube jazz but

regardless of any of that truly just

thank you so much for watching I really

do appreciate it may you wander in

wisdom and have an amazing day

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