Warhammer 40K: ‘Space Marine II’ Hype-Train Continues To Rev With New Video
Saber Interactive and Games Workshop have a new video showcasing some behind the scenes from the making of Space Marine II.
All aboard the hype-train because Space Marine II is moving full steam ahead. As we get closer to the release date of September 9, 2024 I’m getting more excited. I was a big fan of the first game and have been waiting for the sequel for years. Frankly, I’m still a little shocked it’s happening (but that’s for a whole bunch of industry reasons that have nothing to do with the game itself). And to continue to get the word out and build hype there’s a new behind the scenes video intended to do just that!
“But in a few short weeks we’ll be able to do exactly that, playing as the indomitable Lieutenant Titus in the action-packed upcoming Tyranid biff-simulator Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. We had thought we were at maximum hype already here in the Warhammer Community iron maiden, but then this incredible behind-the-scenes video dropped…”
Space Marine II Is Checking The Right Boxes
For me, there’s three things that really jumped out at me when I watched this video. The first and most important is that this is a continuation from the first game. The events of the previous game haven’t been ignored. This is the same (former) Captain Titus that has been demoted down to Lieutenant. If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the videos trying to figure out what happened. But I have a pretty good idea at this point.
Titus has four service studs in his brow. If you don’t know those represent how many years the marine has been in the service of the chapter. Typically, gold studs are for 100 years. So, you can do the math there.
In the previous game, he only had two studs. If those gold studs are representing 100 years each, that means it’s been at least 200 years since we last saw him. What’s he been up to this whole time? Well, at the end of the previous game he was being escorted off by some Black Templars and an Inquisitor. Likely, for service in the Deathwatch if I had to guess. But we probably won’t get that back story until we play the game.
Note the chains on the Lieutenant’s wrist (who we can assume is Titus). Those are likely Chains of Zeal that the Black Templars use to keep their weapons attached. Considering who escorted Titus off at the end of the last one, well, you can put two and two together and draw your own conclusions. Additionally, there’s this bit from the video that shows what I think look suspiciously like Deathwatch Marines:
I’m also pretty sure that’s Titus about to make a landing on the planet’s surface with the “help” of those Tyranid Gargoyles.
In a different video we see Titus essentially getting demoted to Lieutenant by a current Captain of the Ultramarines. It makes sense. If he was gone for 200-odd years then someone would have had to be promoted to the rank of Captain of the Second Company, right? And the Ultramarines aren’t stupid — if Titus comes back from his duty and has been proven to be in the clear (of chaos taint) then they aren’t going to reject him. Making him a Lieutenant is a perfectly acceptable option.
Bring On The Hordes
The next big thing that has me excited about this game is that it’s from Saber Interactive. If you’re not big on keeping track of game studios you might not be super familiar with them. However, they made one of the best zombie games ever with World War Z. I have spent quite a few hours in that game blastin’ the zombie hordes with friends. And if they used the same and/or modified the tech to handle Tyranid Hordes (and it looks like they did) this is going to be a TON of fun.
I can’t wait to get in there with a Heavy Bolter and just unload. And then when things get too close, swap to melee and go to pound town. And the gore…yes, this is a Space Marine game and things are going to brutal and bloody when taking on the swarm — just as it should be!
Customization and Replayability
The final thing(s) that are super important that jumped out to me are the replayability factor coupled with the customization. We already know there’s multiple game modes for this game. What I really like to see is the post-campaign game modes that entice you to keep playing. I want to play with my friends and get unlocks. New abilities, weapons, and (maybe most importantly) new styles. I want a big ole badge that says “yeah, I solo’d a carnifex” or whatever. I want gold weapons that scream, “yeah, I got 1000 headshots with this weapon” or something else crazy. And yeah, I even want to be able to customize my looks as a Traitor Marine for the PvP mode, too.
Oh and there’s actually one final thing people that don’t know the history of this franchise might have missed. There’s a bit at roughly the 5:07 mark Tim Willits (the Chief Creative Officer) drops this little bit:
“As you’ve seen with some of our other titles we have a track record with supporting our titles through quality of life updates, through paid DLC, and larger addons.”
This makes me sooooo happy to hear. The OG Space Marine game actually had a fair bit of support after launch. I know had things worked out differently with the OG Space Marine game we might have gotten even more support and modes later on. And because this is 40k and Space Marines in general, there’s a wealth of options for Saber Interactive to mine. Again, I played a fair bit of World War Z and I don’t remember there being any super predatory MTX going on in that game. Here’s hoping that continues in the Space Marine II game as well.
I can’t wait for this one to drop September 9th, 2024. Now I just need to figure out what pre-order edition I want to get…
