Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2’s PVP multiplayer mode, Eternal War, has come alive, as players who paid for early access reinforce the tiny vanguard of reviewers and influencers with review copies of the game. This has finally given Wargamer the chance to test out the mode, and we’ve come to a simple conclusion: it’s absolutely freaking brilliant.
Wargamer’s Space Marine 2 review is one of the harsher on the internet. We praised the combat, the recreation of the Warhammer 40k universe, and the sheer technical spectacle, but criticised the thin plot and how the inadequate companion AI made many co-op set-pieces into miserable slogs. Though Eternal War was technically playable during the review period, the player population was too low to find a match, so we excluded the mode from the review.
Space Marine 2 has already hit 134,000 consecutive players, ten times as many simultaneous users as the original game did at its peak, and the game hasn’t even been released yet – that’s just from people who paid extra to unlock early access. Early access game unlocks are a risky way to spend money, but these fans have been rewarded.
Editor Alex spent an entire day off work smashing through matches, but as he’s still on leave I’ll talk about my experiences, snatched last night after putting my daughter to bed and this morning before the writing day began.
The core combat gameplay that works so well in the campaign translates beautifully to multiplayer, though without hordes of Space Marine 2 enemies there’s more emphasis on ranged weapons – most of the time. You’re far more fragile in PVP multiplayer than in the campaign or PVE mode, and a well-placed Assault or Vanguard marine charge can easily assassinate a lone operative.
I’ve joined games via quick play, and by chance that’s thrown me into Sieze Ground mode each time. It’s a straightforward ‘grab zones and hold them to rack up points’ mission, with just three maps so far. They have distinctive flavors: the expansive Cathedrum is notable for having the most open space in its central arena, giving Snipers long fire lines, and Assault marines the ability to arc high into the air and strike anywhere.
So far, no one of the Space Marine 2 classes is obviously the best. I’ve tinkered with: the Heavy, unmatched for putting out damage at medium range; Bulwark, invulnerable to ranged fire and perfect for rallying your own troops but not offensively capable on its own; and Assault, which can swoop high into the air and deliver a crushing alpha strike. Since I unlocked the thunder hammer that’s fast becoming my favorite, but all have their moments of satisfaction, whether that’s blasting enemies to scraps with a heavy bolter or turning a rout into a rally with the Bulwark’s Chapter Banner.
The fact that I’ve had so much more luck with the thunder hammer than the chainsword has me a little nervous that Space Marine 2 weapons locked to higher veterancy tiers will be more powerful – but I’ve not played enough to know if it’s just that this one weapon suits my tendencies better.
The currency reward system feels a little better in PVP mode than I suspected it might. In co-op multiplayer, currency is used to unlock skills, weapon upgrades, and cosmetics, and it’s pretty stretched. But as there’s no gear upgrades or skills to worry about in Eternal War, just bling, the trickle of creds you get at the end of each match feels ample.
I’m happy to say that the season pass is not a time-limited track: once purchased it gives you access to a bunch of extra gear options to spend match credits on. In effect, it’s a cosmetics bundle packaged to give you more dopamine.
Perhaps by chance, or by a setting that I’m not aware of, in every match I’ve been assigned to the Chaos Space Marine team. This has highlighted one issue for me – there aren’t any Chaos cosmetics, at least not that I’ve been able to find. I don’t mind playing as them though – the voice lines are so charmingly extra that I want a DLC campaign starring these despicable numbskulls.
We’ll leave the judgment of how well this stands up against the best multiplayer games to our sister site PCGamesN. But with the triple whammy of PVP, PVE, and that flawed but spectacular campaign, Space Marine 2 is definitely one of the best Warhammer 40k games ever made.
Source: Wargamer
