MeinMMO author Johanna Heuck was eager Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Even though she is not really good at the game, she is extremely excited.
Actually, shooters are not really my genre. Although I have spent countless hours in PUBG, shooters are not completely foreign to me, but I always have my friends with me there, who can protect me. My aiming skills are not always reliable.
Correspondingly, I was not initially interested in Space Marine 2. However, those friends had this game on their wishlist and I kept hearing: “Space Marine 2 is going to be so awesome! I am really looking forward to it!”
After a battle against my aversion to shooters, curiosity eventually prevailed, and I threw myself into the grim-dark future of the 41st millennium, put on a power armor, and started slaughtering Tyranids.
By now, I am completely hooked on Space Marine 2 and the game has captivated me with its absurdly vast Warhammer lore. I am not even good at the game. Not at all.
The most important feature is my biggest enemy
I started the game and Space Marine 2 did not hesitate to throw me directly into the action. The game basically told me: “Here are about seven thousand three hundred and five Tyranids, good luck!”
Piece by piece, the game teaches me the controls until we reach a critical point (at least for me): parrying. I am not good at that at all.
No matter what kind of video game it is, I just cannot manage to parry. Even when the game screams at me, practically spoon-feeding me the exact moment with sound and display like a mother animal: I just can’t manage to press the button at the right moment.
For Space Marine 2, this is practically my death sentence, as parrying is a core mechanic here and extremely important. Combo attacks with parries are one of the best ways to take down many enemies at once as effectively as possible, especially with a certain type of weapon.
When huge masses of Tyranids overwhelm me in the last part of the tutorial, I die several times in a row. I am frustrated.
I mentally count how many times I need to press the attack button to execute a combination with a long reach. Additionally, I study the attacks of the Tyranids to catch the exact moment to parry.
Overall, I die six times, but I am still too vain to lower the difficulty level. After all, I manage to get through the tutorial and drag myself exhausted into the following cutscenes.
What really lies behind Warhammer: So much lore!
Finally, I arrive at the first cutscenes after my initial problems. I can watch as Lieutenant Titus is transformed into something even more intense by a Space Marine after his near-death experience. Now the lore suddenly captivates me completely, and the game seems much more interesting right away.
The more information I receive in the following sequence, the more my science fiction heart races. I quickly realize: There is so much background knowledge to discover here.
I pause the game and start researching: What exactly is an Ultramarine? Who is Titus? What are those creatures I have to shoot down? Why has all this happened? And what are those strange terms they all use?
After a few minutes I notice that the Warhammer rabbit hole goes much deeper than I initially thought. I was firmly convinced that there were only the predecessor and perhaps some spin-off video games, but no.
There are video games, comic books, books, and even a movie…? Although… that doesn’t look very good. That’s definitely not canon. There are entire playlists on YouTube that explain the entire lore.
Or guides on how and where to start if you want to dive into the Warhammer story. Entire guides that explain to me in what order I have to understand this at all.
Oh God … I couldn’t have chosen a better story as a science fiction nerd! Or should I say: For the Emperor?
A little experiment turns me into a huge fan
Admittedly, at first I was disheartened when it came to Space Marine 2. I wanted to try something that is far from me and probably couldn’t have chosen a more unsuitable game for it.
Parrying is my nemesis and we will definitely not become friends. Neither here nor in any other game.
Still, I am too vain to lower the difficulty, as that wouldn’t feel lore-appropriate. A Space Marine doesn’t give up!
Even though I struggle with the gameplay, I am thrilled with the game. The lore fascinates me too much for my lack of skills to discourage me. I just want to learn more about the story.
Fortunately, I have my friends who can help me with both the Tyranids and the lore. Even in this game, I have the opportunity to hide behind my friends during my aimless absence via multiplayer.
Well done, Warhammer, you have captivated me! If you would excuse me now, I am needed in the fight against the Tyranids.
Even though I am definitely not an expert in lore, that will take a while, I have extensively dealt with the weapons in Space Marine 2. The result is a tier list that might help you decide on your main weapon: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2: Tier list of the best weapons
