Space Marine 2 takes place in the dark world of Warhammer 40,000, a dystopian future where war is constant. The cooperative shooter is particularly popular for its action-packed gameplay, but it also offers a story. And that could become significant for the entire universe.
Spoiler Warning: We are discussing the ending of the story campaign of Space Marine 2 here. If you haven’t completed the game yet or don’t want to be spoiled, you should not continue reading. Here you can find, in preparation, what you need to know about the story of Space Marine 2 regarding Warhammer.
What is Space Marine 2 about?
- You play as the Ultramarine Titus in Space Marine 2, who fights against the alien threat of the Tyranids, nasty bug aliens with a hive mind.
- In the world of Warhammer 40k, this happens constantly. The Tyranid fleet that you face here is the largest and most dangerous in the entire universe.
- At the end of the story, there is a big plot twist with a nasty preview of what could come in the future – with an important detail.
This is the end: While you fight against the Tyranids, Chaos Marines of the Thousand Sons appear to take advantage of the moment and spread some chaos. Literally. They use the war to hand over at least this part of the galaxy to the Warp.
To achieve this, they use Project Aurora, which is the central theme of the entire game. The project is a kind of weapon that harnesses technologies from Chaos, Xenos (more specifically: Necrons), and the Imperium to seemingly completely drive the Warp out of an area.
In Space Marine 2, this doesn’t quite work at first, because a wizard of the Thousand Sons infiltrates the project and manipulates the weapon to open a gate to the Warp instead of banishing it.
Titus and his team ultimately manage to defeat the evil Marines and use the artifact to actually drive out the chaos. Throughout the whole ordeal, you also visit a tomb world of the Necrons, whose awakening is hinted at towards the end.
The Necrons’ plan threatens all of humanity
Awakening Necrons, Chaos, and the largest Tyranid fleet in the universe are already problematic enough. However, what could really become terrible for humanity is the artifact that Titus and the Ultramarines find.
What kind of device it is exactly is never explained. However, the Necrons have a technology that can indeed drive the Warp away while creating a “Pariah Nexus” – depending on the source, the actual device might be named that way already.
What sounds good at first is a big problem for humans (and also Eldar, by the way). A Pariah Nexus separates an entire area from the Warp and prevents its intrusion – but also the intrusion into the Warp.
There is even its own series about Pariah Nexus, which describes the Necrons in a bit more detail:
According to large parts of the lore, human souls are essentially part of the Warp and return there after the death of the human. Humans and Eldar are inherently psychic beings and are therefore, it is assumed, connected to the Warp.
If this connection is missing now, at least the souls are trapped after death – possibly, all of this could have even worse effects on living beings. The Necrons’ plan is apparently to make the entire universe one big Nexus.
The end of Space Marine 2 thus hints at a gigantic development in Warhammer 40k in general – if it is considered canon. This is not always so certain with Warhammer. Maybe the Necrons are just an idea for upcoming content, of which at least a few are already known: Roadmap shows new PvE missions, weapons, and what else is coming after release
