Space Marine 2 is Going to Perfect What Left 4 Dead Started all those Years Ago, and It’ll Even Feel a Bit Like Gears of War in the Process

Replayability is one of the main aspects of successful cooperative games. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is going with a fresh take on cooperative gameplay. The new Operations mode takes inspiration from two genre giants, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War.

For instance, Left 4 Dead was the first game with an AI Director that adjusted difficulty and enemy spawns based on player performance as the game progressed, and Gears of War, on the other hand, perfected the horde mode. 

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 will blend these disparate influences and create a unique and rich co-op experience. 

The Operations mode brings a unique class system, unlike anything seen yet. While in campaign mode, players take on the role of Lieutenant Titus of Ultramarine, this one features six soldier types, including Bulwark, a tank that uses a combat shield, a Sniper with a camo cloak that will allow stealth progression, and several other classes, each with specific strengths and special weapons. 

With that said, players will form squads of three characters, whether they are all human teammates or AI bots. The six different soldier classes, each with unique strengths and specializations, are bound to provide hundreds of potential team compositions and strategies. This will certainly make each playthrough fresh and exciting. 

While missions have their own set objectives and stories, they are not all that simple and dull. Now, players can expect challenges to change despite taking on the same mission in Operations mode. This is all to thank an AI director that changes difficulty. According to Creative Director Oliver Hollis,

a lot of randomized events can also be triggered by an AI director, adapting its difficulty to the squad’s progression and guaranteeing replayability between each trial.

In addition to being interesting and engaging, completing missions in Operations mode rewards players. Players will earn in-game currency that fuels character progression by upgrading special abilities and unlocking new armor and weapons. Beyond these, players can hope to earn and unlock new helmets, greaves, chest plates, pauldrons, and even heraldry decals and color schemes personalizing Space Marine’s appearance to the smallest details.  

This game pioneered AI directorship in cooperative games. This system adjusted difficulty and enemy spawns based on player performance, status, skill, and location. This created a changing battlefield, making players return for more. AI Director wasn’t responsible only for spawning enemies but also for additional health, weapons, ammo, and some higher-tier playable characters known as Special infected. 

Although Operations doesn’t feature endless waves of enemies like classic Horde Mode, missions are heavily objective-based and require a similar approach. Players need to work together and combine class abilities, just like in Gears of War, to defeat enemies. 

Space Marine 2 combines different mechanics from two different games and promises to deliver fresh challenges and strategy into the famous Warhammer universe.

What the AI Director in Operations will do is yet to be seen, but with details available, it is a promising start. What are your thoughts on the new game mode? Let us know in the comments!