Space Marine 2 Missing Out on an Even Better Story

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is a game that takes us all right back to the era of the seventh console generation, delivering a complete package with all sorts of goodies inside, the way games always shipped back then.

Despite everything this game has accomplished, it appears that Saber Interactive still has a few unrealized ambitions for the game. None of these ambitions could be adjusted into the final product due to the game’s tight narrative focus on Titus and his squad.

Did Space Marine 2’s Development End up Suffering Due to Its Status as a Sequel?

Look, no matter what we say next, it’s important to keep in mind that this game is one of the best to have come out in 2024. Offering the tightly knit fabrics of gory but satisfying gameplay, unbelievable environments, and co-op and PVP elements, there is really nothing quite like Space Marine 2 in the current era of gaming.

That being said, according to Saber Interactive’s Creative Director, Oliver Hollis-Leick, the game’s narrative potential was slightly curbed by the demand for a three-player co-op system that is directly tied to Titus’ story. He explained in a recent interview how:

If Gadriel and Chairon were not playable characters, we could have done way more. We would have more control over them going off and doing their own thing and like even becoming a source of conflict during the mission. And then, one of the levels where we tried to do that is where Chairon goes rogue on his own and gets separated from the rest of the squad.

And that, that was us really trying to stretch that. So it felt like they were divided for a time, but, yeah, the closest we could get is for Gadriel and Titus to almost kill each other in a cinematic, and then, and then we’ve got to go back into battle again as a three-man-team.

When you do play Space Marine 2’s campaign, Oliver’s comments do make a lot of sense, as one can clearly feel that the game’s narrative scope was not fully unleashed upon us, most likely due to the stoic nature of Titus and the Ultramarines along with the design constraints put forth by Saber themselves.

Ultimately, the decision to keep the trio united until the end did prevent more dramatic and personality-driven conflicts in the game. That’s not to say that it is a bad game by any stretch of the word, though. Despite these constraints, the final product still shines as a joy to play, offering an adrenaline-pumping experience throughout its campaign.

Can a Potential Space Marine 2 Fully Realize All of Saber’s Past Ambitions?

Considering everything we’ve discussed above, it’s clear that, although Space Marine 2 has garnered substantial praise, this series as a whole has a lot of room for growth. So, we think that a potential Space Marine 3 should explore new directions and Saber’s unrealized ambitions, perhaps by moving away from Titus for now and introducing a new protagonist—something similar to Gears 4, maybe?

Not only would a switch like this open up all sorts of narrative possibilities, it would unburden the developers with Titus’ complicated past and the weight of his squad’s dynamic. These guys have already perfected the core gameplay loop with the second game, so the next logical step would, after all, be to broaden the series’ narrative horizons. Plus, it’s not like they have any shortage of stories to tell.

Warhammer 40K’s uncompromisingly vast lore offers enough opportunities to tell new stories that expand beyond the Ultramarines’ stoic, inhuman nature. The franchise can easily dive into more dramatic, character-driven stories while maintaining the visceral combat that people have fallen in love with.

But that’s all tinfoil-hat stuff—for now, perhaps it’s best to simply celebrate Space Marine 2, for all it does well, as a shining example of how developers can produce games without any major bells and whistles attached and still find immense success.

With all that said, though, do you agree with Hollis-Leick’s thoughts on the matter? Where can a potential Space Marine 3 go, according to you? Let us know in the comments below!