TheDarkPhantom
Gold Member
Thought I would wait for the Pro (and probably should have!) but after Astrobot I was in the mood for something completely different and I like supporting games that are decidedly old-school in their approach so I pulled the trigger.
I beat the campaign solo on Veteran, beat all the Operations missions on the first two difficulty levels mostly solo (still no private lobbies, randoms sometimes join and hinder rather than help lol), played a bunch of PvP, clocked 40 hours overall and got 60% of the trophies. The game is great but I need to get this out of the way first: SM2 has the *worst* performance and loading I've ever experienced in a current gen game since I bought my PS5 at launch, no exaggeration.
When the shit hits the fan (something that happens roughly every 3 minutes) the frame rate tanks to what seems like 20 fps and this is in Performance Mode (called "Speed" lmao). Loading likewise is atrocious and these two things absolutely hinder the experience (again, on PS5) and for that reason alone I'd advise PS5 owners considering it wait for the Pro or some patches that can smooth things out to some degree (who knows what can actually be done, I know it's CPU heavy but Dragon's Dogma 2 proved optimization can go a long way if the devs put the effort in).
Having said all that, I can't stop playing it. I've always had a passing interest in 40K, something about it's world and characters always appealed to me. Bought a couple of 40K games but ultimately they didn't grab me, this is the first one. The mythology and realization of this world is it's biggest selling point, even with zero familiarity with the source material I can sense this is a faithful representation of the universe (fans feel free to chime in). Hulking warriors fighting a never-ending fight, soaring gothic architecture, Judeo-Christian overtones, honour, duty and brotherhood, grimdark and unceasingly violent, this is fantastic stuff!
The action is relentless and feels great, chunky shooting and visceral melee is a winning combination. Much like God of War, one of my favourite aspects is the gory finishing moves, they never get old and I wish there were more of them. Stages are linear and it's refreshing to have a more classic structure like this, SM2 - like it's soldiers - are focused on the mission, there is no fat and no unnecessary detours. I love the feeling of being a single cog (albeit a very important one!) in a massive war, seeing Thunderhawks depart the cavernous hangar as you walk around the base, officers giving speeches as you lumber through another devastated battlefield, it's a perfectly realized vision.
On the subject of battlefields there is some genuinely cool shit in SM2. Soaring cathedrals obscured by hundreds of Tyranids flying through the air, underground crypts with the graves of fallen heroes, a level where periodic sandstorms keep rolling in completely obscuring your vision. There is a nice variety keeping things fresh and I appreciate that missions are *long*, it adds to the epic feeling Sabre has so perfectly captured. At times the visuals are on par with the best I've experienced this gen, other times it can look like a PS3 game, guess you've got to take the good with the bad lol.
Operations Mode is surprisingly deep with a ton of stuff to unlock for each character class. Heavy is probably my favourite class (multi-melta ftw) though I've enjoyed using all of them. I appreciate that this mode is essentially an extension of the campaign showing what was going on with other squads while Titus and Co were doing their own thing. Many moments rival anything in the campaign with some cool, unique boss battles/set-piece moments. There is some variation (one run you might need to search bodies in the central hall while in another you might need to go through the crypts) but with only 6 maps I wonder how long people will stick with. I also feel XP is stingy given how long these missions take to complete and the real chance of failure once you move up to Average difficulty, it gets pretty crazy.
PvP is a fun diversion that takes things back to a simpler time. I got all the associated trophies and enjoyed the shenanigans but with only THREE maps it gets stale rather quick. Still, as a total package SM2 delivers the goods, would love a third entry (ending hints at more) and a remaster of the first game. Overall I wish the performance was better but let's see how things improve (or not) over time. Now give me Darktide on my PS5 dammit!
I beat the campaign solo on Veteran, beat all the Operations missions on the first two difficulty levels mostly solo (still no private lobbies, randoms sometimes join and hinder rather than help lol), played a bunch of PvP, clocked 40 hours overall and got 60% of the trophies. The game is great but I need to get this out of the way first: SM2 has the *worst* performance and loading I've ever experienced in a current gen game since I bought my PS5 at launch, no exaggeration.
When the shit hits the fan (something that happens roughly every 3 minutes) the frame rate tanks to what seems like 20 fps and this is in Performance Mode (called "Speed" lmao). Loading likewise is atrocious and these two things absolutely hinder the experience (again, on PS5) and for that reason alone I'd advise PS5 owners considering it wait for the Pro or some patches that can smooth things out to some degree (who knows what can actually be done, I know it's CPU heavy but Dragon's Dogma 2 proved optimization can go a long way if the devs put the effort in).
Having said all that, I can't stop playing it. I've always had a passing interest in 40K, something about it's world and characters always appealed to me. Bought a couple of 40K games but ultimately they didn't grab me, this is the first one. The mythology and realization of this world is it's biggest selling point, even with zero familiarity with the source material I can sense this is a faithful representation of the universe (fans feel free to chime in). Hulking warriors fighting a never-ending fight, soaring gothic architecture, Judeo-Christian overtones, honour, duty and brotherhood, grimdark and unceasingly violent, this is fantastic stuff!
The action is relentless and feels great, chunky shooting and visceral melee is a winning combination. Much like God of War, one of my favourite aspects is the gory finishing moves, they never get old and I wish there were more of them. Stages are linear and it's refreshing to have a more classic structure like this, SM2 - like it's soldiers - are focused on the mission, there is no fat and no unnecessary detours. I love the feeling of being a single cog (albeit a very important one!) in a massive war, seeing Thunderhawks depart the cavernous hangar as you walk around the base, officers giving speeches as you lumber through another devastated battlefield, it's a perfectly realized vision.
On the subject of battlefields there is some genuinely cool shit in SM2. Soaring cathedrals obscured by hundreds of Tyranids flying through the air, underground crypts with the graves of fallen heroes, a level where periodic sandstorms keep rolling in completely obscuring your vision. There is a nice variety keeping things fresh and I appreciate that missions are *long*, it adds to the epic feeling Sabre has so perfectly captured. At times the visuals are on par with the best I've experienced this gen, other times it can look like a PS3 game, guess you've got to take the good with the bad lol.
Operations Mode is surprisingly deep with a ton of stuff to unlock for each character class. Heavy is probably my favourite class (multi-melta ftw) though I've enjoyed using all of them. I appreciate that this mode is essentially an extension of the campaign showing what was going on with other squads while Titus and Co were doing their own thing. Many moments rival anything in the campaign with some cool, unique boss battles/set-piece moments. There is some variation (one run you might need to search bodies in the central hall while in another you might need to go through the crypts) but with only 6 maps I wonder how long people will stick with. I also feel XP is stingy given how long these missions take to complete and the real chance of failure once you move up to Average difficulty, it gets pretty crazy.
PvP is a fun diversion that takes things back to a simpler time. I got all the associated trophies and enjoyed the shenanigans but with only THREE maps it gets stale rather quick. Still, as a total package SM2 delivers the goods, would love a third entry (ending hints at more) and a remaster of the first game. Overall I wish the performance was better but let's see how things improve (or not) over time. Now give me Darktide on my PS5 dammit!
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