Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is finally in the hot little hands of every servant of the Imperium – and the response so far has been nothing short of incredible. I mean, I may be biased given that I scored the sucker a whopping 9.5 – but the reception from others has been quite similar.
A hefty portion of the praise lavished upon the game can be attributed to the spectacular visuals, which do a tremendous job of bringing the brutalist setting of the 41st millennium to life. Every corner of the scorched landscapes and gothic interiors are painstakingly detailed in all the trappings of the bleakest sci-fi setting imaginable – it’s a visual treat. The game even ships with a generous Photomode, allowing to you can explore every grimdark nook and cranny.
In fact, I am incredible appreciative of the fact that I only discovered the Photomode when I was more than halfway through the campaign – otherwise I am sure my playtime would have ballooned out of control and put my review deadline at risk, the game is just that stunning to stare at.
This of course didn’t stop me from curating some Photomode snaps for my review, such as the following:
Each of these was taken with a minimum amount of settings applied – if only to try and best represent the game for the sake of an objective review – but for the talented folks out there that want to freeze their actions and create epic moments of Space Marine 2 magic, there is a whole lot of freedom to express your brutal designs. I know this, because browsing around I can see that there are many folks making Space Marine 2 screenshots that put mine to absolute shame.
Take for example, Louise Sugden (known as @Sughammer on the cursed platform and Rogue Hobbies elsewhere) who framed some absolutely EPIC moments in Titus’ journey across Avarax and Kadaku. Lou also managed to weave together some magical Bloom and Saturation sliders to make screenies that look like they are destined to be on the cover of a Warhammer Codex (or perhaps a heavy metal album). Hell, even this articles feature image was graciously gifted my way to set the tone of the piece.
Out of Sughammer’s killer Photomode offerings, the Lictor screenshot in particular is a serious banger with the red lighting – but also with the incredible pose on Titus as he tries to fend off the rending claws of his attacker:
Brothers...
— Louise Sugden (@Sughammer) September 10, 2024
Photo, and I cannot stress this enough, mode. #SpaceMarine2#warhammer #WarhammerCommunity pic.twitter.com/cj0jpcjOoC
Then you have Guillaume Peronnin (known as @SkallEdit on platforms, but also has a sweet website at skalledit.com), who works lists his vocation as a freelance game capture and screenshot artist – and it shows, because hot damn the work speaks for itself.
The depth of field and framing of each shot makes the game look like art – these are the kind of images that appear on the back of a game’s box to hype the living heck out of someone considering a purchase. The poses of the Space Marines especially capture the intense action of the game, their still frames conveying a ton of explosive action in that frozen moment – it’s magic, and just as Guillaume describes, literal virtual photography:
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2#VirtualPhotography
— Guillaume Peronnin (@SkallEdit) September 5, 2024
(I'm going in Germany for few days so I won't be much online!! I'll be back next Tuesday!!) pic.twitter.com/a4OaOC1Jcz
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
— Guillaume Peronnin (@SkallEdit) September 10, 2024
Photos made in-game#VirtualPhotography pic.twitter.com/thVxCQsw1k
The final showcase comes courtesy of Petri Levälahti (@Berduu) who in truth was my inspiration for putting this piece together. Petri is the Lead Cinematic Artist at DICE, so it quickly makes sense how he has managed to create magnificent Space Marine 2 snapshots – though he does advise me that he also used additional PC-only tools to truly unlock the potential of the Photomode.
Whatever words I dare conjure here to describe Petri’s work would surely fall short of capturing just what he has achieved – because holy heck, just take a LOOK at them. The composition of the flamethrower image, with the horde of ravenous rippers all sitting at the edge of the frame is downright artful:
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
4/4 pic.twitter.com/ZAbDe7MYue
— Petri Levälahti (@Berduu) September 8, 2024
Like sure, games look great nowadays. Photomodes are cool. But the cinematic nature of Space Marine 2 at even the most mundane of gameplay moments is just incredible – and a huge kudos to the folks at Saber Interactive for crafting something exceptional.
So perhaps, next time you are neck deep in ‘Nids – consider hitting the Pause menu and selecting Photomode. Take a look at all the beauty in the chaos – resplendent in gushing gore and overtly silly authoritarian military power. Oh, and share them online so I can ogle them.
You are the Emperor’s will, and he has made sure you always look downright pretty.
Huge thanks to @Sughammer, @SkallEdit and @Berduu for flexing their impressive eye on these amazing shots.
