Space Marine 2's Three-Person Co-Op Led to Story 'Compromises'

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has garnered immense praise from both players and critics alike, proving to be a significant success for developer Saber Interactive. The campaign mode, which can be completed in under 10 hours, has been a strong selling point, emphasizing that not every game needs to stretch into an 80-hour grind.

During development, Saber faced internal discussions regarding the amount of dense Warhammer 40,000 lore to include, as they aimed to ensure the game remained accessible to those less familiar with the franchise. Ultimately, the team struck a harmonious balance between appealing to fans and welcoming newcomers, pleasing a broad audience. However, the narrative of Space Marine 2 might have evolved differently if the game didn’t require a three-player co-op setup.

Navigating Narrative Challenges

The campaign features three main characters—Captain Demetrian Titus, Chairon, and Gadriel—who must remain together for gameplay reasons. In an interview with GamesRadar+, creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick discussed the narrative constraints that arose from needing these characters to stay united throughout their journey.

Hollis-Leick expressed that the storytelling could have explored deeper themes and character dynamics without this requirement: “We could have done way more. We would have had more control over them going off and doing their own thing, and even becoming a source of conflict during missions.” This potential conflict is hinted at during the game, as Titus’ companions begin to suspect him of heresy, but the narrative could only explore this tension to a limited extent due to the necessity of their unity.

“One of the levels where we tried to do that is where Chairon goes rogue and gets separated from the squad,” Hollis-Leick explained. “That was us really trying to stretch that. It felt like they were divided for a time, but, yeah, the closest we could get was for Gadriel and Titus to almost kill each other in a cinematic, and then we had to go back into battle as a three-man team. So yeah, the co-op aspect definitely makes that challenging.”

This insight highlights an interesting dynamic in game design, where accommodating three-player co-op led to adjustments in the writing. A similar approach can be seen in Gears of War, where playable characters remain inseparable, though those characters don’t necessarily have to maintain a stoic demeanor or conflict for the narrative to hold together.

Currently, Saber Interactive is weighing its options for the future, considering whether to develop story expansions for Space Marine 2 or shift focus to Space Marine 3.