It’s safe to say thatWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2has been a bit of a revelation for the franchise, acting as an accessible entry point for players to get into the vast IP while giving veterans the kind of eye candy they have been wanting for decades. Not only is the game itself solid and a visual marvel (which is likely a large reason for its mainstream success), it also bringsWarhammer 40k’s universe to life faithfully. As far as AAA titles go, players probably can’t realistically ask much more fromSpace Marine 2.
Despite how confusing40k’s lore can be,the game itself is able to tell a cohesive, understandable story for newcomers that dives intoWarhammer’s historywithout getting tangled up in the extreme details. Without understanding everything, players still get a sense of what’s happening and can get invested in the story and characters, which has helped the title’s widespread popularity.Vermintideis anotherWarhammergame, except it uses the fantasy setting, and it could benefit from using the success and structure ofSpace Marine 2to possibly be even bigger.
Vermintide Needs The Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 Treatment
It Needs A More Cohesive Structure
Although the fantasy side ofWarhammerplays into many fantasy tropes,Vermintideis set during the End Days, where an apocalyptic event is plaguing the land. It brings it closer in setting to the grim dark of40kwhile still using the ever-popular fantasy genre and should be a winning formula, yetVermintideand its sequel haven’t hadSpace Marine2’s explosive success. This is for several reasons, but one might be the match-making mission structureVermintideuses in its campaign, compared to the more linear structure used inSpace Marine 2’s story.
Is Space Marine 2 Worth Playing If You Don’t Know Warhammer 40K Lore?
Space Marine 2 seems really connected with Warhammer 40K Lore, so is it worth playing if you don’t know anything about the series first?
Space Marine 2has a main story and side missions where players can use their own Space Marines, butVermintidehas many missions that are assumed to have an order, but all seem disconnected without an overall narrative.Pair this with the quick match-making often making players replay the same missions, and many newcomers quickly find that they don’t know what’s happening outside trying to survive through a rat apocalypse. IfVermintidehad a stronger unifying story and an overt narrative, likeSpace Marine 2, more people would be able to get involved and stick with the game.
The rat creatures inVermintideare known as the Skaven and are the primary antagonists of the game alongside the Rotblood Tribe.
The game isn’t the most accessible, because players don’t always know what’s happening in the story, and it sometimes feels that the game doesn’t make any effort to explain the narrative. The story seems to come through odd remarks during frantic gameplay,which is perfectly fine for a more niche game, but theWarhammerIP has enough niche games, fromthe CPRGRogue Traderto the old school shooter,Boltgun. WithSpace Marine 2’s sales, there’s proof thatWarhammergames can be mainstream, andVermintidecould be the fantasy side’s big seller if it was made to be more accessible.
Fantasy Warhammer Should Have Its Version Of Space Marine 2
Warhammer Can Find Success On Two Fronts
Many might not know that the fantasyWarhammersetting came before the sci-fi spin-off, yet40khas been getting all the love for some time now. The unique, grim dark setting clearly appeals to many fans, and with theEnd Times setting used forVermintide, there’s no reason why this series can’t replicate at least some ofSpace Marine 2’s success. The fantasy genre is massive, with many games in the genre selling incredibly well, so the unique, rat-filled take fromVermintidecould be massive with some tweaks to how the story and characters are presented.
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The Warhammer universe is host to a plethora of amazing games, from intense and suitably gory third-person shooters to epic grand strategy games.
Giving theVermintidemore overt characters with arcs and putting them through a cohesive story could do the series wonders, especially since the current structure hasn’t proved massively fruitful forWarhammercompared toSpace Marine 2.Darktide(40k’s version ofVermintide) has done adequately but hasn’t made a significant impact,and while these styles of games are enjoyable, they can be repetitive very quickly. This doesn’t mean thatVermintideshould be a third-person action shooter that plays exactly likeSpace Marine 2, however, as the core gameplay of first-person rat-killing is still a lot of fun.
VermintideandDarktideshare the same developer, Fatshark,
If theVermintideseries dived into an actual story, told similarly toSpace Marine 2’s campaign, it would keep people playing for longer, since there is a clear goal that the vast majority of people can get behind. Grinding for gear and drops isn’t something the average player will always do, andwith the money in the bank thatWarhammerhas withSpace Marine 2, it can go big forVermintide 3or a similar game in that style. With better visuals and some gameplay upgrades, it could be a great portal into fantasyWarhammer.
The Warhammer IP Is Bigger Than Ever
Fantasy Warhammer Can Grow Like 40k
TheWarhammerIP is more mainstream than ever thanks to a myriad of factors, likeSpace Marine 2’s success and Henry Cavill’s storied love for the franchise. Most people rightly think of40k, since there isn’t a similar IP, other thanStarcraft, butthe tone and religious, dogmatic themes of the universe set it apart. These themes and the dark tone are a part of the fantasy universe too, and while it isn’t as unique as40k, it does seem like now is the time to help the fantasy side grow with all the credit that theWarhammerIP has.
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Warhammer 40K is about to return to one of its most memorable planets, with a look at the ruined battlefield world of Cadia through a new animation.
Vermintideisn’t that far away from being anotherSpace Marine 2,and by making some features more overt,it can get to that accessible, mainstream market thatSpace Marine 2tapped into. It still needs to keep the coreWarhammeridentity and expand, not replace, its first-person swarm-based gameplay, similarly tohowSpace Marine 2improved on its predecessor. This doesn’t mean that the current mission structure needs to be removed either, since it can be used alongside the main story, likeSpace Marine 2’s side missions, although there probably isn’t a way to include PvP.
Warhammeris the biggest it has ever been and with Amazon backing a series, now is the time for the IP to expand as much as possible. While it might be too ambitious to push the fantasy and40ksides equally,givingVermintidethe same love thatWarhammer 40,000:Space Marine 2enjoyed could be a way to help it grow. The fantasy genre seems evergreen in the gaming scene with the likes ofThe Witcher 4,Avowed,andElder Scrolls 6all coming, and it feels likeWarhammercan capitalize on this in its own unique way.
