Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

I'll preface this review with the fact that I've never played a Warhammer game before, so if I make a lore mistake somewhere in here, please don't judge me!

With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 upon us, we thought it would be a good idea to look back and see how the original Space Marine game is holding up and how well it runs on the Steam Deck, just in case you want to go back and experience the beginning of Titus' story before playing through Space Marine 2.

Story-wise, there are references in the sequel to this game, but it isn't directly following it. You can play Space Marine 2 without playing this one, but it's still a great game to experience.

If you did want to go back and experience the original Space Marine before playing Space Marine 2, you might be in luck, as it's a fairly short game, and there's not much single-player content on offer. If you're just playing through the campaign, the whole game presents itself as one big flowing mission, but it is, in actuality, 17 different chapters interspersed with cutscenes.

However, it is far from a bad game despite its short length. The combat feels meaty, and shooting feels satisfying. You can have up to 4 weapons equipped at any one time, and as you progress through the chapters, different weapons will be offered for you to swap in and out of, meaning you're likely always switching up your playing style to match the current combat situation. From a shotgun-like weapon to a sniper pistol or a grenade launcher, you'll have your choice of what weapon you prefer to use.

This variety in combat is essential because the entire game takes place on the same planet, which means the environment is fairly static. You'll almost entirely be surrounded by rocky cliffs or ruins of Imperium buildings destroyed in the ongoing Ork invasion of the planet.

There's also a nice amount of variety in your enemies. Although you'll mostly be fighting Orks, there is a decent selection, with some being melee-based, others having more artillery-like weapons, heavy-hitters that will kill you in a couple of strikes, and summoners. You will also meet enemies other than the Orks later, adding more variety to the combat.

Visually, the game still holds up quite well, considering it's from 2011. There's decent shadow quality, some ambient occlusion, and plenty of dust and smoke effects that enhance the immersion of being on a battlefield. There's nothing egregious with the sound either, with reasonable voice-acting and decent sound effects for the weapons and ambient noises.

Like I said before, Space Marine lacks single-player content, with the main campaign easily finished in less than 10 hours, even with a few deaths. After that, the only options available are competitive online matches and an online co-op wave defense mode. You may struggle to find matches, given the age of the game.

Is Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine a good game? Yes, it's certainly a fun time as you play through the campaign, and I thought it held up quite well. You could probably compare it to the older Gears of War titles in how it plays. Is it worth the current price tag of $59.99 on Steam? Definitely not. The game is 13 years old and is being priced as though it's a brand-new title. It used to be $29.99, but with Space Marine 2 and the anniversary edition, which includes all the DLC, that may have influenced the price change.

Fortunately, the game is often on sale for 70-80% off, so if you can get it under $20, it's worth it.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Steam Deck Performance

Being an older game from 2011, you'd expect Space Marine might have some issues with Deck compatibility, but the game works surprisingly well. In my case, the game did launch in a 4:3 resolution, 1024x768 to be exact, and I've seen reports of others having the game boot in a 16:9 resolution. However, the game does support 16:10 resolutions if you go into the game settings and select 8:5 as an aspect ratio, and it does support the Steam Deck's native 1280x800 resolution.

Controller support works perfectly well; it does use Xbox 360 controller glyphs, but it's not exactly difficult to differentiate between R1 and RB and R2 and RT.

As the game is on the older side, it's not too difficult to run, so we might as well max out the settings and get the best-looking and smoothest experience possible, which I'm recommending today.

Recommended Settings - 60 FPS

In SteamOS, set a 60 FPS / 60Hz FPS limit; the TDP Limit can be set to 7W.

We can set everything to the highest possible settings here: the resolution to 1280x800 (make sure the Aspect Ratio is set to 8:5), Shadows and Visual FX Detail on "High", Post-Processing, Vertical Sync, and Ambient Occlusion all "On".

With these settings, You should get a solid 60 FPS throughout the game. I very occasionally got a stutter once every couple of minutes or so, but it's rare and not noticeable.

The power draw is pretty low throughout, ranging mostly between 11-13W, but it can drop a bit lower if absolutely nothing happens. So Steam Deck LCD owners should get at least 3 hours of battery life, and Steam Deck OLED at least 4 hours.

Temperatures stayed around 65C, give or take 2-3C, and the Steam Deck's fan didn't ramp up during play.

Accessibility:

Space Marine was created in ancient times before accessibility was a concept. There is an option to add subtitles to important dialogue, although ambient/background chatter is not subtitled at all, so you miss out on the flavor dialogue from your allies during battle or when you walk past them, and they speak to you. There is a mild aim assist you can enable.

Conclusion:

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is a solid third-person shooter. It may be dated in some aspects compared to newer third-person shooters, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily worse. If you have some nostalgia for games like the earlier Gears of War titles, then this game might also scratch that itch.

The enemy and weapon variety helps keep things interesting during the short campaign and relatively unchanging environment. A lack of a co-op campaign here kind of stings, as I feel like it'd be a fun adventure with a friend, but it is what it is. The storyline is quite basic but decently written and structured, and the game doesn't delve into Warhammer lore a great deal, so if you are new to the franchise, Space Marine is an easy entry point.

Regarding Steam Deck compatibility, other than the game boots into the incorrect aspect ratio on the first boot and the controller glyphs being from a console made in 2005, there are no issues with how the game plays. You can enjoy Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine perfectly well on your Deck.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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