Summary
Helldivers 2made waves in the gaming sphere when it launched, appealing to a wide audience and keeping players engaged with frequent updates. However,Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2offers a similar, albeit different experience, and fans of one may find themselves wanting to migrate to the competition.
So, which game is better? It is a tough question to answer, as both have different offerings, some pros and some cons. But we believe one, overall, outdoes the other.
8Graphics - Tie
Both of these games offer an outstanding graphical experience. They use a realistic art style, and on both PC and next-gen consoles, they look beautiful, although you will need a powerful rig to run both at their best.
Whether you’re looking at Tyranids and Space Marines or Helldivers and Terminids, you’re going to get a visual feast for the eyes.
7Atmosphere - Space Marines 2
While Helldivers 2 offers a humorous atmosphere of Earth united under democracy, saving the galaxy from crazy bugs and robots, it offers little else to get immersed in or care too much about. The characters you play, while shouting things about freedom, don’t have distinctive personalities, either.
On the other hand, the Warhammer 40,000 universe is filled to the brim with so much lore that it is past the brim and overflowing. The lore and history of the series are rich with things to learn, sides to agree with, and evil factions to despise (or idolize?), and even the characters of the classes you play interact and communicate with each other in a meaningful, immersive way.
6Customization - Space Marines 2
Space Marines 2 offers a deeper customization pool than we expected, and we are so happy about it. You are allowed to unlock and customize each individual aspect of your armor, from your left arm to your right leg and everything in between. you’re able to choose patterns and colors based on different chapters from the lore of Warhammer, as well as different armor and gear pieces that have different accessories.
Helldivers 2, meanwhile, is lacking in customization, which is unfortunate considering the already lacking depth of characterization for who you’re playing. You can choose different pre-designed armor, helmet, and cape options, which is nice. However, it stops there, and you’re not even allowed to change the colors on any gear pieces.
5Weapon Variety - Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 offers a wide range of different weapons and weapon types, as well as grenades and, most importantly, theStrategems, which add a lot of variety to each mission and squad loadout.
In comparison, while the gameplay of Space Marines 2 is very fun and polished, there is only a small variety of weapons to choose from, and even among those, most are just different variations of the Boltgun.
4Maps and Environment - Space Marines 2
While both games have beautiful graphics, they each offer differing map and environment types. Helldivers 2 lets you land on multiple planets for your missions, and while the environments of the planets have good variety, like deserts or forests, there is not much else to see. You spend most of the 40+ minute missions running from one end to another with not much to take in on the way.
Warhammer 2, on the other hand, offers a linear map experience for your operations, but the detail in the environments is astounding. Everywhere you look, you will either find soldiers fighting Tyranids in the background, massive structures of war being torn apart by battle, or servants of Chaos bringing The Warp into our reality. The environments and maps are breathtaking for any fan of sci-fi or Warhammer.
3Gameplay - Tie
Helldivers 2 and Space Marines 2 differ in many ways, but the core gameplay loop is similar - drop down with your squad, kill the enemies, and accomplish objectives. And this gameplay loop is satisfying and rewarding.
Both games also excel at beingco-op gamesto play with your friends. The missions are fine with random players, but working together with friends to kill the Hive Lord in Space Marines 2 or bomb a robot nest in Helldivers 2 is an unrivaled experience that everyone should try.
2Music - Helldivers 2
While other Warhammer games, likeWarhammer 40,000: Darktide, are known for their exceptional soundtracks, Space Marines 2 does not have a memorable OST. In the campaign, there is some music here and there, and it works in the moment but doesn’t leave an impact. In operations, there barely is any.
Helldivers 2 has a main theme that it applies at many points in the game, such as when you are first dropping from orbit or when you are extracting, and it quickly became an iconic piece of video game music. Nothing works better to get the blood pumping to wipe out Terminid nests in the name of Galactic Freedom.
1Verdict - Space Marines 2
While both are great games, Space Marines 2 simply offers a better-packaged, well-put-together gaming experience. The customization is deeper, the lore and world are more engaging, and the gameplay balancing, while more limited in its options, is much better tuned. Over time, the Helldivers 2 gameplay loop begins to feel like a chore, whereas the Space Marines 2 experience is non-stop fun.
Helldivers 2 is a game worth trying and does have some minor advantages over Space Marines 2, but overall, we feel your time is better spent slaying heretics for the glory of the God Emperor rather than fighting for democracy.
