Summary
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2is a pretty fantastic game for the most part, but we’ve seen this year that even the most beloved and renowned games can become public enemy number one if developers decide to nerf popular strategies into the ground. Helldivers 2 has only just managed to recover from thehorrendous criticism and review bombingsit suffered due to unpopular nerfs earlier this year, and it looks like Space Marine 2 is on the same trajectory.
Alongside several exciting announcements,such as a new Operation that will pit players against a Hierophant Bio-Titan, developer Saber Interactiveannounced a series of gameplay and balancing tweaksthat have gone down much less enthusiastically. For starters, the parry window on fencing weapons has been reduced, which is a very unpopular move as many used the weapons for their generous parry windows.
Bonus damage on enemies affected by an Auspex Scan has been reduced by 30 percent, and damage dealt to bosses by a Melta Charge - something which a lot of players use on higher difficulties - has been reduced by a whopping 70 percent. On top of that Ruthless difficulty missions now give players less armor and less ammo, making that difficulty level much harder for seemingly no good reason.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Review Bombed Over Recent Nerfs
Following these nerfs,the game’s Steam page has been bombarded with almost 400 negative reviews, all of which complain about the nerfs. It doesn’t seem like a huge number in the grand scheme of things, and the game’s overall rating on Steam is still Very Positive, but that’s by far the most negative reviews that have been left on Space Marine 2 for well over a month.
You can see that many fans think these nerfs are a bad thing by looking at the reviews that have been left today, including one from a Steam user called Ducky which reads “Nerf a game, I’ll leave a bad review. That simple.” A lot of reviews also mention Helldivers 2 - which is understandable given how closely the two fanbases are tied - and how Saber has ignored the mistakes that Arrowhead made earlier this year.
The devs are dangerously close to doing the Helldivers 2 tried and true method of imploding an awesome game into whatever unhinged fever dream their balancing team thinks fun is.
Public backlash was enough for Arrowhead to reverse course,and Helldivers 2 fans are having a much better time nowbecause of it. Saber Interactive is a lot less open and honest with its community than Arrowhead though, so we’ll have to see whether these nerfs stir up enough controversy for the developer to reverse some of the more unpopular decisions it’s made.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
WHERE TO PLAY
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 again sees you battling for the Emperor, against armies of Tyranid aliens. You must fight to ensure the Imperium’s survival in the face of extinction.
