Warhammer 40K: The Space Marines That Never Were

There is Only War

While it would’ve been preferable for Space Marine to have all of the cut content remain, albeit in a more polished way than Relic have suggested of the content when it was cut, the thing that Space Marine gets really right is the portrayal of Space Marines themselves. If anything, it feels like a great first step, although it remains to be seen where the next step will lead.

Although it doesn’t accommodate some of the more insane aspects of the lore, like a Space Marine’s ability to spit acid, or absorb memories through eating flesh, it does justice to the feeling of being in the grim, dark future:

“40K lore is very detailed, this is a universe that has a lot of depth and if you’re just starting it can be overwhelming. We knew that fans of the universe would be interested in the game, [but] we wanted to bring in people who might not be familiar with the 40K universe too."


"We kept asking ourselves how we could deliver all the cool stuff we knew was going in the background of the world without forcing the player to read through pages of exposition. Using servo skulls as personal diary recording devices was a really nice touch I thought. It’s like a planet of Hamlets."

As well as the 40K universe and the game’s central concepts were realised, after all the various failed Space Marine initiates the project spawned, it’s only natural that Relic themselves have both pride and regrets over the end result:

“I am extremely proud of how the combat turned out and the number of enemies we are able to throw at you, it’s very 40K! Of course we would have loved to have done more, like a co-op campaign, vehicles and so on, but this was our first console game.”


With all the looking back, it might be easy to forget that the present and future hold new things for Space Marine:

“We do have a robust DLC campaign planned for Space Marine. The first premium DLC Chaos Unleashed was released in December and includes an Exterminatus mode, Capture the Flag and all new maps. We will then be announcing a really special DLC mode for release in January, more details coming soon.”

As promising as the new content is, what does it mean for the prospect of an expansion or sequel?

“Only time will tell. We would love to get to continue the franchise and move the story forward…into unexpected areas but we will have to wait and see.”