I feel a little silly bouncing between here and the Currently Playing thread, but whatever.
I finally finished the game. I know a very common complaint is that Chaos is less interesting to fight than the Tyranids, but... Yeah, I way prefer fighting them. The Tyranids aren't harder per se, but the performance hit they bring and especially the visual mess they create makes them incredibly unfun to fight. How can one parry a Tyranid Warrior when the FSR blurs everything so much that I feel like I'm not wearing glasses?
Anyway, my overall thoughts of the campaign:
- Gameplay - For the campaign at least, it's fascinating how Saber seemed to have purposefully just replicated what SM1 offered. Gunplay has been massively improved over SM1, but still feels relatively useless against the masses of Tyranids just like they did for the Orks. I feel like the Thunder Hammer and Jump Pack are steps down from SM1, but they still completely trivialize combat. The same can be said of the Melta Weapons. They're not as versatile as in SM1, but they feel practically essential for most boss battles. They even have the "Titus is falling and you have to dodge debris" bit that feels EXTREMELY 7th gen of gaming. Obviously, if I had to choose, I would much rather play Space Marine 2. But one wonders why Saber decided to play it so safe with the campaign when the PVE and PVP sections have the game have a lot of new stuff to offer.
- Characters - I really miss Mark Strong as Titus. The voice actor for Titus still does a great job, but he comes off less as a noble Ultramarine leader and more of as just a grunt. Chairon and Gadriel are so much better than the companions you had in SM1, but I do wish they had been characterized more. You vaguely understand that Chairon is a chill dude and Gadriel is the by-the-books guy, but if it weren't for the red helmet and the subtitles, you'd be hard pressed to tell who is speaking sometimes.
- Story - Definitely the weakest part of the game. Neither Tyranids nor Chaos are compelling, and the tensions between Titus and his chapter don't really impact the story. When Titus begins to get over his post-Deathwatch depression, it becomes more interesting, but I do wish they had done more with it. The finale felt really silly with random MacGuffins all over the place. It was a treat to see the Necron tomb world and their technology used to quell Chaos, which is very relatable to overarching 40K plot, but it was so jarring that I had to double check if I missed a cutscene or something.
Overall, it was a fun ride! I say that I am surprised by how unambitious they were with iterating on SM1, but SM1 with a modern coat of paint is still a great result. I expect to find even more fun in the PVP and PVE. I just wish I could have focused entirely on enjoying the game, but the performance issues really were that distracting.