Summary
Despite coming out over a decade after its predecessor,Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2proved a huge success both among fans of the original and new players. With its critical and commercial success, it stands to reason that Saber is willing to at the very least entertain a sequel. There is clearly a market forSpace Marine 3, but what new directions could this hypothetical game take?Space Marine 2sawTitus battle against Tyranids alongside his space marine buddies Chairon and Gadriel, but it wasn’t exclusively about the marines. The game also had them working alongside other major factions of the Imperium. Two in particular played notable roles: the Cadian Shock Troops and the weird techno-cult known as Adeptus Mechanicus. Given this information, a logical next step forSpace Marine 3would be to find some other groups for Titus to fight alongside.
Fortunately, the Imperium of Man has a pretty diverse range of factions to choose from. Many of these groups have their own unique characteristics in terms of how they fight. Not only would bringing any of them intoSpace Marine 3be a good opportunity to explore new material, but some of them could also have some interesting opportunities just from how they interact with Titus and his ultramarines. This would open up some fascinating story opportunities for the next game.
5Adeptus Custodes
TheEliteElite Guard
The Custodes are soldiers of the highest possible status that can be reached in the Imperium, like the best of the best. The standards needed to become a custode areridiculouslyhigh. They are best known for acting as the Emperor’s personal guard, but they are also the ones called in when a situation is too difficult for Space Marines to handle. So, if they show up, it means things are going really bad.
Surprisingly, despite their lore and popularity in model form, the Custodes haven’t actually appeared that much in any40kmedia, including video games. The biggest recent development was a short story that led to fansthrowing tantrums because it confirmed the existence of female custodes(this was always theoretically possible, but it was just the first time it was made explicit). This actually has a lot of potential for further development.
Bringing the Custodes intoSpace Marine 3would add a new dimension to the game for one particular reason - they’re the only humans bigger and tougher than space marines.An average Space Marine is around 8ft tall, and a typical custode is around 10ft.Space Marine 1and2both liked to show the Astartes next to regular humans, but imagine how strange it would be to suddenly have an ally who easily dwarfs Titus. For added fun, Saber could experiment with making the Custodes playable. Gamers could be playing as Titus and dealing with a seemingly insurmountable boss, only for the perspective to shift to a Custode, and it suddenly seems so much easier to fight.
4Blood Angels
Bloodthirsty Killers That Make Ultramarines Look Tame
Titus is a member of theUltramarines, easily the most iconic of the Space Marines, but they are far from the only ones of their kind. Adeptus Astartes isbroken up into many different “chapters"that have different characteristics, values, and goals. After the ultramarines, the second-most iconic chapter is probably theBlood Angels. These guys arecrazy. The Ultramarines might have been ruthless killing machines, but at least they weren’t eating corpses and drinking blood.The Blood Angels were so derangedthat the Imperium itself considered purging them until the primarch Sanguinius helped them get their act together. And even that still didn’t stop them from going to lengths the Ultramarines would never dream of.
Although it is incorporated into multiplayer,Space Marine’s campaign is mostly focused on the ultramarines. Having other, especially very different, chapters would allow for greater exploration of the Astartes and open room for new character dynamics. The questionable behavior of the blood angels could actually make for an interesting point of conflict. Two vastly different chapters who hate each other’s guts but have to work together because of their shared dedication to the Emperor could make for some very interesting tension.
3Death Korps Of Krieg
WWI-Inspired Trench Fighters Known for Reckless Tactics
The Death Korps of Krieg is a unique part of the Imperium with a crazy history. Long ago, they tried and failed to rebel against the Emperor. Because nothing says “karmic justice” quite like generational punishment, they’re now stuck in a perpetual obligation to “atone” for the crimes of their ancestors by fighting and dying in the Emperor’s name. Because of this, the Krieg areencouragedto use reckless tactics designed to cause maximum damage with zero regard for self-preservation.
They alsohave a World War I-inspired aesthetic, right down to the use of trench warfare and favoring shovels as improvised melee weapons. And there’s a whole thing about how they never take off their distinct gas masks. Despite being quite popular among fans, the Death Korps haven’t had very many appearances in official media, withDawn of Warmarking their biggest video game appearance.
Space Marine 2put a lot of emphasis on the Cadians, a more professional and tactically-oriented faction. Fighting alongside the Death Korps would be very different. Titus would be able to witness just how crazy their methods can get. Their use of trench warfare would also add some variety to the battlefield, and the game could even have some fun with Titus needing to use trenches designed for people half his size.
2Sisters Of Battle
All-Female Religious Order Devoted to the Emperor
The Sisters of Battle are perhaps most easily described as what you get if you putDune’s Bene Jesserit and the Catholic Church into a blender, then added ina lotof guns. They are an all-female religious order that also acts as a military arm of the Imperium, driven by unwavering devotion to the Emperor. Some of them even have special powers stemming from their faith in his divinity. It’s a level of dedication that would make Demetrian Titus look moderate by comparison.
It’s actually pretty common for the Sisters to be compared to the Space Marines, sometimes acting as a kind of foil towards them. This is something a campaign could take advantage of. Aside from the obvious aesthetic comparison (contrasting the all-female army with the all-male space marines), the game could also explore differences in how they operate and even how they show their dedication to the Emperor.
For an added twist, it would also be cool to have sections where they are playable. This wouldn’t be a huge stretch. The Sisters of Battle already have a very similar range of weapons, so basic combat mechanics wouldn’t have to be changed too much. This could be done in a few different ways. The simplest would be to have levels in between Titus’s missions (or maybe during portions of them) where the perspective shifts to his Adeptus Sororitas counterpart fighting alongside two of her sisters, much like Gadriel and Chiron. A more ambitious approach could involve taking theResident Evil 2approach where there is both a Space Marine and a Sister of Battle campaign showing different views on the same events. A co-op mode could also allow marines and sisters to fight together.
Making a sister playable would also offer an interesting change in perspective. A typical space marine is about 8 ft tall, twice the size of an average human, while most sisters of battle are closer to around 5ft. This is a massive difference in scale that would create a very different experience for both sides. It’s easy to imagine Titus plowing through Tyranids, only for the focus to shift to a Sister of Battle, resulting in the enemy seeming a lot bigger.
1Salamanders
The Friendly Space Marines
Arguably the third most iconic space marine chapter (after the ultramarines and Blood Angels), the green-armored “Salamanders” are a longtime fan favorite known for their rigid sense of honor. If the Blood Angels are the crazy ones, the Salamanders are the opposite.They’re ruthless, for sure, but they’re a lot more grounded and driven by a creed to protect regular humans at any cost, including their own lives. They are actually trained to be empathetic, at least towards humans. Xenos will still feel their wrath. As a result, the Salamanders are one of the friendliest chapters and pretty much the closest thing to being good people in theWarhammer 40kuniverse.
It would be interesting to see these guys appear inSpace Marine 3, in large part because they would gel nicely with the Ultramarines. There are enough differences that there could still be conflict between them, but they also have a lot more in common than a group like the Blood Angels. A story about these two chapters coming together could put a lot of emphasis on finding common ground and putting aside their differences for the good of humanity.
