Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition brings the 2011 back for a new generation…for better and worse.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition
Developed By: SEGA and SneakyBox
Platforms: Xbox Series S|X and PC (Reviewed on PC)
Release Date: June 10, 2025
I wanted to like Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine, I really did, after all on paper, this game checked all the boxes for it to be a fun and exciting shooter. Honestly at first, it felt exactly like that, but by the third chapter Space Marine’s “Gears of War meets God of War” gameplay was not enough to keep the excitement flowing. By the 8th chapter the game’s un-inspired, repetitive level design, and phoned in voice acting became impossible to ignore.
In the spirit of transparency this remastered version of, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is the first Warhammer game I have ever played. The little knowledge I have of the universe stems from the Warhammer focused episode of Secret Level. But it’s was definitely not my lack of lore knowledge that led me to putting my controller down and quitting the game.
Warhammer 40000 Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition is a remastered release of the 2011 game from THQ and Sega, with SneakyBox and Relic entertainment handling the development of the game this time around. Having not played the original release, I was only able to use video clips of the original title’s gameplay to compare my experience with the remaster to, and to be honest, I really didn’t see much of a difference between the updated game, and it’s original version.
The biggest improvement I could see was the change in the UI. Instead of the fury meter
and equipped weapon icons taking up the bottom left, and right corners of the screen, with Titus’s health meter planted firmly in the upper center, in the remaster, Titus’s fury and health are displayed as one icon which sits nicely in the upper right hand corner, while the equipped weapon icon is tucked nicely into the bottom right hand corner as a much smaller icon.
For those new to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, the game puts you in control of Captain Demetrian Titus, (voiced by a very bored sounding Mark Strong) the commander of the 2nd Company space marines, as he and his fellow squad mates, grizzled Veteran Sergeant Sidonus, and a no nonsense by the book tactical marine rookie named Leandros work to reclaim the Ork overrun planet sized military manufacturing world Graia.
Along with his squad mates, Titus is assisted by Imperial Guard commander Second Lieutenant Miranda Nero, and an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor by the name of Drogan, a military mad scientist type who just happens to be working on a weapon that could potentially wipe out the Orks overrunning the planet. The character is voiced with such disdain and malice dripping from every word that if he doesn’t end up betraying the squad by the end of the game, I will 100% eat a shoe. Seriously, every time this guy opens his mouth I’m expecting the “Aha!!! I’m the big baddie, and you totally didn’t expect it” moment, but the guy is so sketchy, you expect it the minute you meet him.
The environment in Space Marine feels very much like missed opportunity after missed opportunity. Forge World Graia is a ravaged world, with both it’s surface buildings, and sewers in ruins, an environment perfect for secrets, and collectible stashes, instead, players are greeted with extremely linear levels, that do nothing to hide the fact that you are limited to the immediate area you are walking through, players are not able to jump, unless a particular area calls for it, and then it’s only if you have a jump pack equipped.
My biggest issues, and one I feel is a HUGE missed opportunity for this remaster, is a lack 
of a cover system, Graia is covered in rubble and blown up pipes, but unless that pile of rubble, or stack of crates is exactly Titus height, they aren’t doing anything for you. Titus can roll dodge, doesn’t seem that much a stretch to allow him to crouch, the fact that a cover ability wasn’t in the original game is a bit of a shocker, considering some of the team at Relic were the same folks that worked on Gears of War, then again, maybe using cover so you don’t get shot in the face just isn’t the space marine way.
Another issue I had with this game was the controls, they felt clunky, and often times unresponsive, and seemingly at the worst moments. There were several times where I would be surround by orcs, and furiously pressing both thumbsticks to release my murder rage, only for nothing to happen. Since I was playing on PC I was able to test this with both the xbox and PS5 controller support through steam, with both having the same issue.
Overall Warhammer 40K: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition feels lackluster, and really warrants the question if the original title released in 2011 needed a remaster at all. An improved UI doesn’t overcome what feels like minimal improvements to graphics, and poor control response takes away from the game, making what should exciting moments, extremely frustrating instead. Repetive level design, and fights make the entire experience boring, and un-impressive. Definitely not the experience you’d want a newcomer to the Warhammer universe to have.
Warhammer 40000 Space Marine – MasterCrafted edition is available now, on PC, and the Xbox Games Pass program.
