Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC Performance Review
Conclusion
Conclusion – A taxing PC game, but a great one
As a Warhammer 40K fan, I adore Space Marine 2. It was great to see the tabletop game brought to life and to see the onslaught of a Tyranid hive fleet on screen. This game is detailed, fun to play, and well worth trying out with friends. If you are into this Warhammer setting, there is little reason not to try this game out.
On PC, Space Marine 2 is an incredibly demanding release. This game can make heavy use of both CPU and GPU resources. CPU-wise, Intel Alder Lake and Raptor Lake users may see higher performance levels when disabling their CPU’s E-cores. The game also appears to benefit from higher memory speeds.
Sadly, users of lower-end CPUs cannot do much to boost this game’s performance. Enemy counts are high in this game, and the multiplayer nature of this title gives Saber Interactive little room to make cutbacks. After all, everything must be the same for all potential players. Remember, even this game’s campaign has co-op.
If you are using a gaming PC with an older CPU and slower memory, there may be little you can do to boost this game’s performance in CPU-limited areas other than upgrade. That said, newer PC CPUs should be able to keep this game above 60 FPS without much issue.
Space Marine 2 is also a taxing release GPU-wise. The game is incredibly detailed despite its ability to showcase huge enemy counts. Yes, the game isn’t the best-looking game to ever exist, but it has a strong art style, a consistent look, and great-looking effects.
Most gamers will be playing Space Marine 2 with upscaling enabled. Thankfully, this game looks good with DLSS and FSR upscaling. While the game has a TAA upscaling mode, we do not recommend using it. Simply put, DLSS and FSR both look better. In time, Frame Generation (DLSS and FSR) and better FSR upscaling (FSR 3.1) support will come to Space Marine 2 with a future game update. For now, the only way to benefit from upscaling is by using AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames 2 technology, which works great in this game.
If you need higher framerates in this game, you should know that medium settings still look great. Yes, there are cutbacks, but nothing game-breaking. Beyond that, there is nothing wrong with using upscaling to achieve your desired framerates. If you want the Ultra 4K native experience, you better start saving for a flagship-level graphics card. This is a demanding game, and it was made with upscaling in mind.
Overall, Space Marine 2 is an impressive game. Combat is fun, the visuals are pleasing, and it is a great game to enjoy alone or with a squad. The game is taxing, but you will see why that is when the Tyranids start to swarm. While it is disappointing that FSR 3, DLSS 3, and Ultra-wide support were not ready for launch, Saber Interactive has made it clear that those changes are coming. Let’s hope that an FOV slider is also coming, as some extra customisation would be welcome.
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