Space Marine 2's Astartes Overhaul mod brings Terminators to the campaign, NPC Dreadnoughts to operations, and 12-player lobbies

Space Marine 2 might not have landed quite as surely as some of us hoped (see Robin Valentine's rather mixed review), but it looks like a game that can take a hit and keep on trucking. Ever since release, there's been a dedicated scene of 40k fans tweaking, tuning and adding extra cosmetic gubbins to the game, but most projects pale in comparison to the Astartes Overhaul, an ongoing 'lore accurate' mega-mod by the Astartes Team that adds new classes, weapon and cosmetics as well as comprehensively reworking the post-campaign Operations mode.

While this mod has been around and kicking for a while, it just rolled out one of its most significant updates yet, featuring two more classes, cross-class customization options, an experimental 12-player mode (this mod is fully multiplayer compatible, so long as all players are running the same version) and even a first taste of Terminator power armor, for when absolutely every Tyranid in the room needs to die right now.

While not quite ready for multiplayer prime-time, version 7.2 does include a first peek at playable Terminator armor, available via the campaign mode in this current release. The super-sized power armor works exactly how you'd expect, judging by the gameplay clip below from Iron Gaming 40k, with storm bolters providing plenty of dakka and the power fist looking very capable of smashing through almost anything. They've not yet implemented the iconic multi-barreled Assault Cannon as a heavy weapon, but word is that it's high on the mod crew's priorities, and I cannot wait to take it for a test-drive.

This update also adds Chaplain and Apothecary classes with support-focused skills, a bundle of new weapons and variants, new models for old gear and the option to ground pound and shield bash with every weapon. Generally, the mod also increases the scale of battles. Bigger swarms, enemies with less health but doing more damage, and smarter, more capable AI allies. NPC allies pop up more often as well, and are more varied, so don't be surprised if the occasional named story NPC, imperial guard squad or even a whole-ass Dreadnought decides to wade into the fight on an operation.

What really surprises me is that all of this is already possible while the game is still in flux. Saber Interactive (who have given their blessing to the overhaul already, per an interview with IGN) are actively updating the game, with a major update in mid-April adding a new mission, a new boss fight and a new weapon. That content has already been subsumed into the Astertes Overhaul, with players able to pick a fight against the new Trygon boss as a squad of Nurgle's finest, if that so tickles your fancy.

And there's plenty more in the pipeline. The Astartes team are working on new game modes (including prop hunt, of all things) and raid-style bosses that might just put those 12-player squads to the test. If this is what's possible before the cement is done drying, and with full online multiplayer support already, then I can see Space Marine 2 having very long legs once Saber have fully moved on to whatever their next big project is.

You can grab the Astartes Overhaul here on Nexus Mods, and installation is as simple as unzipping it to your Space Marine 2 directory. The game will automatically limit you to private lobbies, and you'll be free to either play solo or invite players to your battle barge if they're running the same version. It won't even mess with your save files—uninstalling the mod will revert your progress back to how it was pre installation.