Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution vs Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is an RPG strategy game from Relic Entertainment while Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is an action-adventure RPG game from Saber Interactive (2024).
Quick answer: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 rates higher, 7.9 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score.
What each one is
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is filed under RPG and Strategy. In contrast, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 under Action-Adventure and RPG.
Command any of the six unique factions in the next standalone expansion of the critically acclaimed Dawn of War real-time strategy franchise. Choose to build a massive army or lead a small squad of elite heroes into battle and experience a single player campaign customized to your favorite race.
Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine. Unleash deadly abilities and devastating weaponry to obliterate the relentless Tyranid swarms. Defend the Imperium in spectacular third-person action in solo or multiplayer modes.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Dawn of War II: Retribution takes place ten years after events of Chaos Rising . Sub-sector Aurelia is now suffering from conflict between Ork pirates called the Freebootaz led by Kaptin Bluddflagg to pillage the sub-sector, the arrival of the Eldar of the Craftworld Alaitoc led by Autarch Kayleth to seek about a prophecy and recovering an ancient artifact, a Tyranid Hive Lord restoring the remnants of the Hive Fleet Leviathan and to the link of the Hive… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game received generally positive reviews upon release. It received an aggregated score of 81. 65% on GameRankings based on 36 reviews and 80/100 on Metacritic based on 52 reviews. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting The game is set in the early 42nd Millennium during the Era Indomitus, the Age of the Dark Imperium. After the return of Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, the Imperium of Man has launched a galaxy-wide, decade-long campaign known as the Indomitus Crusade with the goal of reclaiming lost worlds from its enemies and bringing it back from the brink of collapse. However, when it seems that the Imperium have gained the upper hand,… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic , and 87% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic . The game attracted more than 2 million players on its launch day. By October 16, 2024, the game had sold 4. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (90%, 13,115) | Very Positive (84%, 223,361) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | 82/100 |
| Price | Not listed | $59.99 |
| Install size | 8 GB | 75 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | playable |
| Released | — | 2024 |
| Developer | Relic Entertainment | Saber Interactive |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution vs Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionRPG strategy gameWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Action-adventure RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionWarhammer 40K, Strategy, RTSWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Warhammer 40K, Action, Third-Person ShooterThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionScore 7.6 · 90% on Steam · 80 criticWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 ✓Score 7.9 · 84% on Steam · 82 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution13,115 reviews · 8 GBWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2223,361 reviews · 25 add-ons · 75 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionNot listedWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2$59.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionUnsupportedWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 ✓PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution (8 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (223,361 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Warhammer 40KMultiplayerSci-fiCo-opSingleplayerFuturisticActionFantasy
Where they differ
StrategyRTSTacticalGames WorkshopOnline Co-OpReal-Time
Third-Person ShooterPvEAction-AdventureThird PersonWargame3D
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 6 GB |
| Minimum CPU | — | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i5-8600K |
| Minimum RAM | — | 8 GB |
| Install size | 8 GB | 75 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution · Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution and 8 for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 in scope?
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution has drawn 13,115 Steam reviews and installs in 8 GB. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has drawn 223,361 Steam reviews, ships 25 add-ons and installs in 75 GB.
Is Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution or Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 rates higher (7.9 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution or Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution or Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2?
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 rates higher, 7.9 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.