Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 might be all about gory third-person action, but the game does have lots of small details throughout it related to both the original Space Marine game and the Warhammer 40,000 universe as a whole. Some of these details might have gone under the radar in all of the chaos, but we found 20 hidden details throughout. Some of these tie to the bigger universe, while others are just cool small details that Saber Interactive sprinkled throughout the game. Note: Some small spoilers are ahead.
Deathwatch Titus Has His Original Chainsword
During the opening mission, where Titus is still a member of Deathwatch, he is armed with a familiar-looking Chainsword. As our side-by-side image shows, it is in-fact the same model of Chainsword and likely the same sword. After the opening mission you will be given the more modern Chainsword, which is found throughout most of Space Marine 2, but Titus' old weapon can be found mounted in his room on the Battle Barge later in the campaign.
Titus' Deathwatch Pauldron
In Titus' quarters you can also find his Pauldron from Deathwatch on display, as well. These are typically worn on the left shoulder while an Ultramarine is in Deathwatch, and moved to their right arm when they leave to return to their normal chapter. Titus has instead chosen to put his on display in his room and wear a more subtle Pauldron instead. While the one he wears still gives a nod to his time in Deathwatch, it's less personal, suggesting Titus has some mixed feelings about his time there.
The Cadians' Purple Eyes
It was shown in the announcement trailer for Space Marine 2 that the Cadians have purple eyes. This coloring is a result of Cadia being in close proximity to the Eye of Terror, which causes anyone from there to have purple eyes. While it's difficult to notice just playing through Space Marine 2, if you open up photo mode and get up close to the Cadian models, you will see that they all do have purple eyes in-game, which is a nice touch.
Tank Markings
The Astra Militarum armored vehicles and tanks have some distinct, red and white paint on them. These are inspired by British tanks in World War I, where the British began to paint their tanks in order to help them recognize friendly vehicles after Germany began to use captured British tanks. There are Imperial Guard codexes that attribute the in-game reason to representing company markings, but considering how similar the forces of Chaos look to the Astra Militarum already, the paint could be serving multiple purposes.
Chairon has marksman honors, despite not using a scope
Chairon has a bolt chained around his pauldron, which is an award called The Marksman Honour. The golden case of the bolt shell is said to be one of the spent bolt cases from the weapon of the Ultramarines’ Primarch Roboute Guilliman. These are awarded to Space Marines who have either performed an incredible feat in marksmanship or have exceptional accuracy with ranged weapons. What really makes this award interesting is that Chairon's weapon of choice in Space Marine 2 is a Bolt Rifle without a scope, meaning he either traded in his ranged-weapon after earning that award, or he's just that good with a Bolt Rifle.
Exhaust fumes
Another small touch that might go unnoticed during the chaos of Space Marine 2 is the exhaust fumes coming off certain weapons, like the Chainsword. This comes from the promethium burning inside to power the weapon. Promethium is Warhammer 40,000's version of gasoline and fuels many of the engine powered machines. This exhaust also can come from power packs, although that is heat exhausted as power packs are fueled by miniature fusion reactors.
The Eyes on Tyranid weapons
Fun fact: the Tyranid Termagants in Space Marine 2 use a biological weapon called a Fleshborer. The weapon housers a brood nest, where borer beetles lay eggs which are used as ammunition once hatched. Not only is the concept of a weapon firing angry biting beetles at you horrifying, but it also means that the weapon they are using is alive, with its own eyeball visible on the weapon.
Helmet voices
A highly requested feature for Space Marine 2 was the option to always have your helmet on during the campaign for a more immersive experience. If you immediately threw this option on, you may not have noticed that the character's voices are modulated as if they are speaking through the helmet's Vox. This changes, depending on if they are wearing helmets or not, so it may not have stuck out if you chose to keep those helmets on at all times.
Codex is a guide reference
If you hold up on the D-pad, you can issue pings and commands, but there are also some voice lines in here that you can activate as well. That includes a nice little reference in "the Codex is a guide" line, but Gadriel also makes a small reference when the squad plans to launch from their ship using a jump pack.
Water washes off blood
Space Marine 2 is a messy game, in a literal sense. Cutting through hordes of Xenos and Heretics will likely leave your armor coated in the remains of your enemies, but you don't have to leave it that way. There are various water sources throughout the campaign and a quick walkthrough any of these will wash your armor right up, although it's not going to stay that way for long.
Eye shut while aiming
Another small detail that might go unnoticed outside of the photo mode is that Titus typically closes one of his eyes while aiming. This is done regardless of if a weapon is scoped or just has iron sights, but it's typically done to improve accuracy. While it's not totally clear if Titus actually needs to do this considering all of the sensors, targeting devices, and heightened senses he has as a Space Marine, but surely it couldn't hurt his accuracy either.
Aquila Markings
The Aquila is one of the most common symbols in all of Warhammer 40,000 and it certainly makes plenty of appearances in Space Marine 2 as well. The twin-headed eagle is the simplest of the Imperium of Man. The sacred symbol can be found all over the place, with the more detailed versions found on the Battle Barge. On that version you can see that the left eagle has eyes, while the right one is blind folded. The blind folded side represents mankind looking to its past mistakes, while the one with sight looks towards a better future. The sign can also be made using your hands, a gesture that members of the Astra Militarum can be seen doing occasionally.
Saving Guardsman
While the normal foot soldiers in the Astra Militarum are considered to be cannon fodder, that doesn't mean that you can't save a few lives while on the battlefield. For example, in the instance shown in the above image, that soldier typically gets gunned down here, but if you take out the enemy or stun them before they get the shot off, he lives. There are a few places where you fight alongside these soldiers and you can save them if you focus on it, although many of them still won't make it through this in one piece.
Old armor pillars and painting
In the mission "Servant of the Machine," as you approach the temple, you can see multiple busts of armor in the arena. These busts show an old variant of Space Marine power armor called the Mark III Iron Armor, which comes from the Great Crusade period, which occurred during the 30th and 31st millennium. This occurred prior to the Horus Heresy, so it was a period where Space Marine legions mostly got along.
The details also match up with the paintings that adorn the walls of the Temple of Thassean, which depict Space Marines battling to unify the galaxy during the Great Crusade. The artwork is reminiscent of art from multiple books from the Horus Heresy series, including an artwork titled Abakhol by Sam Wood, featured in the Visions of Heresy book.
Numerical codes
Throughout Space Marine 2 you can find numerical scribblings in various places, left by the Adeptus Mechanicus. We have not deciphered all of them, and a few seem like they could be gibberish, but the one shown above reads "each one a sacred shrine." Makes sense considering the high regard the Admech holds for machinery and technology. While we didn't figure out all of these codes, others might fare better.
Tzeench Runes
When fighting the Thousand Sons or navigating through warp touched areas, you likely noticed all of the purple particles floating in the air. Using photo mode you can see that these are actually runes, part of the Chaos language called "The Dark Tongue."
This language originated in Warhammer fantasy, appearing as early as the 90s. The Tzeench variant of the runes appears in Age of Sigmar Battletome: Disciples of Tzeench. We have been able to decipher the runes here to see if there is a hidden message.
Traitor eye color
Relating back to the Cadian purple eyes, there is a campaign scene where some Thousand Sons heretics pretend to be part of the Astra Militarum in cutscene. It's a small detail that might go overlooked, but the soldier talking directly to Titus clearly doesn't have purple eyes, giving away that he isn't really a member of the Cadian regiment. While it's revealed during that cutscene that they are traitors, it's a nice touch that might let you figure it out before the characters do. This also means that these are soldiers who stole uniforms as opposed to actual Cadians that defected.
Chairon is real old
While we know that Titus is relatively old to how normal humans age, it is revealed that Chairon is actually very old. He may have been born over 10,000 years prior to the events of Space Marine 2.
Chairon remarks that he was a boy on Calth when the Word Bearers attacked. This references the Battle of Calth, which took place in the 31st millennium during the beginning of the Horus Heresy. If Chairon was there, he must be 10,000 years old, which lines up with another piece of lore. The Primarius marines were created shortly after this time and were kept in stasis for 10,000 years, awakening just before the 42nd millennium. This means that not only is Chairon real old, but that memory is likely much fresher in his memory than the time gap might suggest.
Loading screen quote
A quote from Isador Akios appears on a loading screen. It reads, "An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded."
While the quote itself isn't that interesting, Akios inclusion is. He appeared as a Blood Raven librarian that appeared in the original Dawn of War, which was released by Relic in 2004. Relic also made the original Space Marine game from 2011. While it's a nice nod to the original developers, Akios is a traitor in the lore, so having his quote appear does feel a bit odd.
Captain Acheran model
Captain Sevastus Acheran can be seen on the Battle Barge's bridge, giving you and the other Ultramarines orders. But his appearance is clearly modeled after a physical Warhammer model, the unnamed Primaris Captain in Phobos Armor. This model doesn't share the same name as Sevastus, but the resemblance is far too similar for it to be coincidence.
Acheran also notably has a Scottish accent, which matches his name as well. For anyone unfamiliar, Ach is a Scottish exclamation, meaning surprise, frustration, or even excitement in some cases. This Scottish exclamation being a key part of his name combined with the Scottish accent feels intentional.
