April 1 has been and gone, and so has the video game industry’s penchant for April Fool’s Day gags for another year. But the one the people behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 came up may perhaps live a little longer in the memory.
Yesterday, Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Entertainment declared that the new Chaplain class would be released as DLC on April 1.
“In story mode, swap out Titus for The Chaplain and experience the game as a true Codex-compliant Ultramarine,” Focus said, no doubt sniggering from behind their monitors.
This ‘DLC’ supposedly added the new playable character to the story mode, as well as an ‘Enhanced Dialogue System’ that would have the Chaplain, every five minutes, remind everyone around him that “the Codex Astartes does not support this action,” and “I’m telling the Inquisition.”
The Chaplain even has a special ability called Discipline. This would involve instantly reporting “any and all minor deviations from the Codex Astartes for a 5% discipline bonus (but -20% brotherhood bonus).
The joke here works because as anyone who played Space Marine 2’s campaign knows, Chaplain Quintus watches Titus’ every move with a hawk-like distrust for signs of heresy, despite the protagonist’s demonstrable loyalty to the Imperium, the Ultramarines, and the Emperor himself.
Throughout the campaign, as Titus battles against the Tyranids and the Thousand Sons traitor legion, it becomes clear there is something… special about him, and Chaplain Quintus does not like that one bit. He’s a bit like the annoying school prefect who patrols the corridors for a mere whiff of deviant behavior and then— bam! You’re reported to the headmaster. Everyone hates the Chaplain.
The Chaplain has become something of a meme within the Space Marine community, and it’s this status that the Space Marine 2 April Fool’s joke leans into. But some fans have said they would love for The Chaplain to actually come to the game, not, perhaps, with this exact skill set, but as a straight-up warrior-priest who insists upon the veneration of the Emperor at all times.
“This would actually go hard if this was real,” declared ResidentDrama9739 in a post on the Space Marine subreddit that’s full of enthusiastic chatter about the Chaplain and how he might work in the game. Some are even saying
The thing is, Space Marine 2 is getting a new class soon. Focus and developer Saber Interactive have yet to say what it is, but fans certainly have their theories. Most assume it will be the Apothecary, as close to a medic class as Space Marines have. But there is hope that it could be the Librarian, which would mean super cool warp-powered space magic. Does the Chaplain’s star turn in Space Marine 2’s April Fool’s Day joke rule him out?
There’s a lot happening in the world of Space Marine 2, despite the surprise announcement that development of Space Marine 3 development had begun. Space Marine 2’s year one roadmap remains, and Patch 7 is set to be released mid-April. But in the coming months Space Marine 2 will also get the aforementioned new class as well as new PvE operations and melee weapons.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
