Last year’s Space Marine VR – Defenders of Avarax was a massive treat for fans of Warhammer 40,000 and virtual reality aficionados alike, built in partnership between virtual experience studio Zero Latency and Games Workshop. We had a galactic blast checking this out when it released in September, though notably missing from the experience for some was a sense of real challenge. While the adrenaline is high and the aliens are frightening, there’s no real way to fail, which takes some of the teeth out of the fight for more diehard capital-g Gamers.
Enter Threat: Lethal, an update to the Space Marine VR experience that promises to test even the hardiest of marines to their limits. This game mode adds the threat of failure to the game, imposing a strict time limit (either 30 or 45 minutes depending on your squad) and forcing your team to be sent to the most recent checkpoint each time the whole party goes down. It’s a simple change that immediately raises the stakes and rewards coordinated teamwork and effective planning, reflecting the challenge of PC/console Space Marine 2 multiplayer sessions with far more immersion (and a heck of a lot more screaming).
We were invited to try out the new mode at Zero Latency’s new South Morang venue, nestled happily in a shopping precinct near the train station. I was a little nervous teaming up with strangers (particularly with friendly fire enabled in the mode) but pretty quickly our squad was united in resistance against the vicious alien hordes. As my first Zero Latency experience, I was admittedly pretty much dead weight for most of the session – however, the threat of a total team wipe meant reviving fallen allies was incredibly important, which added a layer of “healer” strategy to the game that I enjoyed leaning into and helps ensure that even beginners feel valuable.
Failing to complete the session before time ends means that your team does not survive, a gruelling fate that we narrowly avoided with only a couple of minutes to spare. Something about finally getting through a massive wave of enemies after our team wiped two or three times felt incredibly satisfying. The higher threat also helped mitigate some of the immersion-breaking necessities of the multiplayer setup – other players speaking over the in-game dialogue doesn’t matter so much when everyone’s yelling “GLORY BROTHER!” and “FOR THE EMPEROR!” anyway. I took particular delight in the chaos of the final boss encounter, where your entire squad dances around an arena avoiding death zones and taking down a massive beast.
While the Threat: Lethal mode does elevate the Space Marine VR adventure into an adrenaline-fuelled romp, it does hit a few of the same occasional snags as the core experience. The sheer number of fellow players in an enclosed space can get crowded, particularly in the extremely stressful boss fights. Proximity alarms do a lot to help keep you safe from slamming into each other, but I did find myself occasionally bodied by a mate leaping out of the way of an attack. I also found walking up ramps pretty uncomfortable, considering there’s no change in your physical elevation. It’d be neat to see more delightful touches like the incredibly atmospheric wind machines in the venue to help add to the immersion of the experience.
Bedraggled, sweaty, and beaming, leaving Zero Latency after the Space Marine VR Threat: Lethal experience left me simultaneously exhausted and desperate for another round. For gamers looking for that little bit of extra challenge, this game mode offers plenty of immersive goodness and leaves you utterly knackered. You can read more details about the mode and the new South Morang venue on Zero Latency’s website.
Disclaimer: One of the Editors of Checkpoint Gaming works for Zero Latency. Zero Latency and Checkpoint Gaming operate completely independently, and no special consideration is given to Zero Latency announcements or promotions for coverage.
About the Author
David McNamara
he/him or they/them
David is a proudly queer performing artist and software developer. He spends most of his downtime with a controller in his hands and a lazy beagle on his lap.
