Review: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2

Boltgun 2 Elevates Warhammer's Bloody Action with Two Protagonists in a Replayable Retro FPS Campaign

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 wastes no time in taking you into its blistering, blood-soaked world. Seriously, it's only a few minutes of quick demo before you're sent diving into a battered spaceship, lobbing bullets and ripping apart rogue enemy agents - all while shouting holy battle cries as limbs roll across the tarnished metal floor. With breakneck speed and plenty of pixelated coloring, it's clear that developer Auroch Digital isn't messing around with the magic of this first-person shooter sequel. Instead, the team has enhanced the frenetic run-and-gun style of the original with increased enemy counts and level objectives that will make you scream "For the Emperor."

The story of Boltgun 2 begins with a real explosion. Your ship has been destroyed by the great demon Vashtorr. Hungry for revenge, you respond (somewhat by Warhammer standards, I might add) by launching a brutal intergalactic campaign, fighting your way through bile-filled swamps to demonic lairs, frozen facilities and beyond. Accompanied by a ferocious servo skull companion who guides you through the red mist, your mission is survival, clearing hordes of evil heretics while collecting enough ammo and medical kits to be strangely out of date. It's repetitive by nature and the story can feel a bit like Warhammer word salad at times. However, thanks to the mesmerizing enemy designs and level variety, as well as the blistering pace, it's easy to get into a state of flux of slicing and slicing through some of Game Workshop's most impressive baddies.

There are four difficulty options to work with, from Low, where your health is boosted and your damage is increased, to Exterminatus, which is about as terrifying as the term suggests. For those looking for more control, you'll also have settings like the ability to disable headbanging and screen vibration, or change the invulnerability status. While I chose to play on the recommended medium difficulty—with a campaign of about eight hours per hero—it's nice to see Boltgun 2 accounts for all kinds of player preferences here.

While there's a lot to shout about, my favorite new feature in Boltgun 2 is the addition of a second playable character. Naira Warath, Bad Sister of Battle, joins the first Boltgun Space Marine, Malum Caedo. While both are fanatical in their dedication, as is often heard in their fierce and shifty taunts, the major difference between them lies in their fighting styles. Where Caedo looks like a giant machine that buzzes around with a chainsword and shard grenades, Inheritance is much more nimble, wielding a heavy Powersword and Melta Bomb. They have a nice feel to them, both in character and in their weapons. At first, I was enamored with Veyrath's Fervent Slide attack, which allows you to dash forward and slice any fodder in half in your path, but I was just as enamored with Caedo's campaign play. All that to say, there's really no wrong choice when it comes to choosing a warrior, and the excitement of playing as one of the two adds to Boltgun 2's replayability, which is further emphasized by the campaign's branching level options.

Which Warhammer 40K adaptation are you most looking forward to?

As you complete levels, you'll make mapping choices throughout Boltgun 2's campaign to determine your path. Along with a few optional side missions, there are specific battle locations to choose between as you progress to the grand finale. In my first playthrough as Inheritance, I had to choose between dropping into a dense rainforest piled high with burn or working on a fortified beach with enemies hiding in sandbars. While I initially chose the former, it was energizing to know that in the second game, not only could I choose an alternate character with a unique loadout, but I'd also have entirely new levels waiting for me.

This dynamic extends to Boltgun 2's mission objectives, which often force you to descend into a hell-filled hellhole to manage a few rounds of gladiatorial combat and make a heroic escape. It looks familiar on paper, but each level has tricks up its sleeve. In one location, I was exploding blood tanks to weaken a daemonic construct, and in another, I was climbing down a vertical chamber and traversing through ice sheets to throw enemies into the blades of a fan. The amazing variety of tasks you're tasked with keeps progress well and alleviates the dreaded shooter fatigue.

[Objectives] A good way to keep progression fresh is to reduce the dreaded shooter fatigue from the get-go.

However, that's not all, as each map has location-specific features. Along with purges, which occur periodically and lock you into areas until you turn the floor red, specific combat conditions add further complexity. This time, you're not always alone in battle, and you're occasionally joined by friendly soldiers who help keep your spirits up and serve as the perfect meat shield when the moment comes. Additionally, there are plenty of physical hazards, from flaming pools to thick fog that obscures your vision. Not only do these moving parts add to the chaos, but they also provide an ingenious cover for Boltgun 2's well-hidden collectibles: Warlock Secrets and Collectible Seals.

For all its bravado and glory, though, Boltgun 2 unfortunately suffers from a handful of technical issues. Enemies sometimes forget they're in a holy war and just wander around like NPCs. While it's hardly a survival threat, it takes you out of the scene to see a creepy crawly. Elsewhere, the infamous purge sometimes didn't end, and despite killing every heretic, I found myself stuck waiting for the exit to open... but it never did. Your drive isn't completely airless either. It's fine for dancing around a battlefield or jumping between and climbing platforms, but it can feel slippery when tackling the more ambitious platforming challenges that arrive in the second half of the campaign. While it's a list of annoyances that could be a cause for concern, these issues in no way detract from the smooth and spectacular gunplay that is so distinct from Warhammer.

What we said about Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

Boltgun impresses with Warhammer 40K cutscenes and a fully realized vision of the famous franchise as a modern, story-style shooter, but in an action-heavy, tabletop game. The surface design of many of its fast-paced cutscenes is enjoyable, but the momentum drags on occasion when new weapons and enemy qualities don't stack up well enough. I think anyone hungry for retro shooters or any 40K game they can get their hands on might be a little disappointed." - John Boulding, May 23, 2023

I have to hand it to Auroch Digital's art team because beyond the insane combat, Boltgun 2's strongest asset is by far its integration aesthetic. I've spent hundreds of hours on the miniatures, painting intricate details to bring them to life. The way they look and move fits Boomer's nostalgic shooter outfit perfectly, and while it's hard to pick favorites, I can't deny that the visually assaulting Daemonettes and monstrous mounted Bloodcrushers stood out, their violent animations and vibrant palettes both delightful and terrifying. If you look carefully, there is a personality hidden in almost every character model. As you approach them in battle, you may notice a torturer swinging a knife around or a small Nargling sitting in the middle of an attack. These kinds of subtle details aren't necessarily necessary and can easily be overlooked, but their inclusion speaks to the attention to detail at the core of Boltgun 2 that makes it such a compelling expansion of the Warhammer universe.

The atmosphere is enhanced by adrenaline-boosting horns and special terrain that your chosen hero can pick up at the touch of a button. Rahul Kohli gives an incredibly powerful performance in his revenge against Caedo, and Alana Pearce's Veyrath is very evil. Similarly, I enjoyed writing behind the aforementioned servo-skull, my eternally irreverent companion who would lighten up difficult combat situations with lines like "Blood attack detected in eye module." Engaging me in war is one thing. This is another real laugh for me - and Boltgun 2 manages to do both.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 carries the torch of the original and enhances its exciting gameplay with an engaging and detailed new character, enemy and world designs, and level branches that offer surprising complexity in their objectives. Technical hiccups can lead to moments of frustration that may hinder the progress or flow of action in several ways. However, moving quickly helps keep things moving, and barking at background characters creates a personality to complement the terrifying mess you create in battle. Whether you're a Warhammer die-hard, a fan of classic shooters, or just curious about hardcore shooters, Boltgun 2 is a real blast and well worth your time.