Warhammer 40K: Boltgun review: an absolute blast of a boomer shooter

In the dark darkness of the distant future, there is only war. The Emperor’s elite, the Transhuman Space Marines, are bulwarks protecting humanity from the malevolent forces of Chaos. In some cases, warhammer 40,000 fatally serious. But it’s also a very stupid galaxy, Warhammer 40K: Boltgun Indulging in the bright side of things can pay off big.

bolt gunthe Boomer shooter created by Auroch Digital, draws a lot of inspiration from: Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and other classic FPS games. I play the role of Ultramarine, one of the Human Emperor’s angels, dispatched to the world of Graia to clean up the 2011 action game. space marine. I play as Malm Kaed, a Sternguard veteran and the sole survivor of my team.

After that event, everything went back to hell space marine In conclusion, Captain Titus, the protagonist of the original Ultramarine, killed a boatload of Orcs and Chaos Space Marines. The planet is once again infested with cultists, Chaos Space Marines and demons. Luckily, I have a chainsword, a titular boltgun, and a dedicated button to praise the Emperor. My course of action is clear. “Tear apart”.

at first glance, bolt gun An elaborate joke. If you’re used to 40K settings, this is a fun joke that flips on a familiar trope. For those unfamiliar, this is just hype and bloody hilarity. Instead of playing a hot-blooded American who likes beer and boobs, Duke’s Nukem is his game, where the main character gets into an eight-foot-tall tank. A power armor that turns demons into red mist and honors the emperor.

But most jokes are that they eventually fade.If bolt gun It was just a stupid idiot, it would become obsolete after the first few levels. Luckily, the gameplay is actually so good that this particular bone has more meat. It didn’t take long for me to get into the rhythm of killing mavericks.

The Chainsword allows you to lunge forward and close the gap, taking down even the most powerful foes. However, it also traps me in a static animation and exposes me to enemy attacks. You can also use your boltgun to mow down demons at a distance, which isn’t very reliable, but gives you enough room to avoid firing and keep track of the room.

Combat is interrupted by exploration. Sometimes you need to find keys or break down walls of secrecy. The more you explore, the more rewards you get. Meltagun and Vengeance He finds new weapons such as launchers hidden around the level. There are also secret upgrades that spew cones of fire and give grenades the ability to explode into black holes. These powerful tools are fun to deploy and ridiculously powerful, so I’ve frequently and wonderfully erased entire rooms of bad guys.

Image: Orlock Digital/Focus Entertainment

as to whether bolt gun Whether it’s a challenge or not is up to you. There are graduated difficulty options from Low to Exterminatus. If you simply want to explore the environment and discover the story, the accessibility menu includes an invincibility setting. On Normal difficulty, even the lesser Plague Toads and Cultists will punch. Enemies have versatile weapons at their disposal as well, so you’ll need to be mindful of your positioning and choose your tools carefully.

The more you advance through Graia, the more you appreciate the Graia environment. bolt gun. I started with a pile of snow, built metal imperial infrastructure in the mountains, then fought my way through housing blocks and factories with giant titan mechs looming in the background. Graia’s desolate surface is punctuated by a colorful, vibrant realm of chaos, filled with winged Tzeentch his demons and noxious little nurglings.

Auroch Digital has done a great job of bringing the game to life by combining retro visuals and old shooter traps with a modern feel. The abyss of chaos looks downright eerie, even through an old-fashioned lens. These wacky environments and crude demon designs, combined with intuitive and satisfying combat, bolt gun It’s a lot of fun and it’s great to explore the world of Warhammer through such a ridiculous bloody filter.

Warhammer 40K: Boltgun was released May 23 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. This game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Focus Entertainment. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. They do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn a commission on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.