Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun 2 Refines its Retro FPS Formula to Great Success
For the Emprah!
As part of my ongoing midlife crisis, I’ve been playing a lot of games from my childhood.That includes a lot of “Doom clones” and other seminal titles, and I think Boltgun 2 would fit right in. While I felt like the original Boltgun was missing a few factors to make it a classic, Boltgun 2 goes a long way toward addressing my gripes while adding a whole new character, new weapons, and a branching narrative to encourage replayability.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is a retro-inspired, Build Engine-ish first-person shooter and a sequel to the mostly well-reviewed and well-received Boltgun. In it, you can play as either returning Ultramarine Malum Caedo or the Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath.
Malum is the stompy, chainsword-wielding heretic slayer that you knew from the original. Nyra is a bit faster and carries a bolt pistol and a power sword. While there is some weapon overlap between them, they each sport their own arsenal and unique grenade.
My biggest gripe with the first game was how aimless it felt. It was just encounter after encounter with set pieces, offering little in the way of interesting combat variety. Boltgun 2 fixes this with much more dynamic enemy encounters, mixing foes placed natively in the map with "PURGE!" holdouts where you have to survive waves while delivering the Emperor's judgment.
Map layouts are better, too. A lot of levels are set up in the classic “find the X-colored key to unlock the X-colored door” style that Doom popularized so many years ago, peppered with surprises to keep retracing your path interesting.
Another gripe I had with Boltgun was its toughness system, where larger weapons were required to be effective against larger enemies. This created a sort of rock-paper-scissors dynamic like the one I hated in Doom Eternal. Now, weapons just do damage, and you can use whichever weapon on whatever foe as you see fit.
Weapons in Boltgun 2 are pure joy, especially with how much destructive force they pack. It helps that each enemy seems ready to explode into gory sprites at the slightest provocation. Whether I’m using my frag cannon to take out groups of heretics or burning them down with dual meltaguns, the weapons available are amazing.
There is one exception, and that’s Nyra’s crossbow—it just feels slow and weak compared to everything else at your disposal.
Despite how much carnage you can rain down, that overpowered feeling is balanced out by an overwhelming amount of enemies and projectiles. Carelessness can lead to an easy death. Fortunately, there are plenty of accessibility features that can make the game easier, allowing you to unlock all weapons, give yourself infinite ammo, or make yourself invulnerable. There’s also a navigation guide that can show you where to go—which is completely optional, so you can leave it off for retro game authenticity.
You’ll be fighting a lot of the same types of enemies from the first game, alongside a few new variations and mounts. Khorne Berzerkers will try to get right in your face—and they can do a lot of damage very quickly. There are also mounts that units will ride, making them much more formidable; they remind me a bit of the Werebulls from the Serious Sam series.
Boltgun 2 is a clear step up over its predecessor. Developer Auroch Digital did a great job taking the almost-great concept of the original and refining it. If you already loved the first game, this will be an absolute treat. For those who weren't sure the first time around: check out Boltgun 2.
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