Review of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

Despite the fact that the Warhammer 40K franchise is unlikely to be as popular as, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the gaming industry it can be safely included in the TOP 3. Warhammer was released in almost all genres, and the latest title of this brand is Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - is a retro shooter in the spirit of the early Doom and Quake games.

Blobs of red pixels

In Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun you play as a Space Marine. Your enemies are Chaos Space Marines and rot-spewing Chaos Daemons. This premise is just a pretext for the commander to send the hero into towering fortresses and desert mountain landscapes soaked in Nurgling slime. All levels are relatively large. Often, each mission ends with the very multi-wave battle that is inherent in the shooters of the 90s. As you move through the locations, you can find various secrets, be sure to look for keys that open new rooms.

To be sure, the levels in Boltgun are a bit more difficult than in the classic first-person shooters of the time. But they still rely on classic mechanics, including searching for medkits and ammo, as well as a gradually growing arsenal of weapons that are ideal for a Space Marine - shotguns, plasma rifles and a bolter (the same Boltgun from the name). And then there is an amplifier called "Contempt", which is, in fact, a shield or armor for the character, and other boosts that increase damage or give other temporary buffs. Difficulty levels do not just increase the difficulty of destroying mobs, but make you move even faster, which makes the game more dynamic. The higher the difficulty, the more dynamic the gameplay.

This is a retro shooter. You don't have to worry about crafting, inventory management or stamina. In keeping with the retro atmosphere and style of the game, a minimum of mechanics has been added so that they do not interfere with the gameplay.

Bolter is your friend

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is fast-paced and, like classic games, doesn't require deep strategic thinking. Of course, some weapons deal damage from a distance, while others are good for killing demons up close. But this game is more about fast moving, shooting and bloody show. Almost any weapon is suitable for destroying opponents. On the normal difficulty level, you can get by with one bolter. Only a few end-game battles will be a real test for you. I would immediately advise playing on one of the higher difficulty levels.

Where Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun really shines is in its synthesis of 90s shooter graphics and mechanics with more modern technology. For a game that is ostensibly inspired by the pixel classic, it has a surprising amount of graphical tweaks and visual effects. You can customize its visual style to reflect the games of the time as much as possible, or completely remove the pixelation and blur.

By increasing the color intensity of the retro palette and decreasing the number of pixels, you can go back to the days when pixels were the size of bricks. Regardless of which settings are selected, the game shows a stable 60 frames per second. Technically, it's perfect! The powerful soundtrack is exactly what you would expect from a combination of shooters from the Warhammer and Doom franchises. Everything related to weapons sounds great - reloading, shots, and so on.

Cherry on the cake

I assumed the Warhammer 40,000 universe would work well with retro shooters, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is proof that the concept works. Not every game licensed by Games Workshop is as much fun as I got from Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. There are no deep and complex systems here. Most of its core mechanics are decades old. But Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun gave me more pleasure than many of the more complex shooters of our time.