Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is the kind of shooter I don’t like, yet I enjoyed every second of it

After the great success of the first part, Boltgun 2 will soon be released, a classic boomer shooter set in the world of Warhammer 40,000. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus usually doesn’t care for such games, but the presentation did catch his attention – even though it was actually horrible.

In 2023, Boltgun was released, a boomer shooter in pixel style, where you play as a Space Marine and fire wildly at demons and Chaos followers. Don’t think, don’t strategize, just shoot. That’s how this type of shooter works.

And that’s exactly why I don’t like them. Sure, I played the new DOOM parts as well, but only once for the story and for a quick session. I actually prefer tactical shooters like Rainbow Six or hero shooters like Overwatch.

Now the developers from Auroch Digital showed me the successor, Boltgun 2. I actually didn’t want to watch the presentation at all, but I thought: “It’s Warhammer and somehow that does intrigue you.” My intuition was right.

DOOM as a model, but Warhammer in its blood

At the event I attended with a few other journalists, the developers showed us gameplay of the shooter and shared some insights. For example, there are more weapons, more enemies, and of course new levels compared to its predecessor.

The game clearly shows its DNA. It looks like a reskin of the ancient DOOM games, plays just as fast and chaotically. It wouldn’t be my thing at all if it weren’t for the distinct Warhammer stamp:

• Not only a Space Marine faces the forces of Chaos, but this time also one of the Adepta Sororitas, a fanatic warrior priestess from Warhammer 40,000. My favorite faction in the universe. However, there will not be cooperative play despite having two characters.
• The weapon selection is excellent for a Warhammer fan like me: of course there are the iconic bolters, alongside the typical flamethrowers for the Sororitas and even a type of blessed stake crossbow and melta bombs.
• Even famous NPCs can be seen, such as the Death Korps of Krieg, which appear as allies – and more familiar faces are said to come, as mentioned in the interview.

Later, we got access to the demo ourselves, which includes two missions, and at the moment I set a Khorne Berserker on fire with my flamethrower and he came charging at me in flames, I knew: This is “grimdark”, this is where I like it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture the scene in the heat of battle.

Only 2 levels in the demo, but they hit hard

The demo, which you can play at the time of this article’s release or shortly thereafter, is quite short: I completed both levels, one in the jungle and one in a snow world, in under an hour.

While playing, however, you hardly notice the time, as I was short on breath to think. Almost constantly, enemies were nearby that I had to fight, and only when an area was really “clean” could I explore a bit. This is also important because, as is typical for DOOM, Boltgun is packed with hidden secrets. I already discovered some of them.

What really impressed me was the gameplay of the characters. They not only have – like in DOOM – different weapons and maybe a glory kill, but also various and sometimes combat-important abilities:

• Nyra Veyrath, the Sister of Battle, can slide and then freeze time to a bullet time in mid-air. Her faith (the shield) regenerates slowly over time.
• Malum Caedo, the Ultramarine, can trample enemies or jump at them with his chainsword and regenerates health points slowly.

Nevertheless, the various weapons are of course the deciding point. Have I mentioned that there are bolters? And not just in the pistol version, but also in the heavy version with a large magazine.

While firearms are an important part of the game, melee weapons are not just a gameplay gimmick when ammunition is running low. Swords are firmly rooted in the lore of Warhammer 40,000.

We could ask questions… but answers were difficult

Before we were allowed to play ourselves, two developers, lead programmer Jack Midgley-Munns and senior audio designer Matt Walker, showed us their gameplay. Specifically, they played for 45 minutes while we could ask questions. However, there was often… silence in response.

Jack had trouble responding while playing during the action, and while some colleagues were probably annoyed by this, I found it quite charming: it’s not often that developers get so immersed in their own game.

And you could definitely hear that both were having fun. After I managed to ask a few questions about the lore (which will likely have more detailed articles soon), Matt eventually simply referred to me when a question about Space Marines came up, saying: “Benedict can certainly improve on that.”

From their responses, I still noticed that both have knowledge of the subject. They also mentioned: In the entire studio, almost everyone plays Warhammer and engages with it. After I recently painted my first miniature, such dedication to the world excites me even more.

Such events are often dry, especially when you sit with two dozen other journalists on Discord and everyone can ask questions enthusiastically. Here, everything had a more relaxed vibe of a cozy gaming session with people who love to talk about their passion. I felt really at home, it was all incredibly sympathetic.

What do you think so far about Boltgun and Boltgun 2? Are such games exactly your thing, or are you a boomer shooter grump like me? Feel free to share your impressions in the comments.

Auroch Digital is not only working on Boltgun 2 but also has a second department working on another Warhammer game with a similarly famous inspiration like DOOM: One of the biggest viral game hits of the last few years is teaming up with Warhammer 40,000, and fans are going wild: “My goodness, it’s perfect”