Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

The game fully supports ultra-wide. It's an exciting shooter with decent retro visuals & music.
I liked the variety in weapons. It's fun to use them in different situations. The game lets you to be quite creative in how you prefer to deliver justice, maintain peace and be efficiently diplomatic. But of course, honorable mention goes to the chainsword.
Played it on normal difficulty, I didn't want to stress myself over health & ammo. I just wanted to have fun with some excitement and difficulty curve towards the end & bosses. And the game delivered exactly that.
I absolutely recommend it!

A Brief Introduction
It’s fairly common knowledge among long-time fans of the series that there just really aren’t that many good Warhammer 40k games. You got Dawn of War, Space Marine, Mechanicus….. and that’s about it. Maybe Darktide. Most of these games are over a decade old and aren’t the best thing to recommend to people anymore.
But what if we made a game that was intentionally designed to be old? Enter Warhammer 40k: Boltgun.
Riding the high of the 2020 resurgence of the “Boomer Shooter”, FPS games designed to be more reminiscent of the simple but effective formula of 90s FPS games. No regenerating health, no hiding behind cover. Just you, your guns, a whole lot of enemies, and your typical olympic track star speed to evade them.
I believe Boltgun is worth your time and money, especially considering how cheap it is. But it’s always best to make an informed purchase. That’s what I’m here to do!
In-Depth Analysis
Gameplay
As aforementioned, Boltgun is part of the “Boomer Shooter” genre of FPS, which are FPS games designed to appear and somewhat play like old 90s FPS staples such as Doom and Quake, but with modernized movement and controls. Boltgun definitely gets this idea; arenas are large and designed to run around full sprint while mowing down your enemies, and you have a total of 9 different weapons to unlock throughout the game as convenient spinning pickups.
However, every good game has a core mechanic that sets it apart from the rest. In this case, much to the delight of myself and other fans of 40k, Boltgun excels at emulating an FPS experience that is extremely similar to the IRL tabletop gameplay. Every weapon you can wield has a “Strength” value, and every enemy has a “Toughness” value, both of which can be conveniently seen at all times on the UI. If your weapon’s Strength is greater than your enemy’s Toughness, you do more damage per shot! If it’s equal, you do okay damage. If it’s lower, you do noticeably less damage.
Every weapon in the game has a different gimmick that sets it apart and makes it useful compared to the rest. The weapon the game is named after, the Boltgun, has a Strength of 4 and a very deep ammo reserve. This makes it excellent for chewing through cannon fodder enemies, but struggles significantly against heavily armored enemies. Comparatively, the Plasma Gun and Meltagun have a Strength of 7, making them extremely effective against every enemy, but they possess either a low rate of fire or very low ammo reserves, meaning you can’t be wasting them on random mid-level enemies.
Just like all “Movement Shooters”, Boltgun demands you avoid damage through strafing and running rather than hiding behind cover. Every enemy attack that isn’t melee is a form of projectile that can be avoided with good enough reactions or speed. Some enemies track better than others, and so you must strafe rather than just try to outrun. Some just spew hundreds of rounds, forcing you to keep moving or else they’ll catch up with you.
Another staple of the BS FPS formula are secrets and power-ups. Every map contains an array of power-ups that only last until the end of the level. One example of this is special ammo for the Boltgun that makes it fire faster, penetrate walls or add an AOE. Another is the Vortex Grenade, which when thrown creates a small black hole that rapidly damages and sucks in any enemies around it. But the most impactful power-up you can find is the Machine Spirit, which empowers whatever weapon you are holding when you pick it up. Some of the secrets are genuinely just impossible to find without a guide (Just like Doom), but there’s usually a few easy ones to make up for it. I can usually reliably find the Machine Spirit every level.
Overall, the gameplay is responsive, engaging, and multi-layered; the best kind of FPS gameplay you can get. Varying enemy toughness requiring you to switch weapons is great moment-to-moment engagement that keeps you on your toes, and the multiple different types of environments you venture through help keep the game fresh even when fighting the same enemies. Remember Doom: The Imp never changed from start to finish, but the places you fought it in did!
However, one critical flaw I must make known is that Boltgun lacks any form of map. While the environments are relatively straight forward, sometimes you loop around to the same “hub” room with a key for a new door and need to remember where that door actually is. It’s only a bit annoying and time consuming, but be prepared to actually pay attention to where you’re going so you don’t get lost.
Story
Another staple of the Boomer Shooter genre is an intentional lack of focus on the story. It’s still there, of course. It just barely matters. You play as Malum Caedo, a Space Marine of the Ultramarines chapter, tasked with purging the Chaos filth off a Forge World.
Don’t know 40k lore? Don’t know what any of that means? Doesn’t matter! Point and shoot at the bad guys. It’s as easy as that!

Visuals
Boltgun has a very good grasp of the world of Warhammer 40k and the “grimdark” feeling it pioneered. The combination of technology and religious zealotry is on full display through excessively large cathedral designs, overcomplicated iron techno-junk, and of course the chaos corruption and vandalism covering it all.
The low-poly nature of the environments help to emulate Quake, which is clearly the main inspiration for most of the gameplay (As it is so practically all FPS), but the enemies are a nice unique 2D claymation spin on the sprites you normally see in these kinds of games. It reminds me very heavily of Doom 64, which had far different and rather memorable redesigns of the classic Doom enemy ensemble.
Weapon effects, enemy attacks, and particles are very distinct and prominent, though the sheer AMOUNT of effects can sometimes cause a bit of blindness by making it impossible to tell living enemies from the pure carnage going on around them. This is compounded by the speed of the game, which sometimes results in confusing scrambles where you just spray and pray and hope for the best.
Audio
I have no complaints, but also no compliments about the audio. The music is okay, but not even slightly memorable. The guns do sound satisfyingly chunky, but not quite enough to really resonate. It’s good and performs its job satisfactorily.
Technical
GeForce RTX 3050Ti 4GB | Intel i7 | 16GB | Windows 10
I typically don’t have any problems running Boltgun on my PC. However, on random occasions, the game will suffer a sort of stutter-freeze where every two or so seconds, the entire game will freeze for a split-second. This will happen repeatedly. I don’t really know what causes it, or how to solve it, but restarting a few times seems to fix it.
Conclusion
Boltgun is an excellent retro “Boomer Shooter” that perfectly emulates the lore and appeal of the Warhammer 40k universe while still being approachable enough that non-fans can enjoy it too. While it does have some momentary annoyances, like the complete lack of a map, it is a majority fun experience. It comes with a satisfying amount of content, an enjoyable weapon roster, and iconic enemies, all with a 40k coat of paint. I've replayed it three times and enjoyed it each time!
At only $20, any fan of classic FPS should pick this up!
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Things I Liked:
-The first level is an Easter egg/tribute to the original Doom from '93 to where the game takes heavy inspiration.
-In the settings, there is an option to adjust the "retro" and "pixels" which makes the game look great whether you like old/newer sharper pixels.
-Played exclusively on a handheld (ROG Ally Z1) and it was perfect.
-The controls are easy to learn and work very well with a controller.
-The environment and overall atmosphere.
-Secrets to be found on each map.
-Ability to ping a temporary navigation line encase you get lost via button press.
-The Music/Soundtrack.
-The enemy variation.
-Weapons are satisfying and feel great.
-Auto-save feature.
-The melee and movement.
-Ability to taunt.
-Achievements.
-Price seems fair especially the bundle.
Things I Didn't Like:

Let me preface this review by stating I have completed the game twice, first time on hard and second on exterminatus alongside all the secrets. I currently hold all 12 achievements for this game. I'm stating this because a common criticism of this game is that people leave positive reviews after engaging with it for a couple hours and then dropping it.
I consider myself a casual enjoyer of the WH40K universe. I have played Mechanicus and the Dawn of War games, but not Space Marine, whose story this game is a sequel of, thus I cannot comment on the story of this game, nor can I compare this to other boomer shooters since this is not a genre I usually engage with.
I will talk about the positive and negative aspects of this game and then give a conclusion. As for what I liked, there is a lot of care put into this game and it has the high quality I desire out of 15-30hour single player games. The atmosphere is phenomenal, both in terms of sound design and visual design, alongside a few truly grandiose levels that you have to stop and be in awe of. The enemy design reminds me of the tabletop game, as if figures are blurred and made into enemies. The gameplay loop does not lag behind, with thrilling action thanks to a violent pace, lack of "cheese" enemies that ruin the fun, and lots of firepower at your disposal. The game goes out of its way to shower you with munitions and powerups so that you feel like a space marine exterminator, a wonderful power fantasy as you mow down heretic/demon hordes with the appropriate taunts.
Unfortunately this power fantasy is also a double edged sword as the tight munitions economy of other games goes out the window and you never run anywhere close to low on munitions. The gun variety is severely hampered by some guns (shotgun/meltagun/caliver) being more situational and specific than generalist guns such as the heavy bolter. There is a lack of weapon specificity where specific weapons counter specific enemies as in Doom, because in Boltgun you can realistically 100% the game with just the boltgun, heavy bolter and grav gun (for the bosses). Map design is also quite poor, as many people had issues navigating the levels while most levels were quite linear and not very interesting. Personally I didn't mind the levels much, I think this issue was more exacerbated by the poor enemy placement at times and general lack of enemy mobility. Enemies usually stand where they are which is kind of immersion breaking. There's also no custom map editor, no weapon wheel for easy gun selection (there are 9 of them. have fun with the keys) and enemy AI is generally limited as enemies usually either chase or stand and have 2 animations (ex plague frogs tongue strike, burp acid and then jump. This on repeat.). I also didn't like some of the secrets placement, I wish they were more environmentally bound to encourage exploration instead of cheaply hiding them being fake walls that need to be activated without a prior hint (you need a guide to find them). Missed opportunity imo.
Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with boltgun. I can see quite a few areas where it could be better, but overall I would rate my 24hrs with it as a solid 7.5/10. Well worth the money I spent on it. It's pretty immersive and fun, though if you're going at it for 100% it can feel like a bit of a chore.

Praise the Emperor Marine!
The Inquisition got news of a heretical outbreak, and potential demon spawn going along with these traitors. It is your holy duty to purge this infection from the face of his holy empire. The Stars belong to mankind!

Overview
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is classic 2D retro shooter, set in the grim dark future of the 40th millennium. You play as a Space Marine of the Ultramarines and you are tasked to slay the enemies of humanity! (In a very stylish and bloody way)

Gameplay/Design
Boltgun focuses on the essentials of an ego-shooter like in the old days.
It's more simple, have this gun and shoot. The game is fast paced, gory and gives you only room to breathe between battles.
The levels are a mix of tubes, with small side areas to explore, and larger open places providing room to dispose of enemies from many different points. (and they are filled with secrets!) Each battle is fast though, there are large groups enemies and it’s just you and your blessed arsenal of guns. You are constantly on the move, dashing and sprinting avoiding enemy projectiles and attacks while giving them hell back.
I honestly were never bored of any fight in the game, from the first heretic I grinded into a bloody pile of bones and meat with my chainsword until the final boss battle, disposing of more enemies than I could ever count.
I guess for some players it could be repetitive, but if you play this kind of shooter, you know what you are up for.
There are a total of 8 different guns and 3 different types of grenades. And while this may sound little at first, it is more than enough to offer a large amount of variety to annihilate the enemies of humanity. Each weapon has its purpose and use and you will find yourself constantly switching guns to disposed of the groups of enemies that will attack you.
The variety of enemies is vast, from simple cultists with different weapons, chaos space marines and the stronger variants of them like terminators, a huge amount of different nurgle demons and other pests to mini bosses and strong end of chapter boss fights which offer a good challenge to overcome.
Graphic/Audio/Tech
This game looks wonderful, if you are a fan of retro shooters and beautiful 2D sprites, you will love what Boltgun has on offer. The soundtrack is a banger, it pumps you up to run straight into battle and bring carnage and death to the enemies of mankind.
In my entire playtime I had zero technical issues, and the options offer a lot of customization.

Features/TL;DR
- Boltgun nails the atmosphere of Warhammer 40k
- fantastic soundtrack
- Large variety of levels and areas
- 8 distinctive unique weapons, each useful
- basic but enjoyable story
- fun large scale boss fights
- super fun movement system, weapon design and sound
- Great weapons, enemies, area 2D sprites
- 4 different difficulty modes
- Horde mode for extra carnage!

Final Thoughts
40K fan or not, if you enjoy fast old-school shooters then Boltgun is a great choice.
From a long campaign mixed in with a good arsenal of guns and lots of enemies to dispose with them and fast action the game offers won’t get boring from the first to the last shot.

A nice and fun retro "boomer" shooter inspired by doom like levels and area unlocks, had fun killing the heretics and Purging the unclean for the greater good, for the emperor.
had some issues with enemies swarming you and then them being bullet sponges, which can be a bit of downside but then we shall know no fear and Victory is but a prelude to the next battle.
enjoy this game, buy it on sale with the DLC (forges of corruption)

I love 40K. I love Retro Shooters. This is a 40K Retro Shooter.

What stood out to me the most, when I first picked up this game on release, is that it's not a "Boomer Shooter", but rather it's a "Doom Clone"! This game is an homage to the original DOOM games, rather than the general Retro Shooter genre. This is apparent in both its style of secrets as well as its level design and enemy encounter design.

I just played through the entire DOOM series on Ultra Violence last year, and I've been playing Boltgun on and off, ever since beating it on release. I play on the max difficulty with the crosshair turned off for fun, and I absolutely enjoy this game more than DOOM 2016 or DOOM Eternal. It does what both of those games aimed to do, and it does it better. The movement is better, the weapons are better, the level design is often better. There are no long, drawn out platforming segments that I can think of, but rather some small fun ones sprinkled throughout the game, and they usually mean there's a secret nearby.

The DLC is the pinnacle of this game's design. I can tell the Devs really came to fully understand their game after release, and it shows throughout the DLC. The DLC has the best level design (though more linear than the base game, but that's a 99% good thing), the best combat encounters, and definitely the best final boss fight (even though the secrets in that one are RUDE! lol).

This may be the best Boomer Shooter/Retro Shooter/Classic Shooter I've played. I would rank this above Dusk, Amid Evil, and of course the original DOOM, and I LOVED all of those games!

I've seen some very weird criticisms of the game that I've never personally encountered. For anyone complaining that this game feels samey and you're not forced to use anything other than the Boltgun, just turn up the difficulty. Difficulty level will also change enemy armor values, which pressures your weapon choices more!