Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
First published in GRIND V, pages 80–85.
FOR THE IMPERIUM
A round built with a pure diamantine tip and high penetrative power, packed into a 0.998 calibre cartridge with a dense deuterium core and an explosive charge, is hurled furiously at medium range through the barrel of an 18 kg piece of metal. The Bolter, the weapon created by the God-Emperor of Mankind himself for the Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) to exterminate every last shred of heresy from the realm of chaos, is now in your hands, and it is your duty to use it to send Tzeentch's and Nurgle's minions back where they came from, in this exceptional boomer shooter from the Brits at Auroch Digital. Are you ready?
BOLTGUN
The Bolter, or boltgun, is an iconic weapon that fires small projectiles called 'bolts'. These are self-propelled rockets that explode with devastating effect after penetrating the target. There are numerous variations of the boltgun, from the compact bolt pistol to the immense Vulcan mega-bolter, often mounted on Titans and other super-heavy vehicles.
CHAINSWORD
It is a high-powered mechanical saw, adapted for combat by adding a handle, a guard and a grip button to make it easier to wield. It is a common weapon throughout the Imperium, known and feared for the horrific damage it inflicts on unarmoured bodies.
IT IS I, MALUM CAEDO
The Warhammer 40K universe is a vast one, made up of countless events spanning entire millennia of eternal war between the authoritarian, theocratic, techno-feudal empire led by humans – essentially space robo-knights – and various occult or extraterrestrial forces. I have always been fascinated by both the aesthetics and the mythology underpinning the 40K universe, so much so that I started reading more and more about it to understand the various factions, their origins and the ideologies they follow.
However, if you're not a Warhammer fan, or if you're not particularly bothered about a game's lore, well, don't worry, because the story is merely a pretext to kill some demons and boils down to five minutes of cutscenes plus a few situational comments. Besides, in a boomer shooter the narrative takes a back seat, with the focus on the gameplay loop and the dynamics of the fights.
In short, you're put in the metal boots of Malum Caedo, the furious Ultramarine sent to recover a lost fragment of power on a planet invaded by Chaos, an occult faction made up of interdimensional demons, soldiers corrupted by pagan gods and... checks notes... radioactive frogs. Armed with your Bolter, your Chainsword and plenty of harsh words, you'll have to carve your way through waves of enemies, alongside your flying cranial assistant, across three action-packed chapters.
BOLTER & SWORD
So, as soon as you get past the first level, which serves as an introduction, you receive your new directives and set about reducing the planet's population significantly. After a few firefights and a few thrown grenades, you slowly begin to realise something: you are unstoppable. Many elements contribute to this, a lot of them stemming directly from how Malum Caedo is presented – you are no ordinary soldier, and you feel it in the sound of The protagonist in Boltgun is an Ultramarine, a super-soldier of the Imperium, sent to destroy heretics and demons with his boltgun, in the Emperor's name. footsteps thudding under the weight of his armour, in the ability to tackle a group of enemies and eliminate them instantly, and in the way he slices through a cultist without breaking a sweat. From the very start I thought of Boltgun as the 'We have DOOM: The Dark Ages at home' version.
The feeling of power is palpable, and it is amplified by the multitude of death-dealing tools that leave you feeling comfortable whatever comes your way. And since I've started talking about weapons, it's worth saying that there's a healthy variety of launchers and guns. Besides the Bolter, you'll have the indispensable Chainsword (a sword that's also a chainsaw) for melee, plus a Shotgun, a Plasma Rifle, a Heavy Bolter, a Vengeance Launcher and a few other weapons I'd rather you discovered for yourselves.
On top of that, you'll have three types of grenade at your disposal, various powers that give your attack a short-term boost, and temporary Bolter upgrades in the form of special ammunition that adds either a bigger explosion on impact, extra penetration or a higher rate of fire. Personally, I was completely won over by the Heavy Bolter, a more powerful version of the standard one, capable of levelling whole crowds of demons in one sustained burst. Just listening to the sound it makes is enough to raise your testostero- 3 How would you like your Chaos Space Marine served? Well done or rare? The Plasma rifle in Boltgun is a devastating energy weapon, firing incandescent projectiles that melt enemies. ne to Duke Nukem levels and make you want to arm wrestle Doomguy.
However, not every gun works against every opponent, and the game wants you to choose wisely when deciding what to blow a Chaos Marine away with. Basically, each weapon and each opponent has a level attached, and you have to match the two so that your number beats your adversary's. To elaborate, take the Chaos Marine: with a power level of four, you can use the Plasma Rifle (7) or the Heavy Bolter (5) to bring it to its knees quickly, but you'll have some trouble if you try it with the Shotgun (3). In my experience, matching levels wasn't a decisive factor in surviving, perhaps because I played on medium, but I never felt constrained by them.
There is, however, one weapon that stands above all the others, unbound by power levels and not limited by available ammunition: the abuse Malum Caedo hurls at his opponents. Nothing hurts more than harsh words delivered at the right moment, and the developers knew it when they decided to add a dedicated insult button that you can use whenever you want to vent all your frustration on the demons you're disciplining. Not only is it great fun to use in the thick of battle, it's also refreshing to curse the remains of your enemies after an intense fight. I admit I overdid it a little too often after I finally managed to beat an Aspiring Champion who had killed me three times before.
I SMELL DEMON FILTH W40K BOLTGUN: WORDS OF VENGEANCE
tuit The Typing of the Dead, As for the cannon fodder you come across, it's varied, merciless and fairly smart. There are enough species of soldiers and creatures that you never feel you're killing the same thing every time, and their AI is decent. Most armed cultists will try to position themselves further away from you if it suits them, Pink Horrors will throw projectiles from a distance or slice you up if you're close, and Aspiring Champions simply hate you personally. I say that considering they accounted for 80% of my reloads and had me sweating at every encounter. Fast, strong and tireless, they come straight at you to dish out a beating, and the cherry on top is that they have a chance of getting a second life, only stronger and faster. Why? Because they want you to suffer.
Meeting them was where I felt the first step up in difficulty, and these spikes recur several times through the game at somewhat random moments that caught me off guard, leaving me not quite ready for what was about to hit me. I couldn't tell whether these were 'git gud' situations or whether the game had some pacing problems, but I shrugged and carried on. The level design is good, with both generous arenas and the winding corridors typical of the genre. The chapters differ in theme, so you'll explore snow-covered military batteries, a vividly coloured desert, cathedrals corrupted by Chaos and the interior of a spaceship, all nicely detailed. Incidentally, the art style that mimics 90s pixels is outstanding and one of the game's strong points. As for objectives, most levels boil down to: go there, kill everything, get the key, open the door, repeat. Slightly monotonous, which made me abandon the current session a few times, which is why I'd recommend playing Boltgun in short bursts so you don't burn out. Still on level design, when the game launched there was no way to orient yourself towards the current objective, which had me wandering around like a lunatic looking for the next key for minutes on end. Fortunately, this was addressed in a later patch, and there is now a button that traces a path to your destination, praise the Emperor. Another thing that bothered me was the animation that plays when you enter a portal – it's something nasty, a fast purple spiral full of dancing lines, which managed to make me feel nauseous a few times... I got used to it later, but it isn't very pleasant. I consider all of this minor, because at heart the quality of the game is very high, and I can tell you I only came across one trivial bug in the whole adventure. Recently, with the reveal of Boltgun II, due next year, there was added gra- Boltgun: Words of Vengeance, a game in the style where every word typed equals one enemy downed, which takes you through three missions taken from the campaign. It's incredibly short and works more as an advert for the sequel, but if you want to show off your typing skills, you can try it for 30 minutes of fun.
BOLTGUN 2
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 was announced recently, only we still have a wait on our hands. The game doesn't arrive until next year, and it'll be available on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series S|X.
FOR THE EMPEROR
In 2024 we got Forges of Corruption, a DLC that extends Boltgun's story with another chapter of five missions, a little longer than the ones you meet in the campaign. It also adds two weapons and a handful of new enemies, so if you like the base game I'd recommend getting the DLC too, because you'll be getting more Boltgun.
Also as part of Forges of Corruption, Horde Mode was added for free, which, personally, didn't do much for me. You get one arena and twelve rounds in which the campaign weapons are handed to you gradually, and you have to use them to survive the waves of enemies. It doesn't stretch the game's longevity very far, but it's a welcome addition. Finally, I'd add that the campaign missions come with a fairly high degree of replayability, thanks to the sheer number of secrets to find and the satisfaction the gameplay loop offers. It's a perfect fit for those days when you've only got a few minutes to unwind, or you simply want a game to relax your mind in. Boltgun is an indie gem and a great choice for those of you after an old-school weekend shooter.
And for those of you who want to learn more about the 40K universe, or just fancy a short foray into it, I recommend watching Astartes 1-5 on YouTube.
LONG LIVE ULTRAMAR!
.50
FINAL SCORE
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is an indie gem and a great choice for those of you after an old-school weekend shooter.
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