Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a retro first-person shooter video game, a so-called "boomer shooter" intended to mimic the style of 1990s first-person shooters like the original Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, developed by Auroch Digital and published by Focus Entertainment. It is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and was released on 23 May 2023.
Contents
- 1 Gameplay
- 2 Development
- 3 Plot
- 4 Forges of Corruption Expansion
- 5 Reception
- 6 Sources
Gameplay[]
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a single-player first-person shooter in which the player controls a Firstborn Space Marine battling against Chaos Cultists, Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Daemons.
Its gameplay and artistic style are heavily influence by first-person shooters from the 1990s such as the 1993 classic Doom, but the developers have highlighted their inclusion of modern gaming features like the use of present-day enemy behavioural AI.
Development[]
The game was announced at the Warhammer Skulls 2022 event on 1 June 2022.
On 11 April 2023 it was announced via the Warhammer Community page that the game was set to release on 23 May 2023, and that Rahul Kohli will voice the protagonist Malum Caedo. In a blog post also published on 11 April 2023 via PlayStation.Blog, Grant Stewart (lead designer at Auroch Digital) explained some features of the upcoming game and its development. This included modern enemy AI, sprite creation, and animations.
Plot[]
Taking place on the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World of Graia several standard years after the events of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and the Liberation of Graia, the player takes on the role of Malum Caedo, a Firstborn Sternguard Veteran Space Marine of the Ultramarines Chapter sent by the Inquisition with several of his 1st Company brethren back to Graia on a mission of great importance.
Since the Ork and Chaos invasions of Graia that had previously been unleashed upon the Forge World by the machinations of the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth, the Inquisition had kept Graia closely watched for the emergence of further threats. Inquisitor Seibel of the Ordo Malleus revealed that rogue Tech-priests of Graia had experimented with the remains of the late Inquisitor Drogan's unstable and unique Warp-based power source -- a small cylinder wreathed in potent blue energies -- and the experiments have resulted in the opening of a Warp rift that have allowed the forces of Chaos to once more invade the Forge World.
Malum Caedo and his Sternguard Veteran Squad were tasked with retrieving the power source with the aid of a Servo-skull that had once belonged to Drogan. When the Ultramarines made planetfall, their Drop Pod was severely damaged during the descent and crash-landed on the planet's surface, leaving Malum Caedo as the sole survivor. As Caedo valiantly fought his way single-handedly through the Chaos forces, including Chaos Cultists, Heretic Astartes and Daemons, it was discovered that the Chaos incursion's leader, a Chaos Sorcerer named Tumulus Samael of the Black Legion, sought the power source for his own nefarious plans to transform Graia into a Daemon World under his control and the orbiting battle-fortress of the Graian Crown into a Warp-based weapon. The sorcerer had already managed to learn the location of the power source fragment and Caedo raced to stop him.
When Caedo reached the Adeptus Mechanicus vault containing the power source, Samael appeared and gloated that he had already taken the power source. The sorcerer and his minions attacked the orbital void station above Graia and used the power source to enlarge the Warp rift that threatened to engulf Graia and the entire sector.
Malum fought his way through the void station before finally reaching Samael, and after a grueling fight, the Sternguard Veteran managed to slay the sorcerer. Inquisitor Seibel arrived soon after at the void station and retrieved the power source for the Inquisition. Without the power source, the Warp rift began to close, but Seibel warned that there were still many Chaos forces left active on Graia, and Malum Caedo prepared for the trials he had yet to face.
Forges of Corruption Expansion[]
Boltgun received its first DLC, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Forges of Corruption on June 18, 2024. The DLC added five more levels including new environments such as the Graia Battlefields, corridors of a manufactorum, the Daemonic Forge. The DLC also added two new weapons -- the Missile Launcher and Multi-Melta -- and an endless horde mode.
Reception[]
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun has received "mixed or average reviews," according to review aggregator Metacritic.
PC Gamer praised the soundtrack as feeling true to the setting, "Both the occasionally haunting atmosphere and breakneck combat are reinforced by an incredible arrangement of sludgy guitars, thumping industrial beats, and monastic chants and harpsichords."
GameSpot liked Auroch Digital's interpretation of the titular weapon, writing that "[t]he bolter roars with an emphatic racket, and each pull of the trigger packs an almighty punch, ferociously propelling these explosive rounds."
While criticising the game's level design as being confusing, Destructoid enjoyed the power fantasy, "There are many first-person shooters out there with a philosophy built around making you feel powerful, but I don't think any have nailed it quite like Boltgun."
IGN disliked the enemy AI, saying that it made certain encounters trivial, "For many people, especially challenge-seekers, the braindead AI is where this game will risk losing them."
Polygon wrote that the visuals captured the essence of Warhammer 40,000, and "the abyss of Chaos looks downright disturbing, even captured through an old-school lens."
Sources[]
- Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Video Game)
- Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Forges of Corruption (DLC)
- Metacritic: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
- PC Gamer: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Review
- Gamespot: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Review - Purge and Tear
- Destructoid: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Review
- IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Review
- Polygon: Warhammer 40K: Boltgun is an absolute blast of a boomer shooter
