Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 preview

Boltgun 2 knows what worked about its predecessor and gives us more of it

The original Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun was a delight when it launched in 2023. Turns out, Warhammer is a perfect fit for the boomer shooter formula. It nailed the gratifying game feel of retro shooters, as the weighty movement of Malum and his chainsword made me feel like a walking tank every time I annihilated a group of enemies. Having played two levels of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 and speaking to its developers at a recent demo event, I can confirm Aurouch Digital has no intention of messing with a formula that works.

Boltgun 2 builds upon the formula that made its predecessor beloved, while expanding everything from the ambition of the level design to the number of playable characters. You can never get too much of a good thing, and the retro-inspired shooter formula this sequel builds upon is a very good thing.

From the first moments of my Boltgun 2 demo, I could immediately tell what its developers improved upon. Its swamp setting looked much different than anything in the first game, and I almost immediately saw an enemy get gobbled up by a carnivorous plant it stepped into. I'd have to dodge those, as well as pools of acid, as I took down waves of enemies in the level.

During my demo, I played as Nyra Veyrath, a Sister of Battle Celestian. This new character is much more agile than Malum — she was partly inspired by Catwoman. She can quickly gain a lot of momentum by sliding around levels and quickly lunging at enemies with her power sword. "She's a lot faster than Malum is. She's a bit shorter as well — you can see the difference when you select the characters,” animator Georgina Minns told Polygon.

She's just as deadly as Malum, though, as the goal of each character is still to kill everything in sight as they acquire weapons and march toward the end of the level. Malum hasn't changed too much from the first Boltgun, with the developers clearly indicating that they didn't want to mess with a character who became a surprise hit with players.

Lead producer Zachary Cundall noted that increasing variety, rather than completely reinventing what worked about the first game, was the team’s primary focus.

"A lot of the feedback from the base game that we agreed with is that a lot of the levels are very similar. Once you've played one, you've kind of played through it, and you know what to expect," Cundall said. "The thing that we really wanted to achieve with Boltgun 2 is the fact that you don't really know what's going to come up next. You're going to come up with this new biome, which will have new enemies in there, and all sorts of cool stuff happening, and there'll be different weapons, and those weapons can interact with our environment, and there's all sorts of unique twists that we've been able to do."

That variety continued in the second level, which traded the swamps of the first level for a snowy and abandoned Imperial Facility. The biggest set piece had me fighting off hordes of enemies on a bridge, shooting at gaps covered in ice so they'd break and send enemies plummeting. That felt fresher than anything I've played in boomer shooters, which tend to play level design close to what id Software did back in the '90s.

Cundall says the team can do that because the full 3D meshes for every level and enemy are akin to those in a "super realistic" game, just with the retro aesthetic layered on top. That retro aesthetic still works incredibly well for Boltgun 2, and Minns believes she knows why.

"It kind of blends in with nostalgia for [Warhammer 40,000]. People have a long love and history for it, and they remember playing it as kids or as teenagers or in uni, and [Warhammer 40,000] brings the same feeling when you play it like a ‘90s boomer shooter," Minns theorized. "I feel like that kid again. I feel like it's just a nice, simple, and easy game to play."

The retro approach also enables Auroch Digital to include elements of the Warhammer 40,000 universe that other games might struggle to adapt. Cundall points to the Lord of Skulls, a massive Daemon Engine of Chaos that looks absolutely awesome as a figure and in art, but has yet to serve an important role in any Warhammer 40,000 game. "Trying to make that into a realistic kind of asset is very difficult, but because of the type of game that Boltgun is, and its retro style, it fits perfectly," Cundall said.

Whether you enjoyed the first Boltgun or are seeking a new boomer shooter that feels both modern and retro at the same time, then Boltgun 2 is shaping up to be worth checking out. It looks and plays great, and pays attention to some less-adapted parts of the lore, like the Sisters of Battle or Lord of Skulls. Auroch Digital definitely seems intent on honoring the much-loved franchise.

"We've had a relationship with Games Workshop for over ten years. We've gotten used to how they work, they've gotten used to how we work, and we've got a massive library of lore," Cundall said. "There are things in there that they've never seen brought to life in a digital way; it's all stories written about or maybe painted in a book. Bringing that to life, we have to do that justice."

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X|S later this year. A demo featuring the two levels I played is out now.