It’s been a little over three years since the servants of The Emperor have been able to rip and tear through heretic scum as Malum Cado in Auroch Digital’s boomer shooter Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. But instead of going alone like he did last time, he has a backup, Nyra Veyrath, a new playable character who’s a proud member of the Adepta Sororitas Battle Sisters. Ahead of its Warhammer Skulls Showcase announcement, MonsterVine was able to go hands-on with the upcoming boomer shooter, and by the time I finished the build, the game had me feeling as if I was truly one of The Emperor’s finest.
Before loading into the actual game, you’re given the option to play as either Malum or Nyra. This is a rather important decision, too. This is because the two characters play very differently. As soon as I picked one, I was stuck with it until I completed the game, and I could only switch after the demo was complete.
In the Warhammer community, a common phrase that gets tossed around a lot is “Lore Accurate Space Marine” or something similar along those lines. As I made my way through hordes of enemies as Malum, I felt as if I was playing a lore-accurate Space Marine that was straight out of a novel. This is largely thanks to his kit. Like Nyra, he has four main abilities: Obliterating Charge, which allows you to rush towards and damage anyone who’s in your path, Frag Grenades, Chainsword Lunge, and Regeneration when he’s close to dying.
The first ability was something that I quickly fell in love with. Running through waves of traitor guardsmen and poxwalkers was extremely satisfying and gave me the power-trip feeling I crave when playing as a Space Marine. He has all of the same guns from the last game, too: Boltgun, Shotgun, Plasma Rifle, and a Heavy Bolter.
Because of how straightforward he is, Malum feels like the ideal character to play if you’re just getting into the game for the first time. A lot of his abilities are simple and easy to understand, and even if you bump up the difficulty, you’ll be able to get around fairly well.
Nyra, on the other hand, is a bit different and requires more finesse. This is only fitting when you consider the fact that Battle Sisters lack a lot of the power-ups that come with being a Space Marine. Her abilities consist of the following: Fervent Slide, which allows her to slide towards enemies with her Power Sword, and if you hold the jump button while in the air, time will temporarily slow down, which will allow you to line up the perfect shot. In addition, she also has Melta Bombs, which act as her grenades, previously mentioned Power Sword, and Enduring Faith. This allows her to regain health slowly over time.
Her weapons couldn’t be more different, either. Instead of a Boltgun, she’s equipped with a Bolt Pistol that holds 5 bullets, compared to Malum’s rifle, which holds 25 bullets. While playing as her, I was also able to use a Condemor Stakethrower and a Flamethrower. Even though I wasn’t necessarily equipped to charge headfirst into battle, her guns did allow me to put up a fight and stand my own.
But whenever I saw multiple people lined up, my Condemor Stakethrower would go right through all of them, or, if there were a scary number of poxwalkers standing between me and my escape plane. I would use the flamethrower to clear out the hordes. Even though Condemor Stakethrower was great at killing a lot of people at once, it did pack a serious punch. It was especially useful when fighting demons or Chaos Space Marines.
The one gun that both Malum and Nyra did share was the Heavy Bolter. So it was nice to run through with a machine gun and kill everything that stood in my way. Because Nyra’s kit was so different, she was a lot harder to play as. It almost feels as if she’s meant for those who are looking to really challenge themselves, especially on the harder difficulties, where everything packs a serious punch against you.
Boltgun 2 does a lot of great things and feels like a genuine upgrade over the first game. For starters, everything is a lot faster this time around. Both characters are given abilities that help them get from A to B a lot quicker, and on top of that, there are a lot of clear paths you can run to, and platforms on to give you an extra leg up in battle. Each fight feels as dangerous as the next, but they can also be completed relatively quickly if you know what to do.
With a wide range of enemies to fight off, it’s fun to navigate through the platforms and the cover set in front of you. As someone who’s knee-deep in Warhammer 40,000, I absolutely loved seeing all the different Chaos factions. Although I’m running the risk of sounding like a heretic, a smile was brought to my face every time I saw a Death Guard laugh by pointing their stomach mouth up in the sky. Even though the game is meant to look like the classic 1993 Doom, Auroch Digital did a great job at making sure each Death Guard looked as disgusting as the next.
Although they may not be as stinky as them, seeing the World Eaters brought just as big a smile to my face, too. From the small parts, I got the play the team went all in with the demons. Yes, there were a bunch of Khorne Berzerks trying to hit me with whatever they had while I was also trying to evade Bloodcrushers and Flesh Hounds coming my way.
Both levels felt extremely different from one another, and it was great. The Death Guard level was overrun with death and decay, slowly taking over a rich green planet. The best part about this level, too, was that I was accompanied by the Death Guard of Krieg troops, aka the Astra Militarum. Although they didn’t really help too much, they did act as a good distraction, and even though I tried my best to make sure they all lived. Most, if not all, ended up dying in glorious death, even if that was because I accidentally charged headfirst into them multiple times.
Meanwhile, the World Eaters’ level had been flooded with blood and skulls for the Blood God and the Skull Throne. Each part of the world looked as if it had been stained with someone’s blood, like something out of a horror movie. The atmosphere was completely different, too, because the world wasn’t being infected. Instead, a throne of blood was being built around it. Each time I popped out of a room, I didn’t know who or what was waiting to charge at me. That’s exactly how it should feel whenever the World Eaters are in any Warhammer story.
There are a couple of little things I want to touch on, too, that really made my time in Boltgun 2 enjoyable. The first was the idle animation. Whenever I stood still long enough with Malum, he would pull out the Codex and begin reading it, while Nyra would simply pray, even though this is a small detail. It’s something each character would do if they had some time to spare, which makes them feel more alive.
The other is the taunts. This has become a cornerstone for the franchises, and thankfully, the team knocked it out of the park yet again. Although I’m sure that more will be added upon the game’s full release, it was fun to spam the taunt button to hear what both would say. Even more so, how it would change based on the situation I was currently in. I already knew Rahul Kohli was great at voicing Malum based on his performance in the first game, and now I know Alanah Pearce is just as good at voicing Nyra Veyrath in Boltgun 2.
Needless to say, I am beyond excited for Boltgun 2’s full release. Even though I was only able to play a very small part of the game, I was blown away by what I was shown. It feels like a proper sequel in every proper way. I have a strong feeling that Auroch Digital will carry that momentum all the way across the finish line.
