Warhammer 40K: Boltgun brings back old-school FPS tropes and I’m living for it
Retro rampage
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Warhammer 40K: Boltgun looks absolutely brutal and doesn’t flinch in its commitment to preserving the mechanics and visual design from 25 years ago.
Warhammer 40K: Boltgunwas announced back in June 2022 with only around 10 seconds of actual gameplay shown in the stylish retro teaser. Now I’ve had my first proper look at all the gory action, I can’t wait to see how Warhammer 40k’s beautifully over-the-top violence of the franchise translates to the Build Engine-inspired design of early 1990s shooters.
No release date has been announced forWarhammer 40K: Boltgunyet, however, we know that it’s coming toPS5,Xbox Series X,Nintendo Switch, and PC as well as previous-gen consoles. That means you’re unlikely to miss out when this title drops later this year.
It’s certainly one of my most anticipatedupcoming gamesof 2023, along with the long-awaitedWarhammer 40K: Space Marine 2which is scheduled to launch this year as well. It looks like 2023 is shaping up to be a great time for Warhammer 40k fans.
Rip and tear
Despite looking like it could run on the Build Engine, as we’ve seen historically with retro revival titles such asA.W.O.L.andIon Fury,Warhammer 40K: Boltgunis actually running on Unreal Engine 4. This isn’t exactly surprising given the level of lighting and particle effects that can be seen in the new gameplay. It’s a truly beautiful title that blends a 3D polygon-based game world with heavily detailed 2D sprite work.
However, the game isn’t without its own innovations. For instance, inBoltgun, some enemies have health bars that appear above their heads. This was quite unconventional for the kinds of old-school shooters thatBoltgunemulates, as in-game body damage would be represented by the sprites getting more battered and bloody, rather than with health bars. I’m not sure how helpful having this information displayed will be when you’ve got a room of demons and other nasties to clear out but I’ll have to see nearer the time of release.
We’ve seen some excellent boomer shooters in recent years such asDusk, Force Reboot,andDarkverse: Rogue.This latest Warhammer 40k title certainly looks promising.
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We’ll be bringing you more onWarhammer 40K: Boltgunas more news develops.
Aleksha McLoughlin is an experienced hardware writer. She was previously the Hardware Editor for TechRadar Gaming until September 2023. During this time, she looked after buying guides and wrote hardware reviews, news, and features. She has also contributed hardware content to the likes of PC Gamer, Trusted Reviews, Dexerto, Expert Reviews, and Android Central. When she isn’t working, you’ll often find her in mosh pits at metal gigs and festivals or listening to whatever new black and death metal has debuted that week.
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