I planned to take a 15-minute breather from work to give Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 a little test run. About 30 minutes of actual play later, I’d finished the opening level and wanted to keep going. I haven’t played the first Boltgun. My Warhammer gaming experience is mostly a little Space Marine 2, which I loved but didn’t finish. I had so much other stuff to do that the backlog took over. These Boltgun 2 first impressions cover one opening level on Xbox, playing as Malum Caedo on Medium difficulty.
I’m very enamored with this franchise. I love how many different kinds of games, genres, developers, and publishers work with the IP. Friends keep telling me how deep the lore goes. I’ve been wanting to jump in, and the movement here looked smooth enough to get my attention.
A code for the full game was supplied for coverage.
What Is Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2?
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is a retro first-person shooter with a heavily pixelated look. For this session, I chose Malum. Nyra Veyrath is also available, but I haven’t tried her yet, so these combat impressions come entirely from playing him.
Prior lore knowledge didn’t feel necessary to enjoy this opening. The characters make a big impression, and it felt like I was being introduced to the setting. Even with very little Warhammer experience, I could jump in and enjoy what I was doing.
Boltgun 2 First Impressions: Movement That Feels Good
Almost immediately, the movement reminded me of Halo. The running speed, jumping, and ability to move while shooting all contributed to that. The controller response was very tight. It really felt good in the hands. It clicked when I had to run and jump over a ditch. There’s momentum that pushes you over. Master Chief has weight to him, even when his jump feels floaty, and I could feel weight here too.
The sound effects when I landed helped sell it. That combination of fluidity and weight was what kept bringing Halo to mind.
Learning Melee Before Getting the Gun
Combat didn’t click initially because I didn’t understand what was happening. I started with the chainsword, the charge, and a grenade before picking up the boltgun. That meant concentrating on jumping and closing the distance to attack. If I didn’t close that distance, I could waste the attack.
I think holding off on giving me the gun was a good idea. It made me learn those attacks before moving forward with shooting, which felt natural. Once I got the boltgun, it clicked pretty nicely. I started relying on the gun and trying to bring the melee attacks back in. Still, I haven’t really chained everything together correctly yet, so that remains to be seen.
The grenade was fun to use too. After throwing it, a circle appeared that seemed to show the area it would affect. I didn’t study that closely during this session, so I’m still getting a feel for it.
Retries That Felt Fair
It took me three tries to get through the final encounter and finish the level. When I died, I immediately wanted to come back and kill them. It felt almost within reach, like I shouldn’t have died. That’s the kind of gameplay that pulls me back in when I know I can almost get it.
The checkpoint didn’t send me too far back either. I restarted in a little room with power-ups and ammo, then went through a couple of rooms to get back to the fight. I don’t like having to repeat a whole lot just to retry an encounter. Here, it felt fair, and retrying wasn’t frustrating.
Take a Look Around
There’s some platforming involved too. I could sprint and jump, and an open door didn’t always mean I could walk straight through. Sometimes I had to jump past an obstacle. I liked that little bit of challenge.
I also found a secret. If the game shows you one way forward, look at the other path instead; there may be some goodies there to help you out. That was worth doing in this opening level.
The pixelated look is beautiful, and the environments have depth. Once I locked into the gameplay, the graphics ‘blended away’. I’ve felt that in games like The Outer Worlds 2 too. When I’m immersed in playing, resolution becomes less of what I’m thinking about. I was caught up in moving, shooting, and figuring things out.
I Want to Keep Playing
Getting to the end of the first level in roughly half an hour mattered to me. The retries extended that time, but I still made meaningful progress. When I have very little time to play, that’s appreciated. I learned the tools, got through a fight that took a few attempts, and finished a level.
I haven’t tried Nyra yet, and I’m still learning how to bring everything together. But I like this. I really do like it. I want to come back, tune my playstyle, and get good at it. These are Boltgun 2 first impressions from one opening level, but it gave me a reason to keep playing.
