Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 Review – Bigger Guns & Better Fun

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 on PC

There is something wonderfully cathartic about a gun that makes every argument end in flying chunks of heretic. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 understands that appeal, building another retro shooter around weapons with enough bite to make its armoured protagonists feel suitably terrifying.

Auroch Digital and publisher Big Fan Games have also given the bloodshed more room to breathe by expanding the environments and adding a second playable warrior. The result is a confident sequel with a broader appetite for destruction. Its enthusiasm occasionally outpaces its encounter design, but the additions give an already entertaining formula a welcome injection of energy.

Two Champions, Twice the Zeal

Returning Ultramarine Malum Caedo approaches combat with the subtlety expected of someone carrying a chainsword. His durability and shoulder charge support an aggressive advance, smashing through resistance before finishing whatever remains with an arsenal that includes the returning boltgun and a satisfyingly forceful shotgun. This approach offers uncomplicated pleasure in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, especially when booming gunfire and extravagant enemy deaths make even basic weapons feel consequential.

Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath offers the sequel its most interesting change of pace. Her greater mobility encourages a more fluid approach, with a sword slide that can carry her through weaker enemies and into a leap. Holding the jump slows time, giving you time to survey the battlefield or line up shots before landing. Her flamers and melta weaponry provide their own emphatic interpretation of the Emperor’s will.

These differences give a second playthrough of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 a stronger hook than another set of character barks. Caedo embodies an advancing wall of violence, while Veyrath has more opportunities to weave movement into the slaughter. Both remain immediately understandable, allowing the action to establish its rhythm without a lengthy tutorial getting between the player and the next firefight.

That distinction has limits, however. Both characters ultimately spend much of their time clearing crowds with overwhelming firepower. Their individual tools change the delivery more readily than the underlying demands, so the extra choice works best as a different flavour of the same enjoyable excess. It broadens the appeal without transforming the kind of shooter Boltgun has always been.

A Galaxy Worth Tearing Through

That expanded perspective carries into Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2. The sequel takes its war against Chaos through jungles, industrial spaces, and imposing strongholds, creating a more varied backdrop for the carnage. The changing scenery helps communicate the scale of the setting while giving successive stretches of combat identities beyond another room full of enemies.

Branching mission routes also introduce a welcome reason to return. Choosing a path means leaving other levels for another run, making the campaign feel less rigid without interrupting its forward momentum. Paired with the second protagonist, this gives replaying a practical draw: different places to visit and weapons to wield, all while you uncover new secrets and sights.

Navigation receives similarly useful attention through an automap and optional guidance. These tools suit a game whose appeal depends on keeping players moving, preserving room for exploration while offering help when the route becomes unclear. Secrets and hidden rewards still encourage curiosity, but searching for the next objective need not become the main event.

The environments can also contribute directly to combat. Hazards such as crushing machinery and hostile plant life create opportunities to use the surroundings against enemies. These touches matter in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 because they give the player something to consider beyond which gun should empty its magazine. The sequel is most convincing when its expanded spaces offer small opportunities for improvisation.

Even Holy Fury Has Its Limits

For all that variety, the campaign still falls into repetition. Larger crowds can deliver a terrific spectacle, yet sheer volume does not always make an encounter more interesting. When familiar enemies keep arriving without substantially changing what the player needs to do, firing becomes responsible for carrying too much of the Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 experience.

Difficulty adds another complication. The power fantasy benefits from letting players tear through opposition, but it needs enough resistance to make that dominance rewarding. Easier encounters can slip towards routine, while harder settings risk replacing that freedom with oppressive incoming fire. More enemies and greater danger raise pressure effectively; they are less reliable at creating fresh decisions.

Uneven enemy behaviour can further weaken the illusion. Opponents getting caught on scenery are particularly deflating in a game otherwise so committed to making its battles look ferocious. These lapses do not erase the appeal of the combat, but they expose the machinery behind the spectacle of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 at precisely the wrong moment.

Fortunately, the presentation supplies plenty of personality. Detailed sprites, imposing gothic architecture, and gloriously excessive gore turn the setting’s absurdity into a visual strength. The straightforward story keeps the campaign pointed towards its next confrontation, leaving the weapons and environments to express much of its character.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 succeeds because of that identity. The second protagonist, branching campaign, and broader environments give its familiar pleasures a stronger framework, even if the encounter design cannot always match the arsenal’s excitement. For players drawn to thunderous guns and extravagant destruction, the Emperor’s work remains a bloody good time.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.