<em>Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun</em> is a loud, obnoxious, and damned fun retro shooter

Sajuuk

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The core game loop (shooting, smashing, jumping) is incredibly tight and I'm having an absolute blast with it.

That being said, the level design, while thematically and aesthetically appropriate, gets real goddamn repetitive. I've gotten confused and turned around quite a few times trying to determine exactly which gray hallway I need to visit next. Still recommended, but buyer beware.

edit: runs great on Steam Deck (except for the currently broken videos), for anyone that cares, btw.
 
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Mustachioed Copy Cat

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Only negative things I’ve heard about this is the aforesaid lack of variety and the plasma pistol being stuck on until reload is complete, which is adequately explained in the lore.

It also sounds like they’re trying to position this as relevant to Relic’s Space Marine game in some way, despite it clearly being aesthetically designed as a child playing with toys. This only works with that framing device in mind; in the lore Space Marines aren’t one man demolition units in standup combat against daemonic or other transhuman forces. You want to dump a Primarch into that role, maybe it would make sense. There’s probably an infinite rogue like out there somewhere starring Leman Russ stuck in a maze-like Webway, fighting amongst the living flotsam and filth of a broken galaxy, but that isn’t this game.

Probably going to buy it.
 
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Perplexus

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I would occasionally invoke "Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne" when feeding a bad impulse (such as a purchase of Family Size Snyder's Pretzel Pieces). That's about it, but it needn't matter.
Ok, now I just feel called out, as I sit here eating from a Family Size bag of Snyder's pretzel pieces on my lunch break from work...
 
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KBGB

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Without casting any aspersions I am really curious about the marketing program & budget for this title.

On Youtube I'll usually get a video or two for any popular game that is released or otherwise enters the zeitgeist, but this title is nearing ten & only one clearly mentioned it was somehow sponsored. I have a hunch that they offered a particularly attractive referral deal as they attracted a bunch of sites that don't typically go in for this type of thing..

Thing is, it is a a pretty well executed game at a fair price which would likely garner some attention & affection without a marketing push.. so who knows.

I'm not opposed to advertising, especially when the item does what it says on the tin (and it doesn't start years before you can actually buy anything), I'm just curious.
 
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Sajuuk

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Only negative things I’ve heard about this is the aforesaid lack of variety and the plasma pistol being stuck on until reload is complete, which is adequately explained in the lore.

It also sounds like they’re trying to position this as relevant to Relic’s Space Marine game in some way, despite it clearly being aesthetically designed as a child playing with toys. This only works with that framing device in mind; in the lore Space Marines aren’t one man demolition units in standup combat against daemonic or other transhuman forces. You want to dump a Primarch into that role, maybe it would make sense. There’s probably an infinite rogue like out there somewhere starring Leman Russ stuck in a maze-like Webway, fighting amongst the living flotsam and filth of a broken galaxy, but that isn’t this game.

Probably going to buy it.
[...] in the lore Space Marines aren’t one man demolition units in standup combat against daemonic or other transhuman forces.

Eh, that really depends on exactly what piece of canon you're talking about, given that 40k lore is as consistent as my bowels after taco bell. Big bad demons/aliens getting Worf'd by random Spess Marine lieutenants is a running gag in the community, after all.
 
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Dr Gitlin

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Only negative things I’ve heard about this is the aforesaid lack of variety and the plasma pistol being stuck on until reload is complete, which is adequately explained in the lore.

It also sounds like they’re trying to position this as relevant to Relic’s Space Marine game in some way, despite it clearly being aesthetically designed as a child playing with toys. This only works with that framing device in mind; in the lore Space Marines aren’t one man demolition units in standup combat against daemonic or other transhuman forces. You want to dump a Primarch into that role, maybe it would make sense. There’s probably an infinite rogue like out there somewhere starring Leman Russ stuck in a maze-like Webway, fighting amongst the living flotsam and filth of a broken galaxy, but that isn’t this game.

Probably going to buy it.

Weren't no such things as Primarchs back in the days; it was a shop games workshop designers probably bought their clothes from.

Hell, I remember when they first introduced Terminator armor.
 
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Mustachioed Copy Cat

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[...] in the lore Space Marines aren’t one man demolition units in standup combat against daemonic or other transhuman forces.

Eh, that really depends on exactly what piece of canon you're talking about, given that 40k lore is as consistent as my bowels after taco bell. Big bad demons/aliens getting Worf'd by random Spess Marine lieutenants is a running gag in the community, after all.
In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

A solo space marine would not engage in a stand-up fight with transhuman forces. He’d mobilize local resources into insurgency or steal a vehicle, or hack into the planetary defense network to launch nukes at his foes.
 
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pug fugly

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By the emperor is it ever fun! I fired it up for a quick play test and lost a couple hours before realizing it.

Edit: I'll add that it runs great on a Steamdeck but for some reason the cinematics don't play on that device.

Edit 2: my only complaints, Ultramarines instead of literally any other chapter and Nurgle demons instead of literally any other faction.
 
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Kergonath

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This one did catch my attention.

How does it run on Switch? I can't see sitting in the office playing this on a PS5; no need for all that.
Dammit, I did not realise it was on the Switch as well. Now I have to get it, this will be a (literal) blast when commuting to work.
 
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Kergonath

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In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

A solo space marine would not engage in a stand-up fight with transhuman forces. He’d mobilize local resources into insurgency or steal a vehicle, or hack into the planetary defense network to launch nukes at his foes.
The Angels of Death style is very common (a doomsquad of 5 instead of a lone doomguy, though to be fair every single one of them is superhuman). There’s usually more than one of them because otherwise it gets boring.
 
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Sajuuk

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In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

A solo space marine would not engage in a stand-up fight with transhuman forces. He’d mobilize local resources into insurgency or steal a vehicle, or hack into the planetary defense network to launch nukes at his foes.
If I remember Space Marine right, most of the game has you running around solo, and your character fist fights a demon prince by the end (and wins). Anyway, at the end of the day it's just a game, and I think design and player agency definitely trump pedantry about what completely fictional people would or would not do.
 
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Sajuuk

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By the emperor is it ever fun! I fired it up for a quick play test and lost a couple hours before realizing it.

Edit: I'll add that it runs great on a Steamdeck but for some reason the cinematics don't play on that device.

Edit 2: my only complaints, Ultramarines instead of literally any other chapter and Nurgle demons instead of literally any other faction.
Edit: I'll add that it runs great on a Steamdeck but for some reason the cinematics don't play on that device.

So this happens when games use media codecs that aren't royalty-free. Usually, from my understanding, the fix is re-encoding them at some point in the proton stack, but it's on a game-by-game basis.
 
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Pueo

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In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

A solo space marine would not engage in a stand-up fight with transhuman forces. He’d mobilize local resources into insurgency or steal a vehicle, or hack into the planetary defense network to launch nukes at his foes.
Given the notorious "everything is canon, not everything is true" stance of GW, the game can probably be contextualized in the lore as a work of Imperial propaganda intended to convince impressionable 12 year olds to become space marine aspirants.
 
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Aleamapper

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Word of warning to anyone on PS5 (or potentially playing with any other controller...just tried this out on PS5 and my word the controls are awful. Even with the Look sensitivity at max, you turn painfully slowly, nowhere near fast enough to keep up with how quickly you can strafe, while at the same time the vertical-look is over sensitive, and seems to have major deadzone/drift issues.

There's a lot of options for deadzones, but I've not managed to get anything decent. I wish I could get a refund, because while it's playable, it isn't fun, at all.

Real shame, because the rest of the game seems cool as heck.
 
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orwelldesign

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maybe it would make sense. There’s probably an infinite rogue like out there somewhere starring Leman Russ stuck in a maze-like Webway, fighting amongst the living flotsam and filth of a broken galaxy, but that isn’t this game.

Probably going to buy it.

Make Sense? This is Warhammer 40,000. Get out of here with that "makes sense," never has, never will. There's too much baked in to decisions made in the early 80s that they've been expanding and justifying ever since.

That said, I'm all in, because while I'm not a huge fan of the genre, I am a huge fan of 40k, and some nights, blowing up Chaos Daemons, Beastmen, and probably some cultists is just the thing to do.

(I owned and managed a game store for two years; I'd quite forgotten much of the lore, but now I'm deeply invested. Heck, I've even got a Tzeentch sigil on my rear window. And a Thousand Sons patch on my every day bag. And I'm working on my second attempt to paint Ahriman! (The first attempt was also my first attempt at a particular lighting technique; it did not go well.)

I know there's probably ten thousand people out there to say "Blood for the Blood God," so I'll leave y'all with the slogan of the XVth Legion: All Is Dust.
 
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LordDaMan

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I loved DOOM 2016. I know nothing about warhammer. I'm in!
Remember starcraft? That borriwed heavily from wrahmmer 40k

Marines = Space Marines
Protoss= Eldar
Zerg = Tyranid

There's also Orks, (like any fantasy setting only with guns and impossible cobbled together machines) Chaos marines (bad space marines) and Demons/forces of chaos (again, same as any fantasy setting only these ones exist in another dimension).

Also the God Emperor of Mankind (exactly what the title says). Also he's stuck on a life preserving throne for thousands of years. The Space Marines are like his holy warriors

That pretty much sums up Warhammer 40k, or at least enough for this game
 
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orwelldesign

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In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

A solo space marine would not engage in a stand-up fight with transhuman forces. He’d mobilize local resources into insurgency or steal a vehicle, or hack into the planetary defense network to launch nukes at his foes.

A solo space marine would do whatever was narratively necessary. One of the charms of the universe is how many of the things that happen in it don't make all that much sense.

Sounds like you're thinking Alpha Legion in any case -- they're a bunch of eight foot tall James Bonds. I can absolutely believe an Ultramarine going solo "because reasons" and winning. Sure, they've got doctrines. They're all expert at everything, and if the expertise required is "kill a bunch of dudes for no reason other than 'those dudes need killing'" well, they have that expertise as well.

"Checks out," as they say.
 
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sword_9mm

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Word of warning to anyone on PS5 (or potentially playing with any other controller...just tried this out on PS5 and my word the controls are awful. Even with the Look sensitivity at max, you turn painfully slowly, nowhere near fast enough to keep up with how quickly you can strafe, while at the same time the vertical-look is over sensitive, and seems to have major deadzone/drift issues.

There's a lot of options for deadzones, but I've not managed to get anything decent. I wish I could get a refund, because while it's playable, it isn't fun, at all.

Real shame, because the rest of the game seems cool as heck.

Pushsquare mentioned the controls but didn't go into how the reviewer set them to fix it.
 
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Sajuuk

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Did I miss it or did Ars not cover Zelda Tears of the Kingdom other than an emulation piece? But they cover this? Seems odd. Not taking away from this, but the biggest cultural gaming phenomenon in recent times not getting much coverage is strange.
Maybe they're waiting to play more than 6 hours of the new Zelda before crowning it the game of forever for now. Either way, you're sure to get enough coverage of it on every single other gaming outlet that exists.
 
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Remember starcraft? That borriwed heavily from wrahmmer 40k

Marines = Space Marines
Protoss= Eldar
Zerg = Tyranid

There's also Orks, (like any fantasy setting only with guns and impossible cobbled together machines) Chaos marines (bad space marines) and Demons/forces of chaos (again, same as any fantasy setting only these ones exist in another dimension).

Also the God Emperor of Mankind (exactly what the title says). Also he's stuck on a life preserving throne for thousands of years. The Space Marines are like his holy warriors

That pretty much sums up Warhammer 40k, or at least enough for this game

Also, grimdark.
 
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HiroTheProtagonist

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Do we have anything that successfully wraps Vampire Survivors type character building in a wacky mass-mayhem FPS?
FPS? Can't think of any, but Risk of Rain 2 certainly has character building (at least with the Artifact of Command) and once you've looped a time or two you can most likely kill everything on the map just by existing.

Boltgun looks fun, but I guess I feel a bit burned out on boomer shooters. Half the reason they came into existence was because the CoD/Halo formulas were getting stale and people wanted something more exciting than "duck behind cover until the raspberry jam slides off". But after about a decade of revival, boomer shooters have started to feel cookie-cutter and samey in the same vein.
 
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LordDaMan

Ars Legatus Legionis
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In most versions of the lore I can think of, a squad of Space Marines is basically = to one Doomguy. This is also generally how they are represented in media. Even Relic’s Space Marine kept the protagonist close to his squad mates despite the main enemy being in-universe dryer lint (Orkz).

That's how they are trained. To act as a unit.

In terms of raw power? A Space Marine is the ulimate human fighting machine who has been heavily modfied through drugs and surgery to be far faster, bigger, stronger , and able to with stand massive amounst of damage and self heal. The doomguy is just some rando marine who happens to be really good at killing
 
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