Boltgun 2 Doubles the Heresy and Gives You a Sister of Battle Who Slides
Our verdict: 7.8/10. Boltgun 2 is a faster boomer shooter with two heroes and a branching campaign, held back by a repetitive arsenal and dim enemy AI.
Aymen Sakouhi·Writer · Games Hobbyist//3 min read
© Big Fan Games. Official media via Steam.
The pitch
OverviewWarhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 wants to be loud, and it succeeds almost immediately. It is a retro first-person shooter in the pixelated, 1990s mold, built around the simple pleasure of running at things that should not exist and removing them. Auroch Digital developed it and Big Fan Games published it, and it arrived on October 14, 2026 as the sequel to the 2023 surprise that proved a Warhammer 40,000 boomer shooter could work.
The pitch this time is more of everything. The Steam page promises more enemies, more weapons and new ways to purge, and the biggest structural change is a choice at the start: you can play as Ultramarine Malum Caedo or as Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath. The two do not just swap skins. According to critics, they move differently and carry different rosters of weapons, which gives a second playthrough a reason to exist.
Critical reception has been warm without being worshipful. OpenCritic sits at an average of 83 across around 40 reviews and rates the game Strong, and Metacritic has been reported at 81 with no negative reviews. Scores run from a 7 at the low end to a 9.5 at the top, which tells you the game has a consistent shape and a fairly consistent ceiling. It is a refinement of its predecessor, not a reinvention, and the people who liked the first game are the ones most likely to be delighted.
How it plays
PlayThe core is fast, aggressive boomer-shooter action in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, where you carve through heretics and daemons in the name of the Emperor. Boltgun 2 keeps that fantasy simple and, going by the reviews, mostly gets out of its own way.
The two characters are the most interesting change. Critics single out Nyra's movement in particular, and her slide is the detail that gets mentioned again and again. Malum is the Ultramarine option, and his arsenal is the one critics call thin on new guns. Because their weapon rosters differ, the sequel feels broader than its predecessor, and the campaign branches rather than running in a single line. Reviews count more than ten weapons across the two heroes.
Level design is where Auroch Digital seems to have listened. Reviewers note that the maps are built with real verticality, with multiple levels of elevation, something rarely seen in boomer shooters. The first game's weaker points were also addressed: critics say this entry does a much better job with enemy variety and with boss encounters, where the original leaned on recycled fights. Daemons of Slaanesh and the Death Guard are among the factions you face.
The problems are consistent across reviews, and they are fair. The arsenal draws repeated complaints, with one outlet pointing out that Malum gets only a single genuinely new gun, and others calling the weapon set repetitive. Enemy AI is the other soft spot. Reviewers describe ambushes that grow predictable and enemies that get stuck on geometry, and there are mentions of uneven pacing. None of this sinks the game. It does mean that the moment-to-moment feel is excellent while the structure around it is only good.
Art & atmosphere
CraftBoltgun 2 is committed to its retro look. The pixelated presentation, the heavy gore and the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 palette make it read as an old-school shooter that happens to be made now, and critics have been happy to call it gore-geous. The sequel also leans harder into verticality and variety of setting than the first game, which gives the art more to chew on.
Sound matters just as much in this genre, and Boltgun 2 has a notable name attached: guest composer Mick Gordon contributed to the soundtrack, with the release-date trailer using a first listen of an original track. For a game whose entire personality is volume and weight, that is a smart place to invest.
The look will not convert anyone who dislikes chunky pixels and brown-red carnage, but for the audience it is built for, it is exactly right and refreshingly sure of itself.
A faster, better-designed sequel with two distinct heroes and a branching campaign, held back by a repetitive arsenal and basic enemy AI that keep it good rather than great.
Pros & cons
The ledgerIn its favour
- Two playable heroes, Malum Caedo and Nyra Veyrath, with different movement and different weapon rosters
- Nyra's slide and the branching campaign are repeatedly singled out as highlights
- Level design with real verticality that is rare in boomer shooters
- Better enemy variety and boss encounters than the first game
- Mick Gordon on the soundtrack suits the loud, heavy tone
- A confident retro look that commits fully to the Warhammer 40,000 mood
Against it
- Weapon variety is a common complaint, and the arsenal can feel repetitive
- Enemy AI is basic, with reports of predictable ambushes and enemies catching on geometry
- Pacing is uneven in places
- A refinement of the first game rather than a bold step forward
Screens
Official media© Big Fan Games. Official media via Steam.
Verdict
The callBoltgun 2 is an easy recommendation if you liked the first game or if you simply want a fast, noisy shooter with an unmistakable personality. The sequel fixes much of what held its predecessor back, adds a genuine second playstyle in Nyra Veyrath, and builds its levels with enough height and variety to keep fights interesting. At around the price of a mid-range indie, that is good value.
What keeps it from the top of the genre is repetition. A weapon set that does not grow as much as you want and enemies that are more dangerous in numbers than in intelligence mean that the highs are consistent but the ceiling is capped. Several critics land on a similar phrase: reliably good, rarely excellent.
At 7.8, it is a strong, fan-friendly boomer shooter that does what it set out to do. If you want a pure adrenaline hit and you are happy with a refinement rather than a revolution, you will have a very good time.
Sources
Original review by Aymen Sakouhi from the licensed facts above. Score: 7.8/10.
