Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 Review
Consensus Review · 16 independent sources
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2
Highly rated. The price doesn't draw much complaint.
⚡ The Short Version
This retro-style shooter delivers a fast-paced and brutal experience that builds on its predecessor with better level design and two playable characters. You'll find plenty of replay value in the branching campaign paths, which offer around ten hours of playtime. While some reviewers noted minor issues with enemy AI and occasional performance stutters, most feel the experience is well worth the price.
Versions reviewed: PC, PS5, PlayStation 5 and 2 more
Reviews by market: US 3 · 13 without a stated market. Prices, mileage and range figures follow each reviewer's own market.
Confidence: high · 16 reviews · 16 hands-on
👍 Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Varied environments design
- Momentum driven combat gaming Performance
- Thunderous guns performance
- Second protagonist software & Features
- Mick gordon speakers
👎 Cons
- The enemy AI can be extremely dumb
- Enemy AI isn't the best in this
- Significant frame-rate drops
- Good weapon heft speakers
- Illusion of choice software & Features
Lighter items are smaller or less certain points.
💰 Value for Money Analysis
Offers around ten hours of playtime. Branching campaign encourages multiple runs. Reasonably priced at $25.
15 of 16 sources commented on price or value.
📊 What Reviewers Say — Feature by Feature
6 features discussed across 16 sources. Each score blends what reviewers said about that feature with the overall score, so a feature with few mentions stays close to the overall verdict.
🔀 Rivals to compare
- DOOM (named by 1 of 16) [rival] Another fast-paced shooter franchise to satisfy cravings.
Reasons are the reviewers' own. Spellings of the same product are merged.
🛒 Is it right for you?
✅ Buy this if…
- You enjoy thunderous guns and extravagant destruction
- You want a retro shooter with expanded environments and a second playable character
- You enjoy retro boomer shooters with fast-paced combat
⚠️ Skip this if…
- You dislike repetitive enemy encounters
- You're bothered by uneven enemy AI
- You expect deep narrative exploration of lore
- You prefer challenging boss fights
Is the Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 worth buying?
Strengths, weaknesses and who it suits
🎯 Who This Product Is For
Reviewer recommendations for different target audiences and use cases.
Real-world findings
Test results, marketing claims and known problems
🔍 Claims vs real life
| Claim | Claimed | Measured by reviewers | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Time to Beat | 12 h | reviewer's call, no figure given | Below the claim (one review) |
Claims are the manufacturer's figures as quoted by reviewers. Measured values are what reviewers recorded themselves; test conditions differ between sources.
⚠️ Things to Check Before Buying
- These reviews cover different versions (PC; PS5; PlayStation 5), so check which one you are buying.
⚠️ Known problems
Reported by one source (not confirmed)
- The enemy AI can be extremely dumb at times, ruining the challenge. (major · unresolved · 1 source)
- Enemy AI isn't the best in this game (moderate · unresolved · 1 source)
- Significant frame-rate drops (moderate · unresolved · 1 source)
- A couple of stages drag on a little too long (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
- Audio has the tendency to crack occasionally (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
- Enemy variety can get a little stale (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
- Occasional traversal stutters and performance drops in largest fights (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
- Occasionally getting stuck on level geometry (minor · workaround · 1 source)
- Opponents getting caught on scenery (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
- Paar ongelovige audio- en UI-bugs (minor · unresolved · 1 source)
How it compares
Alternatives and the previous model
🔄 Worth Upgrading?
4 of 16 sources compared it directly with the Boltgun.
- adds new threats
- adds a branching campaign
- adds two different playable characters
- improving upon the level design and theming
- branching pathways
- streamlined levels
- added map and navigation function
- added Nyra Veyrath as a playable protagonist alongside Malum Caedo
Only 1 reviewer gave a clear upgrade verdict (1 say it depends), too few to call it either way.
Reviewers conclude this is a significant improvement over the original, offering a brutal and replayable experience that largely justifies its price despite some AI and performance quirks.
Nerd corner
Feature-by-feature chart, measurements, specs and the score maths. Skip this part if you only want the answer.
Technical note: Reviewers recorded campaign lengths ranging from 5 to 10 hours depending on playstyle. Steam Deck performance shows a range between 50 to 60 fps during the most intense combat sequences.
🖥️ Display
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| resolution | 1,080 p (one review) [US] |
🔬 Technical takeaway
- Campaign length: 5–10 h across 3 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ.
- Frame rate: 50–60 fps across 2 reviews [US].
- Gameplay duration: 9–14 h across 2 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ [US].
Numbers come from the reviewers' own tests and spec lists. Test conditions differ between sources.
⚡ Where Reviewers Disagreed
- campaign length: 5–10 h across 3 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ Test conditions differ: campaign playthrough.
- gameplay duration: 9–14 h across 2 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ Test conditions differ: Normal difficulty with a single protagonist; Normal difficulty playing through all 33 levels with a single protagonist.
🧩 Other Things Reviewers Mentioned
Campaign Length (3 of 16 sources)
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| campaign length | 5–10 h across 3 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ |
Gameplay Duration (2 of 16 sources)
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| gameplay duration | 9–14 h across 2 reviews. Results vary a lot, probably because the tests differ [US] |
Frame Rate (2 of 16 sources)
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| frame rate | 50–60 fps across 2 reviews [US] |
🧮 How We Got This Score
In short: each of the 16 reviews is turned into a 0 to 10 number, stronger evidence counts for more, and the numbers are averaged.
- 12 reviews gave their own numeric score, and those count extra. The others are scored from their overall tone.
- First impressions and reviews without hands-on testing count less.
- If 80%+ of reviews lean the same way, the score moves by 0.5. This time: +0.5 (100% of sources positive (threshold 80%)).
- 100% of reviews lean positive, and scores are close together (spread 0.6). Agreement: High.
- How we got there: score 8.9/10, value signal 7.0/10 from 15 reviews, evidence strong (16 reviews, 16 hands-on).
- Reviews are dated Oct 2026 to Oct 2026.
The arithmetic, for the curious
| Review type | Reviews | Avg value | Total weight | Value × weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numeric reviewer score | 12 | 8.5 | 18.00 | 152.85 |
| Strongly positive review | 3 | 8.5 | 3.00 | 25.50 |
| Mildly positive review | 1 | 7.5 | 1.00 | 7.50 |
| All reviews | 16 | 22.00 | 185.85 |
Raw average = 185.85 ÷ 22.00 = 8.5. Consensus adjustment +0.5 gives the final 8.9.
Calculated in code from structured data, with no manual adjustments.
How much to trust this
What these conclusions are based on
Based on 16 usable reviews: 16 hands-on, 0 first impressions, 12 with a numeric score, 10 with measured results. Evidence strength: strong.
Versions covered: PC; PS5; PlayStation 5; PS5 version; Xbox Series X. These reviews mix variants or markets, so check which one you are buying.
Reviewer recommendations: 16 recommended, 0 conditional, 0 not recommended.
How sources were chosen: every matching review in our collection is used, newest first.
No source rated it negatively, so the weak spots listed on this page are where the real differences show up.
Reviewers who gave a numeric score averaged 8.5/10, ranging from 7.0 to 9.5.
📚 Sources Analysed
All 16 reviews were matched to 16 different sites.
Reviews by market: US 3 · 13 without a stated market. Prices, mileage and range figures follow each reviewer's own market.
Last updated: 7 Nov 2026 · based on 16 reviews dated Oct 2026 – Oct 2026.
