One of many coolest reveals eventually week’s Warhammer Skulls occasion was Boltgun 2, a sequel to the lovingly made mix of Warhammer 40K and retro Doom video games. That first sport earned itself a spot in many individuals’s hearts, a loving homage to 2 worlds. However now there is a sequel cooking away, and all eyes are on the long run.
So to assist peel again the curtain just a bit on Boltgun 2, I chatted to principal designer Matt Bone. We touched on what to anticipate from Boltgun 2 in comparison with the unique, what it is like making video games inside the Warhammer 40K IP, and whether or not or not a fan favorite will ever discover a residence on the tabletop.
VG247: Boltgun was obtained very positively from Warhammer followers and Retro Doom lovers alike – are you able to converse on how you’re feeling about this reception to the unique sport?
Bone: Throughout improvement we had been actually excited in regards to the sport, but it surely’s at all times unimaginable to foretell what gamers will suppose till it’s of their arms. So, it was an enormous reduction when it was obtained so positively and went past even our highest hopes.
Because the studio itself and everybody in it are large Warhammer followers, we had been excited to share our ardour for Warhammer with the gamers. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is basically the sport we wished to play as followers ourselves; we simply acquired the enjoyment of having the ability to make it too.
The very fact it turned our studio’s greatest sport is simply testomony to the keenness of our workforce and our love for the Warhammer 40,000 universe. On the very core of Boltgun, we wished to please each Warhammer 40,000 and retro shooter followers, and it feels prefer it was successful on each fronts. All of the love from our neighborhood and the Warhammer 40,000 neighborhood was past our expectations.
Now we’re aiming to do it over again!
We’re excited to proceed working with Video games Workshop to create extra video games for the viewers, particularly as we get to discover inventive spin-offs like Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun – Phrases of Vengeance! That one was a whole lot of enjoyable to make and we’re giving it away without spending a dime so it’s positively price a attempt.
VG247: What can we anticipate when it comes to a change of setting in Boltgun 2? The place has Malum Caedo discovered himself now?
Bone: Malum Caedo gained’t be restricted to Graia in Boltgun 2, the branching marketing campaign of his mission means he’ll be purging throughout new worlds. We will’t reveal all proper now however we are able to share that there can be new, never-before-seen environments with all new enemies for Malum to face in opposition to. We’re including some places and enemies that followers have been asking for, and the sequel was an incredible place to incorporate these.
We’ll have extra to share sooner or later and might’t wait to indicate them off!
VG247: Inform me a bit extra in regards to the enhancements we are able to anticipate from the unique sport! What’s there when it comes to new weapons, gameplay mechanics, and so forth?
Bone: It’s nonetheless a bit early to share an excessive amount of, however we positively wish to present extra selection when it comes to the gameplay and the locations the participant can be visiting – and naturally the heretics they’ll be purging. We’re doubling down on the issues followers preferred about Boltgun – its excessive, retro tackle the Warhammer 40,000 universe – while offering loads of new surprises. “Joyously Grimdark” is one in all our design pillars, which I believe conveys the tone of Boltgun video games nicely: they’re a lovingly tongue-in-cheek celebration of Warhammer 40,000, revelling within the pixel glory of blood, gore and gloom! .
VG247: Will Horde mode be making a return from the primary sport?
Bone: It’s too early to say but. We added horde mode as DLC for Boltgun and it appeared to go down nicely, so we’re trying into extra distinctive modes like that, whether or not for the bottom sport or post-launch. We rely loads on participant suggestions for this type of factor – if it’s one thing individuals are clamouring for, we’ll do our greatest to incorporate it.
VG247: The unique Boltgun was tied to the occasions of Warhammer 40,000: House Marine,with Caedo heading to Graia years after the occasions of the sport. Now that House Marine 2 has come out, can we anticipate comparable ties between Boltgun 2 and House Marine 2? Or, has the workforce been given extra freedom to create a sport completely separated from different 40K video games?
Bone: It was nice to pay homage to different Warhammer 40,000 video video games which the workforce are large followers of two. For anybody unaware, the primary Boltgun picks up straight after the occasions of House Marine 1 as Ultramarine Malum Caedo goes on a mission to find a misplaced shard of House Marine 1’s very important artifact. We even put in a enjoyable easter egg for Warhammer followers in Malum’s taunt to reference Captain Titus!
As for what’s to return in Boltgun 2, you’ll simply have to play to seek out out what different enjoyable Easter Eggs we’re hiding for the followers.
VG247. Video games Workshop loves releasing named House Marine characters for the tabletop sport, and given he’s an Ultramarine, Caedo will need to have a superb shot certainly. Have any official discussions taken place on bringing Caedo to the tabletop? Or ought to followers maintain at it with kitbashing?
Bone: We’d after all like it if someday there was a approach for Malum Caedo to return to the official tabletop sport, everybody within the studio would like to have him of their armies – I believe we’d need to put in a studio vast order!
We completely love seeing all of the wonderful kitbashes of Malum Caedo that the followers recurrently share with us and we’ve seen nice examples throughout socials and reddit. When gamers tag us in pics of ones they’ve made, we share them inside the dev workforce and everybody will get tremendous hyped.
VG247. Auroch Digital has after all performed extra than simply Boltgun. What’s it like working with Video games Workshop for a licensed sport like Boltgun 2, versus a completely impartial enterprise?
Bone: For me, I really like attending to mess around in a universe that has actually many years of lore behind it. To name the Warhammer 40,000 universe big is an understatement – each time I believe I’ve a good deal with on it, I’ll uncover a complete new half I knew nothing about, which normally leads to me getting misplaced down a rabbit gap for a number of hours. In relation to making the sport, meaning we’re usually beginning a number of steps forward: need an thrilling new enemy? Right here’s a number of hundred to select from, together with beautiful fashions and pages of lore. Desire a new location? Right here’s a galaxy of worlds and tales to faucet into.
On the whole, it’s very important that the sport stays devoted to the IP, even in our retro-styled method. We wish to current it in a approach that’s each distinctive and nonetheless the universe followers know and love. That is true for our Phrases of Vengeance undertaking too. We had this loopy concept of constructing a Boltgun typing sport, and Video games Workshop – as an alternative of questioning our sanity – had been fully onboard and helped us massively in reaching it. They most likely do nonetheless query our sanity, however that feels applicable for the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Boltgun 2 is ready to launch in 2026
