What a Deck! Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
In What a Deck! we talk about a game we completed on portable - new or old, how it performed on portable, the game itself, and the overall experience!
I've always been a big fan of Warhammer 40,000, and Space Marines are far and away my favourite army (I know, the boring option!)
I recently picked up Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun on Humble Choice, and it seemed like a game that would play really well on portable, both due to the reasonably lightweight engine, and the low-fi graphics.
So I popped it on to the Lenovo Legion Go and fired it up for a go.
The Performance: Flawless
I was expecting the game to play reasonably well given it's reasonably lightweight graphics wise. But I was surprised at just how well it played. The game ran at a buttery smooth 36 FPS at the native resolution on the Lenovo Legion Go with high settings. I eventually dialled it back to half resolution (800p) to reduce the power usage (it's my firm opinion that 1600p really isn't necessary on a portable screen).
I don't think I had any noticeable slowdowns at any point through the playthrough, so there's nothing really to talk about it - runs great!
The Game: Grimdark Chaos But No Standout Moments
It's interesting when you consider the lore of 40k versus the rules of the tabletop game. The lore portrays space marines as fearless, intractable warriors capable of defeating small armies all by themselves. This doesn't really work from a game balance point of view, so the marines are considerably weaker (though still very strong).
But a boomer shooter-style game? Actually a perfect genre to show off just how superhuman these marines really are.
The game puts players in the role of a lone Ultramarine fighting their way through the hordes of chaos on the forgeworld Graia - which players previously visited in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - to recover the remains of the power source which was so central to the plot of that game.
For the most part it's a fun game, and players will find themselves shredding through a variety of chaos cultists, chaos space marines and Tzeentch and Nurgle daemons.
There's a reasonable variety of weapons available, from the space marine stalwarts of the boltgun, plasma gun, heavy bolter and meltagun to a couple of more exotic options like the gravcannon. Each of them performs a slightly different role and have their own fun uses.
But the action is pretty repetitive and formulaic. Players need to search the levels for one or more keys, and fight their way through 2-3 "purges" where part of the level is locked off into an arena and waves of enemies phase in and need to be defeated.
Regardless, the game is short enough that it doesn't become particularly boring by the time credits roll.
Overall: A Decent Choice for the Boomer Shooter Fans
The Boomer Shooter genre is one that survives on nostalgia. These games aren't particularly nuanced or unique - but they unashamedly honest about this.
If you're a 40k fan (specifically a fan of the space marine army), and you want to play as a reasonably lore-accurate protagonist ripping through hordes of heretics, traitors and daemons as a one man army, then this game might just be for you.
It runs well on Linux and on portable, it's a short experience, and it's low enough on the cognitive load that you could easily play it on the go. And the fact it's pretty damn nice looking is a plus too.
