“I am an executioner of the Emperor”
Warhammer: Boltgun saw you stomping and gunning away hordes of demons and monsters in all its pixelated glory. It was the boomer shooter that felt like the perfect mixture of being both classic and yet modern in all the right ways. As Malum Caedo, voiced by actor, Rahul Kholi, you would become the executioner of the Emperor and purge the unclean. While the game had its own fair share of criticisms, Forges of Corruption solves a great many of them, making it a great reason to jump back in for some extremely satisfying shooting.
Clocking in around three hours, Forges of Corruption places you back on Graia as forces of the archenemy have overrun Manufactorum Sector Gamma 75B and twisted its machinery to their own twisted purposes. As far as the story goes, that is pretty much it, keeping it very light as you take on five new stages, complete with a cheer-worthy final scene that certainly made me smile.
Inspired by the grimdark lore of Warhammer 40,000, you’ll explore new environments and stop Chaos corruption before it engulfs the entire world of Graia. Forges of Corruption brings with it new enemies such as the Helbrute, the heavy weapon-wielding Havoc, and the lightning claws of the Terminator. And you’ll be doing this with a pair of new weapons. The devestating Missile Launcher, and the Multi-Melta gun that burns anything in your path to complete cinders. Those resurrecting bastards? Yup, they can’t resurrect since nothing will be left of them.
These new additions feel great and the new enemies certainly bring with them some challenges as Forges of Corruption leans heavily on the best level design features of the base game. While there are some corridors and underground areas, FOC relies more on wide open spaces and this can create some intense battles as you frantically sprint across the map in search of more health and contempt. As this is an expansion, I’ll be only really talking about the new additions as you can read about the base game here.
Included with this update is the navigation system, a major issue I had with the original game. This new system grants you an objective marker that not only appears in-game, but paints a line taking you directly there. This means you won’t be getting lost anymore. While that is great, FOC’s level design is far more streamlined to offer freedom but also push you forward, making the three or so hours to be nothing but killing and far less time backtracking or getting lost. There are keys to find, but this DLC is meant to keep you moving, and honestly, it does a great job at doing just that.
Encounters are spaced out extremely well with a ton of new baddies to fight and big bosses to conquer. The final battle has you destroying a massive machine while also taking on everything the game has in store for you. It’s remarkably well-balanced and combined with a fantastic soundtrack and Kholi’s taunts, provides an action-packed experience that is considerably better than the base game. Honestly, if this is where Boltgun 2 is likely to go, I am totally here for it.
Aside from the DLC, a free horde mode was added to the game. With four difficulty options and its own achievements, it’s a solid addition that compliments what the studio has already accomplished. This update also fixes a wealth of bug fixes and improvements all across the board.
Forges of Corruption focuses directly on what was great about Boltgun and offers up just enough new content that it feels like a worthwhile purchase. The level design is far more impressive than the base game with massive open areas that showcase the world of Graia in all its glory. And with the new navigation system, it allows you to focus entirely on the path ahead to kill everything in your wake. If you somehow haven’t played Boltgun, I do suggest diving in solely for the updates that make it a better game and then dive into Forges of Corruption to once again put your body on the line for the Emperor!
Developer - Auroch Digital. Publisher - Focus Entertainment. Released - June 18th, 2024. Available On - Xbox One, Series X/S, PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (M) Violence, Blood and Gore. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
The base game of Boltgun is required to play.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.