Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 earns everything from 9/10 to 2.5/5 in the five reviews we verified. That spread makes the buying decision more interesting than its NGC Rating of 77: critics agree there's plenty of shooting, but disagree sharply about whether the sequel gives you enough reasons to keep doing it.
If you enjoyed the first game's basic loop, the positive reviews describe a fuller version of that appeal. If you wanted the sequel to change how you fight, read the reservations before buying. This is a synthesis of published reviews, not a claim that we've played it ourselves.
Unweighted mean: 76.8, rounded to 77. These are game-review scores, not a platform-performance rating.
The five scores behind the rating
| Critic / platform | Original score | Score /100 | Normalized bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| GamesHedge (PC) | 9/10 | 90 | |
| Lords of Gaming (PC) | 8.4/10 | 84 | |
| CGMagazine (PS5) | 8/10 | 80 | |
| Hey Poor Player (PC) | 4/5 | 80 | |
| ComicBook (PS5) | 2.5/5 | 50 |
Scores and review text were checked on October 14, 2026, at 10:52:27 a.m. PT. Every outlet counts once. This is a five-review sample, not an attempt to reproduce a larger aggregator's average. It includes three PC reviews and two PS5 reviews; it doesn't establish how the Xbox version performs. Nor does comparing those small platform groups tell us that one version is better. Different reviewers can value the same design very differently.
We excluded Steam Deck HQ's separate hardware and content ratings from the calculation to keep this sample focused on comparable overall game scores.
More variety, or more of the same?
The strongest disagreement concerns the two playable characters and the branching campaign. CGMagazine finds the character choice meaningful, with Malum's heavier approach giving returning players something familiar. Hey Poor Player also sees distinct strengths: it describes Nyra as better suited to hit-and-run tactics while Malum favors a more direct fight. Both reviews support the idea that choosing a different hero can change your approach.
ComicBook reaches almost the opposite conclusion. Its reviewer finds that the extra character and alternate routes don't change the central routine enough. The criticism isn't that the guns lack impact. It's that the encounters become repetitive, with the normal difficulty offering too little resistance and tougher settings turning the same crowds into frustration.
GamesHedge, meanwhile, praises the combat, challenge and more varied environments. Its positive account and ComicBook's negative one are useful to read together: both discuss the pressure of repeated battles, but one finds that pressure exciting and the other finds it exhausting. A high score alone won't tell you which side you'll land on.
The middle ground is especially helpful for returning players. Hey Poor Player likes the shooting and several individual levels, yet wanted more lasting character development between missions. That distinction gives you a concrete question to ask: are you looking for another satisfying combat campaign, or for progression systems that substantially change your character as you go?
Lords of Gaming reinforces the appeal of the former. Its review praises the gunplay, retro presentation and audio, while noting complaints about the power sword's reach and the consistency of a health-regeneration ability. The favorable assessment still comes with specific friction to consider, rather than an assurance that every part has been improved.
Choose around the criticism you care about
Don't use NGC 77 as a shortcut for “safe on every platform.” This sample isn't a frame-rate comparison, and we haven't conducted our own technical testing. For launch-platform details, our separate release guide covers the availability question without treating reviews as a substitute for storefront information.
For the purchase itself, start with the negative review and decide whether its complaints describe something that bothered you in the original. If repetition was already your sticking point, the new heroes aren't a guaranteed fix. If you mainly wanted more of that shooting with fresh places to do it, the positive reviews give you a clearer reason to consider the sequel.