REVIEW: Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis

The lovely people at Rogueside sent me a key for Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox, and I couldn't be happier, for I love 2D side-scrolling run & gun shooters. I grew up on them!

Let us first take a look at the synopsis

"For many centuries, the planet of Luteus Alpha has been producing much-needed material for the wars raging on in the Armageddon sector. Many are drawn to the planet, and so is the great Warboss Ogruk Gutrekka. Upon arriving on the planet, Gutrekka stole your most precious hair squig. Filled with vengeance, you've sworn to do whatever it takes to return your hair squig, and prove who's the strongest!

Fight your way through the hive city of Luteus Prime in single-player mode or as a party of up to 4 battle-hardened Orks in online or local co-op. Pick your class, grab your weapons and get ready to battle Humans, Orks and Genestealer cultists, and ultimately put an end to Warboss Gutrekka!"

Now I have to be honest here, I am not very up on Warhammer terminology or lingo, so some of the verbiage went straight over my head, but this game is full of comedy and action. So, what more could you want.

When you start the game and can choose from 4 different characters, all with their own weapons and tools, apparently true to Warhammer 40,000 lore. As you play you will collect teeth (teef)? Which you then use as currency to buy weapons and headgear.

With 20 different distinct weapons to collect, and a large variety of headgear, the only thing that could possibly stop you is wave after wave of bad guys. Which of course we get.

Gameplay is your standard 2D side scrolling stuff. You can jump and double jump, you have directional aim of your weapons using the right joystick, and control the character with the left one. You can throw bombs with the bumper button, and even fight hand to hand with the other. All of this you will quickly pick up as you play.

Each level has an end boss to beat, learn the pattern, swap through your weapons to see which one works best, and then destroy them. As you play you will come across checkpoints which also act as shops, which let you choose your load out as well as buy new items. There are also handy health collectables to keep you strong. And once you pass a level there is a nice little hand drawn cinematic to tell the story and give you a chance to breath. Finished off with a heavy metal soundtrack, composed by Deon van Heerden, and this is a really fun little game.

The Good

Easy to pick up and learn, controls are pretty straight forward, and on easy mode you will soon get the hang of things. There are lots of weapons and explosions, and everything just feels frantic, in a very good way. The graphics are all hand drawn, and look fantastic, the soundtrack is the kind of music I listen to anyway, so I turned it up nice and loud. This is one of those games that you will find hard to put down once you start playing.

The Bad

I was getting very slow load times. Not the end of the world, but for a 2D side scrolling shooter, things should be loading up much quicker.

Overall

I really enjoyed this, and dispute having no idea of the Warhammer lore or lingo, I got into quick. The graphics are really special, and that soundtrack is awesome.

If you are a fan of Warhammer or side scrollers then this is a game, you should check out.

I score Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox a solid 8.5/10

Out Now on Xbox

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/warhammer-40-000-shootas-blood-teef/9nts4d892smw