Pairing up the developer of 2D run & gun shooter Guns, Gore and Cannoli with Games Workshop to create a game in which you spearhead an Ork assault was a very good idea.
You see, while the world of Warhammer 40,000 may be grimdark, whenever there are Orks involved you can do nothing but laugh. They’re loud and brash and unabashedly stupid, but that just makes us love them. And so a game developed by Rogueside in which you take control of one of four Orks and lead them on a crusade across Luteus Prime just has to be fun. We’ve been hands-on with a short demo of Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, and it certainly seems so.
Anyone that has played Guns, Gore and Cannoli will feel right at home with Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, even if they’re not familiar with its world. It’s cut from the same cloth being a fast-paced run & gun shooter, after all. We didn’t get to choose our Ork, unfortunately, but we were thrown right into the action. Entering a makeshift combat arena, we quickly had to brush up our skills and fend off waves of enemy Ork attacks. They came at us with blades mainly, but some held back and had ‘shootas’. They were of various sizes too, with the more surly ones harder to cut down.
Playing with a controller, we soon found that Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef isn’t easy. PC players may choose to use the keyboard and mouse to play instead, which makes things a little more manageable. Regardless, it’s up to you to manoeuvre your Ork to avoid enemy attacks while jumping to negotiate platforms, all the while attacking your enemies the best way you can. When it comes to dealing out pain, you can whack enemies with a powerful melee attack, and attack from afar with either your own shoota or fiery grenades. The latter are limited, however.
To add a bit more variety into the mix, and provide you with a bit of help when in a tight spot, when a meter below your health bar is fun you can enter Waaaagh! mode. In this powered up state you shoot faster and dish out more damage. It regenerates rather quickly, too, which is nice, as it means more carnage. We made ample use of it as we progressed through the demo, with each area we entered throwing a more fiendish selection of Orks our way. And to proceed, it wasn’t just simply a case of killing. We had to locate switches, for example, and turn valves in order to turn off walls of flame.
The demo reached its climax with a boss fight, in which an Ork heavy metal band played in the background. We dashed around, avoiding pyrotechnics and enemy fire while also grabbing health packs to keep alive. After much violence we emerged victorious, somehow; our heavily-armed adversary was dead, and the accompanying death-metal music came to a stop. Our reward? A wonderfully animated cinematic, demonstrating that Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef does have a story. It seems to be an entertaining one as well, with plenty of humour. Though the humour’s not just confined to the cinematics; one-liners during gameplay will also make you chuckle from time to time.
With the full game promising co-op and competitive multiplayer gameplay, as well as a choice of Orks and more weapons to employ your enemies, we think Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef will prove to be a mighty fun way to waste some time this summer. And you won’t just be fighting against enemy Orkls, either; Humans and Genestealer Cultists will also present themselves as fodder. So, are you ready for waaaaaagh!? You better be.
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef launches this summer on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC. Check out the PC demo now via Steam Next fest.
