Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood and Teef Review

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Fast Facts

Chowing Down

Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is a side-scrolling action platformer. The premise is simple. Someone stole from the main character, and I must do everything in my power to get that item back. Was the experience any fun? Find out in this Rapid Review.

When I booted up Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef for the first time, I was introduced to my main character and his one problem. As I mentioned in the introduction, he must seek vengeance on another orc who stole from him. As simple and menial as this story is, there were a surprising number of well-animated cutscenes and cute visuals showcasing my main character on his journey. Though I was not immersed in the story, and I found the main character obnoxious, I thought the presentation of the game was cute. The game does not take itself too seriously, yet it does so in a way that is interesting and effective. Despite not enjoying the story content much, I liked viewing the cutscenes and could not help but laugh when my character encountered his next big obstacle.

Even though I found myself enjoying many aspects of the story in Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, I did not find it substantial enough to justify a purchase. There are only a few cutscenes throughout the adventure and the scenarios that unfold in them are nothing gripping or life-altering. Instead, they supplemented the gameplay in a way that gave my character personality and introduced me to the problems he faced.

Getting Ready to Rumble

The gameplay on the other hand was a different story. Even just based on the trailer, I was expecting fast, frantic, and intense gameplay. Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef certainly featured that. Each level was a side-scrolling gauntlet of slaughter. I needed to take on hordes of threatening enemies in every part of the game. The levels were combat-focused, and I thoroughly enjoyed that. Granted, this also means that there was little exploring to do in each level. The game features a handful of alternate paths and chests to find throughout a level, but it primarily featured combat.

The combat itself was easy to understand and accessible. I was shown my capabilities in a brief tutorial but then left to fend for myself. This style worked well for me. While I did not understand all of my abilities immediately, all of my confusion was alleviated as I continued playing. The game began simply and slowly built, giving me the opportunity to master each mechanic as I kept playing.

Unfortunately, I was not pushed out of my comfort zone as much as I would have liked. In the beginning of the game, this was fine, as I was getting accustomed to the game. However, many of the systems in Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef failed to force me to adapt or change my playstyle.

This issue begins with the levels themselves. Many of the levels feel similar. Apart from the bosses at the end of each stage, I could hardly tell one level from the next. Even though this did contribute to the overarching theme, I was disappointed that none of the locales I visited were overly distinct.

Friends or Foes?

This issue is also prevalent in enemy designs. Largely, the enemies were orcs or humanoid characters which used some sort of gun or a melee weapon. They were adequately varied, and I enjoyed encountering different enemies. I liked the designs too. The attacks were legible and fair, regardless of how hectic an area was. Despite these strengths, the enemy designs further perpetuated the initial problem I had. I never needed to adjust my strategy. Regardless of the enemies, I could enact practically the same strategy and take them out with ease. While some opponents were a bit more threatening, no enemies revolutionized the way I play. This in turn made the enemies forgettable, especially coupled with how similar they looked. While the enemies were engaging and functional, I was disappointed that I could maintain the same strategy throughout my playthrough.

On the other hand, there were boss fights that completely altered the way I played the game. These bosses were not only completely recognizable from the enemies I faced throughout the levels, but they were huge. Their size and more ferocious attack patterns required that I assessed the way I fought each of them. This was a lot of fun. Many of them had a lot of health, which meant I fought them for a while. However, usually, they only had a couple of patterns and did not alter much throughout a single fight. Even though I was sometimes able to recognize the patterns quickly, I enjoyed these fights and looked forward to them at the end of each section.

Fighting with Fire

Additionally, to take out these fearsome foes, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef features a plethora of different weapons to master. The game featured traditional weapons like shotguns, assault rifles, and rocket launchers. They served their purpose and worked well. It was easy to cycle between them and they always worked as intended. There were also alternate forms of each of these weapons that I could unlock. I could use a tesla pistol, a flame shotgun, or even an assault rifle that closely resembled a light machine gun. These alterations were interesting, and I wanted to experience them. However, I consistently found that traditional weapons were more than enough to get the job done. Despite trying these other weapons, I was once again not incentivized to explore the other options, as the default weapons seemed to handle the enemies most effectively.

I also thought it was interesting that I never had to worry about limited ammunition. Each of my guns could be reloaded as much as I pleased. Incorporating ammunition limitations would have potentially incentivized me to switch up my strategy. Despite the potential benefit it would have brought to Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, I thought not needing to worry about ammunition made the game a lot of fun. Though I only used a handful of weapons, and I did not need to worry about diminishing resources, the combat was still fluid and enjoyable.

Listening to the Orc-estra

To supplement the gameplay, the developers include a high-intensity rock-and-roll soundtrack. It worked well, and while there was not any calm in the soundtrack, there was no gameplay that would have been appropriately represented by a calm soundtrack. The music fit the game and continued the unrelenting action. The sound effects were very effective. Whether I heard the occasional scream from my main character or the sound of my bullets hitting bodies, the sound effects worked very well and kept me interested in the game.

Unfortunately, the visuals on the other hand were not as impressive. I liked the aesthetic of the game, but as I mentioned before, many of the in-game assets are similar. This applies to the enemies, the levels, and the stages. Very few enemies stood out as distinct and memorable, but they all looked like enemies, and I was able to take them out. However, some of the stages were less clear. The background was not always obvious to distinguish from the foreground, and a couple of times, the visual design confused me. Still, the visuals did not impair my enjoyment of the game much. The visuals work, even if I was not impressed by them.

Overall, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is fun. The frantic and fast-paced action is enjoyable, especially in short bursts. However, the title does not do as much as I would like to distinguish itself from other titles in the genre. In fact, it does not do enough to distinguish its earlier levels from its later levels. While the game has a lot of charm and it is fun to navigate and explore, it did not push me to explore new strategies while playing and it did not incorporate as many revolutionary mechanics as I would have liked.

You can purchase Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood and Teef on the Nintendo eShop here

Additionally, you can purchase the vanilla physical version here and the Collector’s Edition here