Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef Review

Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef has been developed and published by Rogueside. It’s a 2D run and gun platformer built around the Warhammer 40,000 universe and is set for release on Orktober 20, 2022 on Switch, PC and Xbox (PlayStation is coming at a later date). You play as an Ork named Vinnie invading Leteus Prime when your warlord steals your favourite Hair Squig and kicks you off his jet!

I actually play Warhammer 40k and I also play Orks! Playing this game was a must because it looked Ork in nature. All out shooting (Dakka Dakka), lots of mayhem, with a lot Waaaaagghh. The integration of the Warhammer 40k lore into the game is excellent. It’s a great mix of how an Ork would interact with the different races in the universe. Every other race is taking themselves seriously whilst Vinnie is just trying to get his Hair Squig back.

There are different classes to play that will give you different perks. These include a Flash Git, Stormboy, Beast Snagga Boy and a Weirdboy. You’re able to choose from the skins of the different major Ork clans, plus hats! There’s a range of hats to buy in game with Teef which you collect throughout the game. I have all the hats and I’m happy.

There are a lot of different mobs and characters to kill. The mobs mostly follow the same mechanics but it’s just different enough to keep you engaged and running and gunning.

There are over 20 guns to choose from, of you can cycle through a selection of 5 at a time. Each area and boss will need a different type of gun to make it easier to complete. I wished I could run around with the Rokkit Launcha but when enemies got close, I would kill myself. The Waaaaggh skill allows you to fire continuously without reloading which helps a lot with enemies that have a regenerating shield. Hammer them while its down for full affect. The Weirdboy Waaagghh skill adds lightning to its melee weapon.

The artwork is amazing and simple. Its hand drawn and they get all the small details right about the game from the giant Imperial Knights to the small Gretchen running about. A metal soundtrack is composed by Deon van Heerden that adds to the enjoyment and irreverent Orky style of gameplay. The cut scenes are well designed, and they introduce the player the Warhammer 40k lore quite well without alienating (xenosing?) the player. In some parts it really takes the piss. This could’ve been un-relatable, but they nailed it.

I did run into a few issues though. The aim is quite weird and feels a bit laggy. It takes getting used to and I don’t think I mastered it in the end. The game crashed quite a lot (6 times) and in the Ork part of the world, it weirdly panned right, and all the enemies disappeared. These are not game breaking and they’re to be expected for a game set to be released.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef. It captures the Ork spirit to a T. It condenses the universe to something understandable and irreverent; its balls to the wall action and fun with a good and simple Ork story. Someone stole his hat; he got pissed off and took on world and the different races to get it back. Excellent.

This review utilised a key provided by Gametomb.gg and Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef releases on Orktober 20, 2022 on Switch, PC and Xbox. A PlayStation version is coming at a later date.

#roundtablcoop