One of the most requested features from fans of Boltgun was to add a second playable character to the game, in addition to Malum Caedo. Right from the start, we knew we wanted to do this for Boltgun 2, especially as it aligned so well with two of our goals for the game: adding more variety and replayability.
Today I’m excited to share more about our new player character: Nyra Veyrath, a battle-hardened Sister of Battle Celestian who loves nothing more than bathing heretics in righteous flames.
A Wild Torrent of Flame
To make for a truly different experience, it was important to us that Nyra had her own unique set of weapons. When it comes to Sisters of Battle, their “holy trinity” of guns are bolters, flamers, and melta weapons, so we knew we had to do these justice.
We’ve spent a lot of time during development making sure her flame-based weapons are as gratifying as possible to use. For these weapons more than most, visual and audio feedback can make or break their feel. They’ve got to be convincingly destructive – as befits a wild torrent of flame – whilst still clearly communicating to the player where and how damage is being applied. My personal favourite is the Heavy Flamer — our internal goal was to make a weapon that feels like the end of the world, and I’m very happy with (and slightly terrified by) the results.
Enhancing Mobility with Fervent Slide
For a breakneck-paced shooter like Boltgun 2, mobility is key when creating a new character – especially for Nyra, who we wanted to feel even more agile than Malum.
One of Nyra’s core abilities is Fervent Slide, a rapid means of getting around levels, with the bonus that it’ll tear right through any cultists in your path. By pressing jump during the slide, Nyra uses her momentum to perform a special Leap – an effective way of reaching higher areas.
Immediacy is a central pillar for Boltgun 2, and part of that means creating abilities that are instantly understandable and satisfying to use. Onto that straightforward base we add optional layers of functionality, expanding the ability’s utility in the game.
As such, Fervent Slide is a great way to both enter and escape combat, whilst the Leap is not only a handy means of reaching high ground, but also – as you can slow time by holding jump – can be used to take stock of the battle around you, or to take some precision shots with your current weapon.
Melting the Enemies of the Emperor
We really wanted to ramp up grenades for Boltgun 2 and make them a unique part of each character’s arsenal. To suit Nyra’s affinity for righteous flame, she has a devastating Melta Bomb at her disposal.
Again, the ability is straightforward to use: simply lob the bomb at an unfortunate heretic and watch the explosion. But there’s added depth to play around with: Holding throw will
slow time whilst priming the grenade, allowing a more precise throw, whilst pressing it again after it’s thrown will detonate it early. The latter allows high skill play such as exploding the bomb over a group of enemies. Or, if you really want to impress the Emperor, you can shoot the bomb in midair…
Adding a Cutting Edge
Anyone who has played Boltgun will know Malum Caedo’s Chainsword is an integral part of his gameplay. When it came to Nyra, we needed her Power Sword to feel equally important to her character.
We wanted her first ranged weapon in the game to be a one-handed Bolt Pistol partly because it allowed us to show the Power Sword on screen at the same time. That way we’re immediately encouraging the player to get in the faces of your enemies, performing vicious combo slashes with the Power Sword.
And for enemies just out of reach, holding the melee attack button performs a forward thrust with the sword, causing increased damage and often showering the screen in gore.
Reinforcing the themes of mobility and extra utility, the thrust attack can also be used as a means of moving around. For this and Nyra’s other abilities, we’re really looking forward to players’ creativity in how they use and combine them.
Boltgun 2 Key Art Reveal
As you may have noticed at the top of the post, we wanted to share the brand-new key art for Boltgun 2! This was created by the supremely talented Johan Grenier, who also created the key art for the original Boltgun! In the new key art for Boltgun 2, Nyra naturally takes centre stage alongside Malum on a battlefield of chaos factions.