creative potential of the system
(there’s no difference between
kicking or sliding an enemy into
spikes, for example).
SWEARING UP A STORM
What’s interesting about Bulletstorm
is that it inverts the typical way
modern shooters present themselves.
Most shooters try to justify their
violence with a grand narrative about
war and sacrifice and why all that
killing is necessary and important.
Bulletstorm, on the other hand,
doubles down on its own
gratuitousness. The script is
unbelievably filthy, a cascade of
swearing and toilet humour that
almost completes the circle and
becomes poetic.
Yet despite its crass front,
Bulletstorm demonstrates more
self-awareness than the majority of
its peers. The game is clear on the
fact that you’re not playing as a hero.
Hunt is a bad leader and a worse
friend, his own arrogance and desire
for revenge having cost him
everything except for his life by the
end of the game’s prologue. Two of
his squadmates are dead, while Ish’s
RoboCop-style makeover has left him
in constant pain, fighting the AI
system keeping him alive and taking
over control of his own body.
This isn’t subtext either, its
frequently pointed out by other
characters in the game. Trishka, the
leader of Sarrano’s special forces
group, is probably the most scathing
of Hunt’s critics but Grayson himself
is painfully aware of his own failings.
Much of his swaggering smack-talk
basically amounts to
overcompensation. Beneath that he’s
desperate to save his last living friend,
and in doing so harvest a grain of
redemption from the mountain of
shit he’s piled up. This is partly why
the addition of Duke Nukem as a
playable character in 2017’s Full Clip
edition rang so hollow. Bulletstorm is
ultimately only pretending to be a
dumb shooter, whereas there is no
pretending with Duke Nukem.
Indeed, to think of Bulletstorm as
an “old-school” FPS is a mistake. It’sBULLETSTORM, ON THE OTHER
HAND, DOUBLES DOWN ON ITS
OWN GRATUITOUSNESSa thoroughly modern shooter, from
the regenerating health to the
aiming-down-the-sights to the fact
that its characters actually have some
layers. Most of the time this works,
but there are a few areas where it just
doesn’t come together.NO JUMPING ALLOWED
Most significantly, you can’t jump.
You can only mantle over certain
obstacles. It’s an odd omission in a
game that is essentially about
performing stunts with guns, and
proves somewhat limiting in play.
Moreover, while the environment
design of Bulletstorm is incredible –
particularly its crumbling sci-fi
cityscapes – the actual level design is
comparatively simplistic, lots of large,
straight corridors cleverly decorated
to make them feel more complex.
Ultimately though, this is the only
area where Bulletstorm is simpler
than it appears. Beneath all the blood
and cursing and toilet humour is a
brilliantly imaginative shooter with a
unique sci-fi setting and enough
action to fill a game twice its length.
Bulletstorm may be the stupidest
game ever made, but boy is it clever
in how it goes about that.You will believe a man can fly.EXTRA LIFE
NOW PLAYING I MOD SPOTLIGHT I HOW TO I DIARY I REINSTALL (^) I WHY I LOVE I M U S T P L A Y