Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review Summary

Offers a brilliant skillshot system with fun gameplay and creative weapons, but suffers from a cliché story, short campaign, and frequent crashes.

Skillshot system is brilliant: The skillshot system encourages creative kills, rewarding players for stylish and varied combat. It adds depth and replayability, making gameplay addictive and fun.

Gameplay is fun and satisfying: Players consistently find the gameplay enjoyable, responsive, and satisfying from start to finish. The moment-to-moment action is well-paced and engaging.

Creative and varied enemy elimination: Players love the absurdly creative ways to dispatch enemies, including impaling, mutilating, burning, and blowing them up. The variety of methods keeps combat fresh and entertaining.

Duke Nukem DLC adds value: The included Duke Nukem DLC, with voice lines by John St. John, enhances the experience and appeals to fans. Playing as Duke makes the game more enjoyable and humorous.

Weapons are varied and creative: The arsenal includes many distinct weapons, each with unique feel and use. Alternate fire modes and weapon combinations further expand tactical options.

Cliché and predictable story: The story is frequently described as cliché, predictable, or just okay, with a simple revenge plot and annoying dialogue. Many find the narrative lacking originality.

No sequel disappointment: Many players are disappointed that the game never received a sequel despite cliffhanger endings and hints. This sentiment is frequently mentioned across multiple clusters.

Remaster lost original spirit: Many feel the remaster fails to capture the spirit of the original game, focusing on nostalgia with minimal improvements. It is considered inferior to the original.

Short campaign length: The campaign is repeatedly criticized for being too short, with many players reporting 5-8 hours of playtime. This is a common and clear complaint.

Camera shake causes nausea: Screen shake and head bobbing during sprint cause dizziness and nausea for several players. Some find it unplayable, and options to disable it are missing.

Skillshot scoring system: The game features a skillshot-based scoring system that rewards players for stylish and creative kills, similar to Devil May Cry. Points are awarded for specific kill conditions, encouraging experimentation with various weapons and techniques.

First-person shooter genre: The game is described as a first-person shooter with old-school and arcade-style elements, including physics-based and experimental combat. It features unique weapons and a focus on action.

Leash and kick mechanics: The game includes an energy leash or hook to grab and pull enemies, combined with kick mechanics for crowd control and enemy manipulation. This adds a physics-based layer to combat.

Variety of weapons: Players have access to a diverse arsenal of creative weapons, each with alternate fire modes. Weapons like the Flailgun and Boneduster offer unique mechanics for different combat situations.

Linear campaign length: The campaign is linear and fast-paced, with a length typically reported between 6 to 8 hours. Some reviews note it can extend to 11 hours depending on playstyle.

Frequent crashes and bugs: Players report frequent crashes during launch, gameplay, or specific actions. Crashes occur on start, with high settings, without error messages, and even when minimizing or pressing buttons.

Stuttering and FPS drops: Some players experience minor stutters, FPS drops to 30, or stuttering at checkpoints and during enemy spawns or autosave.

Optimization problems in remaster: The remaster is reported to have optimization issues, including a blurry filter, unchanged overall performance from the original, and texture pop-in.

Crashes with high FPS or vsync: Crashes can occur when using vsync, or high FPS cap causes issues like character sliding or drift in 4K unlimited mode.

Startup and loading problems: The game has slow startup times, and some players experience crashes on boot if the mouse is clicked.

Buy on sale: Many reviews emphasize the game is best purchased at a discount or during a sale, often mentioning it is worth the reduced price or a good value when cheap.

Best at deep discount: Some reviews specify buying only at a very steep discount, like 75% or 95% off, for best value.

Value and worth: Many reviews state the game is worth the money, worth playing, or a good purchase, especially at a discount or full price.

Great for fun action: Players describe the game as fun, dumb fun, or enjoyable for those who don't take story seriously and want a straightforward action experience.

Duke Nukem fans and DLC: The game is particularly recommended for fans of Duke Nukem, and playing with the Duke Nukem DLC is often suggested for added comedy and enjoyment.

Community fair range: $4.00 - $10.00.

Story completion: 8.0h.

Bulletstorm's fun often kicks in after an initial acclimation period of about the first hour, driven by its addictive skillshot system and environmental kills, though some players find immediate enjoyment from the combat.

Friction: boring early sections and running around; camera shaking and headbobbing causing nausea; repetitive gameplay after mastering skillshots; lack of co-op campaign; dead multiplayer community.

Unlock drivers: creative skillshot mechanics with the energy leash; environmental kill opportunities; weapon upgrades and skill point progression; humorous script and voice acting.

Score-Chasing Skillshot Enthusiast: Replay levels to optimize skill shots, experiment with environmental kills, and maximize score chains. Motivation: Mastering creative kill combinations and achieving high scores for leaderboard rankings. Stance: sale.

Story-First Single Player Fan: Play through the campaign once or twice, focusing on story progression and dialogue, ignoring multiplayer modes. Motivation: Enjoying a humorous, over-the-top narrative with strong character-driven moments. Stance: sale.

Value-Conscious Remaster Critic: Compare the remaster to the original, wait for discounts, and recommend only when price matches perceived content. Motivation: Finding good value in remasters, avoiding overpaying for minimal updates. Stance: deep sale.

Performance across hardware cohorts is generally positive, though some VRAM groups report crashes that do not prevent overall recommendation.

Windows <8GB VRAM: positive. Players on sub-8GB VRAM report smooth performance with only minor bugs like shotgun stuttering or occasional crashes, but overall enjoyment is high.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: mixed. Reports are mixed: one player experienced a game-breaking crash during the final escape, while another achieved flawless high-FPS performance on max settings.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: mixed. A single report notes repeated crashes on initial launch, but the game was ultimately recommended.

Steam Deck: The game runs well for many users at high frame rates, but a subset experience frequent crashes, small text that requires squinting, and save recognition problems. These issues prevent it from being a seamless experience, placing it in the broken category.

Linux and Proton: The game runs well on Proton and Steam Deck with minimal issues. Users report stable performance at high framerates, occasional stutter not tied to Linux, and no systemic Linux-specific crashes. The overall consensus is positive.

Monetization: The user feedback focuses on the game's high base price, perceived lack of remaster quality, and presence of bundled DLC. There is no mention of any in-game purchases, microtransactions, pay-to-win mechanics, loot boxes, or real-money shops. All complaints are about the initial purchase value, which falls outside the scope of predatory monetization.

Playable on Linux with Proton: The game runs well on Linux Mint 21.3 using Proton 8.0, confirming compatibility for Linux gamers.

Sequel demand for Bulletstorm 2: A player expresses a strong desire for the developer to create Bulletstorm 2, indicating attachment to the franchise.

Game released at wrong time: One review compared this game to Titanfall 2, suggesting it was launched at a poor time and deserved more attention.