I first played Bulletstorm for the Xbox One a while ago. I was drawn to its complete disregard to the more methodical military shooters that have flooded the market for the past decade, with its emphasis on violence, aggressiveness, and even more violence. It was dumb like a headless orangutan, but still a very good past-time. A few years later, the game is now available on the Nintendo Switch, complete with all additional DLC and trinkets featured on the other remastered versions.

The main gameplay draw of Bulletstorm is its big emphasis on killing enemies a lot of different ways. There’s a bit of Devil May Cry in here as Bulletstorm wants you to kill enemies with style and rewarding you handsomely by doing so. The cooler you kill them, either by shooting them in their private areas or impaling them on a gigantic cactus, the more points you earn. This can be spent on more ammo, new weapons, and upgrades. It’s an excellent way to motivate you to go berserk whenever possible.

The Switch version retains everything previously present on other editions of the game. I don’t exactly understand the huge focus on putting Duke Nukem’s name on the title, as he was also available on the Xbox One version I played a while ago, as well as the PS4 version.

Whatever the case, playing as Duke is a blast, for all the right and wrong reasons. It’s still fun to listen to Duke cussing and acting as desperately macho as possible. Considering that he doesn’t spit out a lot of random movie one-liners this time around and more often than not focuses on what’s actually happening near him, I can honestly say that’s his best portrayal on a game ever. Even better than Duke Nukem 3D and most certainly better than in Duke Nukem Forever.

With that being said, everyone still calls the main character by his original name, Gray, with Duke feeling like a fan mod and not an actual character in the story. He feels completely out of place and his dialogue delivery with other characters is so weird that it feels like they’re not actually talking to each other. It’s as if they were both talking to themselves like a bunch of psychos. It’s so disastrous it’s glorious, just the way I like it.

There’s not a lot else that needs to be said, as this is the same Bulletstorm we all know and… I guess love? It runs really well on the Switch, almost never dipping below its target 30 frames per second. It might not be the most impressive of framerates, but given how the game isn’t very fast-paced, 30fps are more than enough in this case. It looks good enough, especially on portable mode, as the maps are actually well-detailed, with great lighting effects.

It also features good controls, as long as you get used to its unusual button mapping (you crouch by clicking on the left analog stick and run with A, for instance). There aren’t many technical issues that will stand between you and the seven bagillion ways you can murder every single mutant holding a machine gun that comes into your line of sight.

The Switch version of Bulletstorm is an impressive port of a very entertaining and balls-to-the-wall shooter, something still lacking on the console’s library. It runs well enough, it looks the part, and the addition of Duke Nukem as a playable character is equally terrible and downright amazing. This game comfortably sits next to Doom and Wolfenstein II as one of the best first-person shooter titles available for the Switch. If you’re looking for something like these aforementioned titles, then go for it. Shoving metric tons of hot lead into armed mutants hardly gets boring.

 

Graphics: 8.0 The game runs at a locked 30 frames per second. It’s not the most impressive of framerates, but it’s very stable which can’t be said about many other shooters on the Switch. The overall visuals and lighting effects are also pretty good, especially considering the fact the game originally came out in 2011.	Gameplay: 8.0 It’s not exactly fast-paced, but it’s responsive enough. The combat is excellent and there are tons of ways to get rid of your enemies. You just need to get used to the game’s somewhat unusual button placement.
Sound: 8.0 A few rock tunes here and there, a few orchestral tunes here and there, and some good sound effects. Duke Nukem’s voice actor feels completely out of place in this game. It’s so disastrously messy I ended up loving it.	Fun Factor: 8.0 Bulletstorm is a totally balls-to-the-wall shooter and being able to play this mayhem simulator on-the-go is a treat. Duke Nukem’s inclusion in this game is so bad it’s actually amazing. I totally recommend playing as him instead of the game’s main protagonist.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Bulletstorm is available now on PS3, Xbox 360 (standard edition), PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch (remastered edition).

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition was provided by the publisher.