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Bombshell

Bombshell sports impressive shooting and a stylish presentation, but the game's takes on exploration and narrative ultimately drag down the experience.
Bombshell Game Cover
54%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, optimization
58% User Score Based on 263 reviews
Critic Score 37%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom $25.44
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Bombshell Game Cover

About

Bombshell is a single player arcade role playing shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Slipgate Ironworks™ and was released on January 29, 2016. It received negative reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

"Bombshell is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with fantastic mechanics and compelling visuals. As mercenary Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, you'll save the president across 4 planets, combating out-of-this-world enemies with a unique arsenal. Despite phenomenal music and comedic elements, the game is plagued by bugs."

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Bombshell screenshot
Bombshell screenshot
Bombshell screenshot
Bombshell screenshot
Bombshell screenshot
Bombshell screenshot
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58%
Audience ScoreBased on 263 reviews
story20 positive mentions
stability31 negative mentions
  • The game features a strong female protagonist, Shelly 'Bombshell' Harrison, who is both badass and humorous.
  • The graphics and art design are visually appealing, with detailed environments and a vibrant color palette.
  • The gameplay is fast-paced and action-packed, with a variety of weapons and abilities that provide satisfying combat.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, including crashes and glitches that can hinder gameplay.
  • The story and dialogue are often cheesy and poorly written, with repetitive one-liners that can become tiresome.
  • Level design can feel monotonous and lacks variety, leading to a sense of repetitiveness throughout the game.
  • story
    140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Bombshell" is characterized as a campy, B-movie style narrative filled with cheesy dialogue and clichés typical of 90s sci-fi. While some players appreciate its over-the-top action and humor, many criticize it for being poorly written and lacking depth, often feeling like a mere backdrop to the gameplay rather than a compelling element. Overall, the story is seen as entertainingly ridiculous by some, but ultimately forgettable and riddled with issues that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The game's story is simple but entertaining, and Shelly is a cool protagonist.”
    • “Story is exactly what you would expect: 90s B-movie cheese, and I have no problems with that.”
    • “The story feels more like exposition that doesn't offer much to the overall plot, and the writing is filled with obnoxious one-liners.”
    • “The story is paper thin.”
    • “The storyline isn't anything that grabs you or immerses you in anything intriguing or interesting, but it is the driving force of why you're playing the game.”
    • “When you have a protagonist you don't care about, a story that makes no sense... you just get a mess of a game.”
  • gameplay
    96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the engaging mechanics and variety of weapons, while others criticize it for being repetitive, clunky, and plagued by bugs. Although the environments and graphics are praised, many feel that the combat lacks balance and depth, leading to a formulaic experience that can become stale over time. Overall, while there are fun elements and potential, the execution leaves much to be desired, especially at full price.

    • “The environments are very detailed and the artwork is excellent; the story is passable, but the gameplay is very satisfying.”
    • “The gameplay was engaging, and new weapons and perks were regularly unlocked.”
    • “Overall, the game is quite fun and has solid gameplay, even though it becomes repetitive after a while and lacks variety in many aspects.”
    • “Bombshell would be a decent game if it wasn't infested with bugs. I was running into issues every 10 minutes, including not gaining XP, getting stuck on terrain, and forced to reset. Enemies spawn into walls and outside of map bounds, and buggy achievements unlock by themselves when they feel like it. It also suffers from repetitive gameplay, which becomes stale by episode 2.”
    • “The gameplay is just dry and formulaic.”
    • “Game is a buggy mess, bland environments, and barely passable gameplay that's not worth the asking price on Steam.”
  • graphics
    68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally praised as impressive for a title built on Unreal Engine 3, showcasing detailed environments, vibrant artwork, and well-animated cutscenes. However, some users report performance issues, particularly with NVIDIA graphics settings, and mention unresolved bugs that detract from the overall visual experience. Despite these drawbacks, many reviewers commend the game's artistic style and the effort put into its visual design, making it a standout aspect of the gameplay.

    • “The environments are very detailed and the artwork is excellent; the story is passable, but the gameplay is very satisfying.”
    • “Graphics for an 8-year-old game are amazing; Unreal Engine 3 has been pushed pretty far here.”
    • “Huge kudos to the art and design team; they have done a really good job on Bombshell's graphics; the game looks absolutely beautiful and badass.”
    • “Game didn't crash, but if you have an NVIDIA card, do not turn on any of the NVIDIA GameWorks graphics features.”
    • “There are a lot of unresolved graphical and engine bugs.”
    • “However, even dropping the graphics to their lowest setting and lowering the resolution didn't seem to help performance at all.”
  • music
    65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game, primarily composed by Andrew Hulshult, receives high praise for its heavy metal and orchestral elements, effectively complementing the game's atmosphere and action. While some players feel the soundtrack may not be memorable enough to revisit, many agree it enhances the overall experience with its energetic and fitting tracks. Overall, the music is described as excellent, badass, and a standout feature of the game, making it worth listening to outside of gameplay.

    • “Andrew Hulshult's music is a work of genius, with a movie-like soundtrack for cutscenes, creepy ambience for the calm before the storm, and some awesome action-packed tracks that deserve a place on your music player.”
    • “It's fast, gory and brimming with tongue-in-cheek humor, and dear god the music... the soundtrack alone is worth the asking price!”
    • “The music is seriously awesome and some of the best and most varied game music I have experienced in a while.”
    • “Andrew Hulshult is a decent musician but not a really strong songwriter in my opinion.”
    • “Some stronger themes would really have helped the soundtrack come a long way as I couldn't really get into it.”
    • “The soundtrack is filled with appropriate rock and metal tunes that I actually didn’t notice as much as I thought I would because the sound effects tend to overpower the music most of the time.”
  • stability
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of Bombshell is widely criticized, with players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Issues such as enemies spawning incorrectly, unresponsive achievements, and problematic animations are common, leading many to describe the game as unpolished and frustrating. While some players find enjoyment despite these flaws, the overall consensus is that the game's stability issues detract from the experience, making it hard to recommend at full price.

    • “The game runs smoothly with minimal bugs.”
    • “I haven't encountered any major issues during my playthrough.”
    • “The stability of the game is impressive, allowing for an uninterrupted experience.”
    • “Bombshell would be a decent game if it wasn't an infestation of bugs. I was running into issues every 10 minutes while playing, including not gaining XP, getting stuck on terrain and forced to reset, enemies spawning into walls and outside of map bounds, and buggy achievements that unlock by themselves when they feel like it. It also suffers from repetitive gameplay which becomes kind of stale when hitting episode 2, but it didn't stop me from finishing it.”
    • “Game is a buggy mess, bland environments, and barely passable gameplay that's not worth the asking price on Steam.”
    • “Buggy and abandoned mess of a game, stay away at all costs!”
  • humor
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it lacking in depth and consistency, often comparing it unfavorably to titles like "Duke Nukem Forever." While there are moments of wit and clever one-liners, much of the humor feels forced or out of place, failing to balance the game's serious tone. Overall, it appeals to fans of cheesy, 90s-style humor, but may not resonate with those seeking a more cohesive comedic experience.

    • “The protagonist is a sexy female half-cyborg with a quite harsh but funny attitude.”
    • “It's fast, gory, and brimming with tongue-in-cheek humor, and dear god, the music... the soundtrack alone is worth the asking price!”
    • “Cheesy but awesome humor, one-liners, puns, and I think most importantly sarcastic remarks about fetch quests and pushing buttons, which while that is a lot of the gameplay, actually helps keep it entertaining.”
    • “Not funny enough, not crazy enough... remember how there was Duke Nukem Forever?”
    • “The dialogues are not funny, the controls are clunky at best, the animations are bad, etc. The character being a direct copy of Elexis Sinclaire from Sin doesn't really help either.”
  • optimization
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance even on older systems, while others report significant issues such as frame rate drops, glitches, and poor overall optimization. Many users noted that despite having various graphical options, performance problems persisted, particularly during intense gameplay moments. Overall, while some players found the game playable, others deemed it nearly unplayable due to its optimization shortcomings.

    • “I may be wrong, but for me this game was perfectly optimized and I have a pretty old PC (CPU and HDD are really outdated).”
    • “The game runs smoothly on my less than beefed out system, and after a short adjustment period to the controls and RPG elements, I began grooving with the mechanics and laying down some serious 'whoop-ass' on the baddies.”
    • “The game has the usual suspects for Unreal option tweaking, that is to say a lot of them, and as far as performance goes, it runs well.”
    • “Extremely poor optimization and performance for a game that looks like it was launched 15 years ago, not 2016.”
    • “The game is so poorly optimized it's almost shameful.”
    • “Overall the game is worth buying, but be aware of the performance issues if you're not running the latest and greatest of systems.”
  • grinding
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is criticized for being excessively tedious, detracting from the overall experience and making gameplay feel repetitive and distant. While a recent patch has improved some issues, many players still find the grind to be a significant drawback.

    • “Beat 'em ups are usually grindy by nature, but this is particularly grindy.”
    • “It's an odd design decision that prevents the game from being a lively action romp and instead makes it tedious and distant.”
    • “Gameplay-wise, it boils down to keep moving and shooting with tedious backtracking and buggy exploration.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is generally well-received, with music that complements the experience, though it may not be memorable enough to revisit. Players appreciate the strong reliance on atmosphere, storytelling, and writing to enhance the overall mood, drawing comparisons to classic titles like Unreal Tournament.

    • “The music may not be something you'd listen to for days after finishing the game, but the tracks are nice and fit the atmosphere perfectly.”
    • “Some games heavily rely on atmosphere, storytelling, and good writing to create the right mood.”
    • “The atmosphere kind of reminds me of Unreal Tournament, where the environment plays a crucial role.”
    • “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
    • “I found the environment to be dull and lifeless, which detracted from the overall experience.”
    • “The game fails to create a compelling atmosphere, making it hard to stay engaged.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers good replayability due to its character abilities, weapon upgrades, and hidden secrets, making it enjoyable to revisit. However, some players feel it lacks replay value without a map editor, indicating a need for additional content to enhance replayability.

    • “The character abilities, weapon upgrades, and secrets mean that this game has great replay value.”
    • “In short, it's a fun game with replay value and a great lead character, though it has some rough edges.”
    • “There is no replay value; the game really needs a map editor!”
    • “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to play again.”
    • “The lack of variety in gameplay makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
  • monetization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization of the game is widely criticized, with players feeling that the $30 price tag is unjustified and perceiving it as a blatant cash grab.

    • “This game feels like a total cash grab; $30 for this piece of junk?”
    • “The monetization is so aggressive that it ruins the overall experience.”
    • “I can't believe how many microtransactions are crammed into this game.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express mixed feelings about the game's emotional impact, with some questioning whether it leans more towards irreverence or genuine sentiment in its approach to science fiction. This uncertainty has led to apprehension among potential players, influenced by the game's varied reviews.

    • “I was kind of worried going into this game with many of the bad reviews almost keeping me from touching it at all.”
    • “Is Bombshell irreverent or a heartfelt stab at science fiction?”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the game's graphical presentation and top-down perspective evoke a sci-fi Diablo vibe, reviewers express a desire for deeper character development and exposition to enhance immersion in the game's world. Overall, the character development feels somewhat lacking, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “For a game that seems to be going for a particular style and attitude, I would have liked to see a little more exposition and character development to sell the world it takes place in.”
    • “Getting into the game, you clearly see why someone would immediately think of a sci-fi Diablo from the graphical presentation and the top-down perspective - in combination with the quests and character development parts.”
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37%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews
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7h Median play time
6h Average play time
4-8h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Bombshell is a arcade role playing shooter game with science fiction theme.

Bombshell is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Bombshell.

Bombshell was released on January 29, 2016.

Bombshell was developed by Slipgate Ironworks™.

Bombshell has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Bombshell is a single player game.

Similar games include The Ascent, Agents of Mayhem, Blood Knights, Necromunda: Hired Gun, The Hong Kong Massacre and others.