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Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 has a spaceship level built from connected rotating rings, with routes that change as players turn the environment. The team informally calls it “Puzzle Box”; its reported level name is “Vicious Circles.” Principal designer Matt Bone says the moving geometry made enemy navigation, performance, and level-art production unusually difficult.

How the rotating level works

In “Vicious Circles,” players move linked ring sections at different points in the level. Turning a ring opens routes to other areas, letting players progress or explore for secrets. The sections also carry enemies and pickups, so the rotating pieces affect combat as well as navigation. The level culminates on a huge, slowly turning cog.

The setting is a ship belonging to antagonist Vashtorr, dressed in the game’s “fleshmetal” style: machinery combined with disturbing, body-like forms. Those level details and the “Puzzle Box” nickname were reported by Maxbit on October 5, 2026, which republished a Rock Paper Shotgun report based on email comments from Bone. The nickname is described as the team’s informal name, not necessarily the public level title.

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Why it challenged the developers

Enemies had to work across moving surfaces

Rotating a platform is only part of the problem when enemies are standing on it. Bone said the sections’ moving, interconnected surfaces made it difficult to get enemies to navigate reliably and fight the player. He joked that the enemy and pickup placement was part of why “coders will never forgive me for this level.”

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The finale put pressure on performance

The enormous finale cog is covered in what Bone described as “hundreds of meshes.” Spinning that many detailed pieces together was a performance challenge, he said. The figure is his qualitative description; the report does not provide a measured mesh count, frame-rate result, or benchmark.

Art had to survive several configurations

Artists could not design the intricate environment for just one arrangement. Assets had to look right as rings rotated and avoid clipping through walls in the resulting configurations. Bone gave the example of a fleshy tendril that might fit the original layout but intersect geometry after the level turns. He said the extra work was worthwhile and hoped the result would be memorable.

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What’s known about Boltgun 2

In official Steam news, the publisher announced an October 14, 2026 release for Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version planned for later. The same official recap describes a branching campaign, more than 30 levels, 40-plus new enemies, two playable characters, and an automap. These are announced features and plans; platform availability and timing can change. Read the official Steam news.

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Auroch Digital’s earlier announcement described the sequel as a branching single-player campaign that follows directly from the original game. Neither official announcement independently confirms the specific “Vicious Circles” mechanics; those details come from Bone’s comments as reported by Maxbit and Rock Paper Shotgun.

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