Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 4/10 [Achievement Difficulty Rating Thread]
- Offline: 49 [815]
- Online: 11 [185]
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 26-35 Hours [Estimated Time to 100% Thread]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 Story [2 recommended], 1+ Echo Mode
- Missable achievements: 0 [chapter select]
- Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes, Very Hard difficulty required for completion.
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: "Red Barrels" is finicky and may take multiple runs. Also, some achievements may not unlock properly when the game language is not set to English.
- Extra equipment needed: N/A
Introduction:
Welcome to Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, a first-person shooter by Gearbox and People Can Fly. This is a remastered version of the original game released in 2011 that includes all DLC. Bulletstorm is a unique spin on the FPS genre because of the inclusion of Skillshots, giving the player points for killing enemies in various different ways. Each Skillshot performed will pop up on the screen and give players points to purchase ammo and upgrades. The Skillshots combined with a unique set of guns and upgrades makes Bulletstorm a very fun game to play for veterans and new players alike.
There are three modes you will need to tackle on your journey to the completion. The majority of the time you will spend working on the story. You are welcome to start on Very Hard, however this walkthrough will recommend two playthroughs for two reasons. The first is that some Skillshots and miscellaneous achievements can be tough on a harder difficulty. Secondly, this remaster introduces Overkill Mode. This mode allows you to begin the campaign will every gun, which makes it easier from the start. If you complete every Skillshot for any gun in the regular campaign, that gun will also have infinite ammo in Overkill Mode if the option is selected. Overkill Mode makes your Very Hard playthrough much easier.
After completing all campaign achievements, you will still need to tackle Echo Mode and Anarchy Mode. Echo Mode is a set of 30 missions (mostly sections from the campaign) where you use Skillshots to rack up as many points as possible. Anarchy Mode is the online mode for Bulletstorm. Most of the achievements can be earned by yourself in an online lobby but two of them will require a partner.
Step 1: Complete the campaign on any difficulty, get all Skillshots, collectibles and mop up
In this step, you can play on whichever difficulty you prefer. As outlined in the introduction, I recommend playing on easy first. This allows you to enjoy your first playthrough while easily getting all campaign achievements out of the way. It also allows you to take advantage of Overkill Mode and its infinite ammo option to blast your way through Very Hard on a second playthrough. While playing through, try to get as many Skillshots as possible. You can see these at any time by pressing and tabbing through each section. Some are unlocked right away, while some unlock later in the story or after weapon upgrades are purchased. Any Skillshots you miss can easily be cleaned up with chapter select. There are also two types of collectibles so make sure you get these along the way as well. Once again, any you miss can be mopped up via chapter select.
Step 2: Very Hard difficulty via Overkill Mode
After beating the game, you will get access to Overkill Mode, which is the same as campaign but you have immediate access to all weapons and Skillshots. You will also have infinite ammo for a weapon if you completed all Skillshots in the main campaign for that particular weapon. This makes Very Hard an absolute cakewalk and you'll be able to beat it without too much trouble. There still are some chokepoints that you may get held up on. Most of these rely on luck, rather than skill, such as the train ride or helicopter part. Please note that Overkill Mode does not include the prologue. Make sure you play the prologue on Very Hard in the main campaign so that you get credit for beating the entire game. You can do this before or after completing the entire game in Overkill Mode so don't fret if you forget to do it before starting.
Step 3: Echo Mode
Echo Mode can be accessed separately in the main menu. There are 30 unique maps that must be completed with at least one star. You will also need to complete 20 of them with 3 stars, and have a grand total of 250,000 points. Lastly, there are a handful of miscellaneous achievements to earn in the later levels of Echo Mode. Keep all these in mind as you work your way through each level, none of which are particularly difficult to complete. If you can't seem to get three stars, skip it and try a different one until you can find 20 that you can do with relative ease.
Step 4: Anarchy Mode
The final step is Anarchy Mode. The good news is the grind for these achievements have been reduced in the Full Clip Edition. You can do the majority of these multiplayer achievements by yourself in an online lobby, but you will need a partner for 2 of them. Head over to the XBA Friend and Co-op Finder Thread to find someone to boost with.
Conclusion:
Personally I love Bulletstorm and think that the silly, dry humor of the story combined with the unique gameplay make for a great experience. Echo mode is a great way to introduce repeatability for you to gun for high scores on each portion of the story levels. Additionally, most of the Echo Mode and Anarchy Mode achievement grinds have been reduced from the original 360 version, making the completion much more manageable for everyone.
[XBA would like to thank Puppys for this Roadmap]