Bulletstorm/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Grayson Hunt

A former Dead Echo Squad member, he and his team betrayed their superior (Sarrano) after they discovered that they were doing "dirty" jobs and not being told all the details; Sarrano had ordered them to kill an innocent man - a reporter named Bryce Novak - who had discovered too much about Dead Echo "erasing" civilians. Grayson and his crew then flee to the outer edge of known space in self-exile and take up piracy, raiding Confederacy ships and depots to get by. Extremely cynical, resentful and harboring a drunken disposition, Gray is pissed at the world, a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any second, which makes him both a dangerous and a skilled soldier.

Tropes related to the weapons Grayson uses alongside the game go in the main page.

  • Actor Allusion: Gray shares a similar style haircut to that shown by Wolverine. Steven Blum was the voice of Wolverine for many games and series, including Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Wolverine and the X-Men and Hulk Vs.
    • He also resembles Jack Black in both looks (although he's a little more physically fit) and personality.
  • The Alcoholic: He can slake his thirst for hooch by toking entire bottles of the local firewater in one go, stumbling around for a few moments then immediately sobering up. The Booze Based (De)Buff this awards the player gives additional points for kill enemies while under the influence. Alternatively the player can opt to make him a teetotaler by destroying bottles he finds instead of emptying them. Both options give a Achievement/Trophy for finding each one in the campaign.
  • Anti-Hero
  • The Atoner: A significant part of Grayson's character development is him attempting to atone for doing all of those assassinations for Sarrano and later getting nearly his entire crew killed in a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Ishi ultimately agrees that he's trying to make amends.
  • Boisterous Bruiser

"They don't teach that in bootcamp! Woohoo!"

"Hey, dick-tits! This game ain't gonna preorder itself!"

  • David vs. Goliath: Taking down Sarrano and the Ulysses with a ship much, much smaller and with considerably inferior armaments than the latter.

Grayson: "Sank your battleliner is what we did. Took down your prize warbird with a Class D Spectre. That's gotta sting a bit."

  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Determinator: He's lost everything, either because of his own mistakes, because of Sarrano, or because of his need for revenge. But he's not going to give up on it, nor is he going to give up on getting Ishi off-world.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: He has gone to some pretty insane lengths for the sake of revenge.
  • Expy: Grayson is a foul-mouthed, drunken soldier who enjoys his work and is voiced by Steve Blum. All he needs is to be a half-meter shorter, bright red hair, and a big axe and he's Oghren.
    • Alternatively, he could sober up a bit, swear less and have been born in the 1920's and presto! We get Dempsey.
    • Pssh, please. Get rid of the gun and give him some Admantium Claws and, ta-da, Wolverine.
  • Fingerless Gloves
  • Grayson Hunt Is About To Kick You In The Face
  • Hidden Depths: Grayson hides some surprising intelligence behind the foul-mouthed bruiser he projects. Sometimes he proves to be oddly eloquent and aware of literary conventions, and does his own Layman's Terms for Trishka and Ishi's technobabble. He even quotes Moby Dick in the intro when he rams his ship into the Ulysses. This can be explained by the fact that Special Ops commandos include intelligence in their selection criteria, and Gray was the leader of one such team.
  • Ho Yay / Gay Bravado: With Ishi, see further down.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal - Although he can only carry three guns at a time, you can only see the assault rifle on his back during cutscenes.
  • I Call It Vera: He names the giant monster robot Waggleton P. Tallylicker.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He loves killing and being brutally cruel to his opponents, but this is juxtaposed with the fact that the entire reason he turned on Sarrano was because he was having them kill innocents, he orders Ishi to protect an innocent bystander, and that his driving motivation for most of the game is to get Ishi off the planet so he can be properly treated.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Initially it seems like he's just out for a Roaring Rampage of Revenge purely because Sarrano betrayed him, but towards the end it looks more and more like he's convinced himself (perhaps because of some of the things Ishi and Sarrano have said) that it's not just about revenge, it's about doing the right thing and making amends for all of the suffering he's caused to innocent people.
  • Kicked Across The Room: He's a graduate of the Duke Nukem school of putting your foot through things. Not only does it send enemies flying, it also sends them into slow motion and does a fair bit of damage besides. More importantly, it's key to setting up many skillshots.
  • Lame Comeback: When he tries to convince Trishka to help them, she bluntly refuses and they have a massive argument.

Trishka: Go fuck yourself! You shit piles give chase and I will kill your dicks!
Grayson: What? You're gonna kill my dick? What does that even mean!? I'll... I'll kill your dick! How about that!

Ishi: "You see a way across?"
Grayson: "Yeah, I think so."
Trishka: "As long as you do it quiet."
*Grayson kicks a sign over the chasm, inadvertently destroying HALF A BUILDING in the process*
Trishka: "...it is crazy how stupid you are."
Grayson: "Hey, at least we don't have to whisper anymore!"

  • One-Man Army: Even on the higher difficulty settings, your killcount will far outstrip the help your supporting characters give you.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: He leans toward this when he gets control of a giant robot.
  • Redemption Quest: To "fix" Ishi. Ishi even lampshades this at one point.
  • Red Oni to Ishi's Blue Oni.
  • Sociopathic Hero
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Throughout the game, he fights alongside a lot of the people who he either dislikes or is disliked by, with only survival trumping their need to shoot one another instead of the dangerous criminals and/or mutants trying to kill them.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: From the moment the game begins and beyond. The game begins with him very drunk and ordering a self-destructive Roaring Rampage of Revenge on a drunken whim.
    • Late in the game, even Sarrano pokes at Grayson for all of the deaths that he's caused due to his actions. And Sarrano is no saint. Of course, it's mostly because Sarrano is a dick, and gets his jollies off of messing with people's heads, but still.

Ishi Sato

Essentially both The Lancer and The Smart Guy, Ishi is the most distressed by the group's "repurposing" into assassins during the prologue. He is the voice of reason, tempering Grayson's (self)destructive tendencies.

  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: His robot half. Mostly because he's only got half its brain, and even that is operating off a dodgy connection.
  • Blue Oni to Grayson's Red Oni.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: In the end of the game, he has finally surrendered to the AI and is now on Sarrano's side.
  • Came Back Wrong: Post surgery.
  • The Comically Serious: At least at the beginning.
  • Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Post-injury. Vaguely justified as since the doc had to use the processor from a nearby robot to fix his brain, its AI is trying to take control, because A.I. Is a Crapshoot. It zig-zags back and forth from there.
    • In this universe it seems Cybernetics Eat Your Soul happens if it's an emergency patch job, with little to no proper supplies, you're missing half your brain and need them replace with a combat robot's, the doctor gets an axe to the back during the process, in constant pain because of the rushed patch job, and you're pissed at the guy who caused it to happen to you.
  • Deadpan Snarker: In contrast to Grayson's Boisterous Bruiser tendencies. Funnily enough, the resurgence of his snarky tendencies is taken by an overjoyed Grayson as a sign of recovery.
  • Hollywood Cyborg: He gets half his body burnt to a crisp and is subjected to a rather slap-dash operation that fuses him with a bunch of nearby robot parts. It really hurts, and his mind has been partially cyborged resulting in him going Terminator whenever he's pissed.
  • Ho Yay / Gay Bravado: With Grayson. Ishi invokes this:

Grayson: "Nice view. You wanna make out? Just two gruff, military hardened dudes sitting in an elevator, snuggling out their woes in a totally hetero way."

Ishi: "Heh."

Grayson: "Ooh, that's a nervous chuckle. Either your human side gets it, or your computer side likes the way I look in these pants."

Ishi: "A little of both, perhaps."

Grayson: "Hey, I'm not judgin', I'm just a good lookin' man."

  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: When Sarrano uses his special leash to control him into trying to kill Grayson. Grayson fights it long enough for Ishi to throw off Sarrano's control.
  • I Owe You My Life: The only reason he was following Grayson around at the beginning. Since Grayson nearly got him killed all over again, Ishi pretty much figures that's the end of that.
  • Morality Pet: Grayson's concern for his wellbeing is perhaps our protagonist's primary humanising element.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: When his homicidal robot half is in control, his bionic eye glows a mean red as opposed to its typical electric blue.
  • Shout-Out: To I Robot.

Ishi: The logic is undeniable!

Trishka Novak

Commander and last survivor of Serrano's ill-fated Final Echo team.

  • Action Girl: The second time you meet her, she`s beating two Creeps to death.
  • Captain Obvious: Invoked by name when Gray points out that the collapsing building is, indeed, collapsing.

Grayson: This thing is going down!
Trishka: Thank you, Captain Obvious!

  • Capulet Counterpart
  • The Chick
  • Deus Ex Machina: When she shows up to rescue Grayson and Ishi just as it looks like they're about to be stuck with the DNA Bomb. Grayson actually calls it a Deus Ex Machina, even. But they Never Found the Body, so it was bound to happen eventually.
  • Gainax Bounce: She has a bit of this.
  • Ms. Fanservice: The developers made sure not to overdo it though; some dev interviews mention that they tried to strike a balance between "cute" and "practical". The result is that Triska is wearing military fatigues and combat boots from the waist down, while from the waist up she's wearing a tank top. It's actually pretty effective at making her look both attractive and like a practical soldier.
  • Not Quite Dead
  • Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Trishka is supposed to be Polish, her bio states she was born in Warsaw, but she sounds like she's from the Southern United States.
  • The Reveal: Towards the end of the game, she reveals that Novak, the man Dead Echo assassinated in the prologue chapter, was her father; she was the little girl Ishi found waiting just outside the office. Later, an in-universe example: Serrano tells Trishka that Grayson's Echo squad (specifically, Grayson himself) were the ones who pulled the trigger.
  • Sexy Walk: How she's introduced, Just after she's done curb stomping a Creeper.
  • Sobriquet: "Lovely Bitter".
  • You Killed My Father: Her motivation for going after Sarrano, and later, Gray. Then Sarrano again.

Whit "Doc" Oliver and Rell Julian

Two of Grayson's squadmates before the betrayal - Doc is The Medic and Rell handles explosives.

General Sarrano

General of the Confederate Army, likely one of their highest ranking officers and almost certainly personally responsible for the creation Dead/Heavy/Final/etc. Echo trooper lines, designed as his personal shock troopers.

  • Anticlimax Boss: It's a series of quick-time events wherein Gray subjects him to a kill the player has most likely subjected hundreds of insignificant mooks to over the course of the game. It's an awesome cutscene, but you still can't help but feel a little cheated.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking / Four-Star Badass: He can definitely hold his own.
    • He does not seem to have left his crashlanding site since touchdown (likely several hours) and was almost certainly under attack by the locals almost the entire time.
  • Badass Longcoat
  • Bad Boss: Especially in Anarchy Mode.
  • Big Bad
  • Card-Carrying Villain:, He's an unrepentantly selfish, unpleasant Complete Monster, whose machinations become clear over the course of the game.

"My manipulatin' hasn't even begun!"

    • And he's completely open about it to the player and the characters: he doesn't even PRETEND to be anything other than a class A douchebag.
      • At one point in the game, he clarifies to Grayson and Ishi that the Burnouts are not mutated convicts. They are mutated tourists who fled underground to get away from the rampaging convicts on the surface. As he informs Gray that the monster he just violently exploded could have been a kindly old schoolteacher and mother of three, he laughs his ass off. Ishi gives him a Dude, Not Funny.
  • Carpet Various Letters Bombing: If Grayson and the rest are cluster-bombers, Serrano is a carpet bomber, saturating the ears of anyone playing the game with horrendous and creative profanity. Even Grayson calls him a "potty-mouth," which is saying something.
  • Compensating for Something: It's thought by many people that twelve-year old gamer brats will compensate for their youth and immaturity via Cluster F-Bomb. Now, seeing as Sarrano is described down below as a Psychopathic Manchild, and Grayson once says "Easy, general. Just let the overcompensating come naturally," what does that remind you of?
  • Deconstruction/TakeThat: Can be very easily read of one of the Mall Ninja/12-year old Call of Duty player crowd. Firstly, he's a deconstruction of said crowd as they, being obsessed with the military, often dream of being in it—and Sarrano shows just how they might be in real life. Secondly, with his constant swearing and childish mannerisms, he acts like an especially psychopathic 12-year old cursing at you over your headset. Thirdly, he's a sociopath, and not the heroic kind, and thus outfits his team with weapons he sees as 'cool' and causes absolutely horrific amounts of destruction. The Skillshots system? Those are used to earn resupplies. If the men don't do well enough, they do not get ammo, and are left to die. Rewarding people for killing enemies in cool ways sounds a lot like COD.
  • Depopulation Bomb: The entire reason why he and the Ulysses were at the planet was to drop a "DNA bomb" on Stygia that will kill all organic life on the planet, allowing the corporations to rebuild from the ground up. Naturally, said bomb goes off at the climax of the game, wiping the planet clean.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: Though he's technically a general, his never-ending verbal assault makes him seem more like this.
  • Evil Laugh: Sarrano has bastardized this with Giggling Villain and created his own delightful brand of sociopathic, psychotic cackling and laughing.
  • Faux Affably Evil
  • Hollywood Cyborg: He's implied to have become this in the end, but we don't actually see anything.
  • General Ripper
  • Jerkass
  • Karmic Death: Or maybe not...
  • Large Ham / Evil Is Hammy: Hammier than a bunch of "twelve-year-old gamer-brat" mentioned below during a Call of Duty match.
  • Love to Hate
  • Nice Hat: He wears a snappy lookin' beret to complement his Badass Longcoat.
  • Not Quite Dead: Unlike Trishka's one, it's a genuine plot twist, given that we're actually able to see him give Grayson his last "Afterburner"/"Voodoo Doll" combo. And then there's the post-credits scene...
  • Politically-Incorrect Villain: In addition to swearing more foully than everyone else in the game put together, he makes a few racist or sexist jabs at Ishi and Trishka.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: More specifically, a senior, decorated military officer with the general attitude of a twelve-year-old gamer-brat.
  • Sir Swearsalot
  • Smug Snake
  • Spell My Name with an "S": It's Sarrano, not Serrano!
  • Troll
  • What Measure Is a Mook?: He likes to remind you that the people you're killing have families and were just doing their jobs. He's just doing it to unnerve you and piss you off, though, since he cares even less about their lives.
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