Now I need my very own Gunbrella, ella-ella, ayy, ayy, ayy.
Doinksoft, makers of Gato Roboto, are again once more with one other Devolver printed title in Gunbrella. You play a gruff, cloaked particular person who totes the titular Gunbrella on a quest for revenge, after coming dwelling to search out his spouse murdered in chilly blood. The gritty, darkish setting of the sport works nicely for the detective noir-style story, and twists within the story make for a reasonably thrilling playthrough, even when the gunplay itself generally is a little sparing. Strong gameplay total, a wide range of sidequests, and a few humorous dialogue exchanges anchor the expertise, however there are some irritating softlock bugs that hinder enjoyment of the 6 to 8-hour playthrough.
As you pursue your spouse’s killer, you’ll come throughout a cult, a bunch of scrappers, a wide range of frequent folks, and a sect of non secular zealots, all of whom perform as associates or foes in your journey. Many various individuals will give you duties to finish that may reward you with cash to spend on objects, gears to improve your weapon, and even coronary heart items to extend your well being meter. The minute-to-minute gameplay blends journey recreation trappings of finishing sidequests whereas working in direction of the evolving most important quest of studying extra concerning the Gunbrella and discovering the perpetrator accountable for destroying your glad household. Dungeon-like areas exterior of the handful of cities provide platforming challenges and a smattering of minor enemies to blast into oblivions; occasionally, you’ll encounter robust boss fights that will require you to tug out completely different ammo varieties you may acquire, comparable to rifle bullets and grenades, or shortly whip out consumable objects like apples and bandages.
Motion in Gunbrella is a noticeable energy; along with strolling and leaping, you may press the R button to open your Gunbrella for blocking projectiles or to carry out a touch in any route. The mix of wall leaping and dashing is used all through the sport to scale mine shafts, keep away from acid swimming pools, and leap from mountain ledge to mountain ledge. Throw in a touch of capturing at turrets, tentacles, and even supernatural entities, and also you’ve bought a recipe for a superb time. That stated, you shouldn’t count on Gunbrella (even with its title) to be heavy on the gunplay; there’s simply as a lot speaking to strangers and exploring 2D areas as there are shotgun blasts. Fortuitously, you have got numerous alternatives to make significant choices; sparing somebody’s life can result in rewards down the street, so it’s finest to consider carefully earlier than pulling the set off with reckless abandon.
Talking of 2D areas, there’s a beautiful sense of layering to the backgrounds in Gunbrella, as you roam its dingy, virtually post-apocalyptic environments, you’ll discover a number of parts within the background shifting together with you. The detailed pixel artwork is enticing by itself, however the way in which through which foreground and again play off one another makes for a really nice aesthetic expertise. The audio expertise, alternatively, is a bit missing: the sound results work nicely, however there’s virtually nothing in the way in which of memorable music, until you’d classify foreboding and atmospheric silence as an earworm.
Sadly, my pre-launch playthrough was hampered by a wide range of bugs. The worst amongst them was a softlock that occurred on the last boss, the place its demise animation by no means ended. I used to be glad to study {that a} patch was launched to repair this specific bug. One other such situation arose earlier on, but it surely was solved by merely restarting from my final save level, and fortunately there’s a frequent auto-save along with a beneficiant quantity of guide, health-restoring relaxation factors.
Having performed each Gato Roboto and Gunbrella, I’d say that the previous is the stronger total expertise, edging out the latter due to its progress-halting bugs (which can be largely hammered out throughout the recreation’s launch). The environment and motion skills of Gunbrella are glorious, however the lack of enemies and alternatives to make use of the titular weapon are a bit disappointing. In case you choose extra of an adventure-game bent to your action-platformer, then Gunbrella is certainly price a glance, even when its rain-shielding, double-barreled body might use just a little extra polish and much more goal follow.