Full video review: https://youtu.be/BpfdlXL72XA
Take an umbrella and slap a gun on it and you get a pretty fun little fast-paced indie side scroller.
Gameplay & Movement
Gunbrella is a side scroller that emphasizes fast combat and fluid movement. Most enemies die in one or two shots and this leads to some faster paced gameplay, only helped by how quick the movement is here. Your gunbrella allows you to slide, jump, hover, and otherwise dash around very quickly and it makes for some really fun gameplay. It is never not satisfying to enter a room and dispatch all of the enemies while flying through the air and exiting without even touching the ground. The devs really did a good job making the movement fun and intuitive to use.
Combat
The combat is also quite fun, but not without its issues. Your gunbrella can make use of multiple ammo types, but I found the other ammo types so scarce that I only ever ended up using them for bosses and that just felt like wasted potential. The game could use more of those enemies too. It got a bit old fighting the same types over and over and while new ones were occasionally introduced, they lacked the variety to really get rid of that monotony.
That and the game has a bad habit of sticking these enemies with the simplest of attack patterns. Which unfortunately also extends to the bosses - probably the most hit or miss element of the entire experience. You get some really cool ones that have a bunch of cool moves and then other ones that seem like they should be this big and difficult thing, but end up having just a single move that they repeat the entire fight. Very disappointing there.
Aesthetic & Story
The level design is cool and leaves room for secrets and even full blown sidequests, the game world is incredibly detailed and I really liked the grungy pixel art aesthetic, the music has some standout tracks and matches that aesthetic, and the story actually is not that bad. I did not go into this game expecting the story to be such a large element, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a somewhat well thought out plot complete with characters that are genuinely interesting to talk to, dark humor that matches the setting, and even the ability to make decisions throughout the story that change certain outcomes. It is not something super complex, but it is engaging enough.
Length & Replayability
It took me just under five hours to complete the game and that is with doing some side quests along the way. The experience is rather linear and I cannot say that it is really that replayable as a result. That said, there are some sizeable side quests to clear if you are looking to squeeze additional time out of it, along with some achievements that could possibly require a second playthrough.
Performance
A bit disappointing that it appears to be locked to 60 fps, but otherwise, I had no issues with performance and no bugs to speak of. It is a very polished experience and plays well on both controller and keyboard and mouse.
Overall
Gunbrella is fast, fun, and violent - mixing a dark and grungy aesthetic with some very fluid and satisfying gameplay. It may be lacking in some areas - namely enemy variety, the boss fights, and the ammo types, but the rest of the experience makes up for it. I enjoyed my time with it and it’s a great way to kill five hours or so.
Take an umbrella and slap a gun on it and you get a pretty fun little fast-paced indie side scroller.
Gameplay & Movement
Gunbrella is a side scroller that emphasizes fast combat and fluid movement. Most enemies die in one or two shots and this leads to some faster paced gameplay, only helped by how quick the movement is here. Your gunbrella allows you to slide, jump, hover, and otherwise dash around very quickly and it makes for some really fun gameplay. It is never not satisfying to enter a room and dispatch all of the enemies while flying through the air and exiting without even touching the ground. The devs really did a good job making the movement fun and intuitive to use.
Combat
The combat is also quite fun, but not without its issues. Your gunbrella can make use of multiple ammo types, but I found the other ammo types so scarce that I only ever ended up using them for bosses and that just felt like wasted potential. The game could use more of those enemies too. It got a bit old fighting the same types over and over and while new ones were occasionally introduced, they lacked the variety to really get rid of that monotony.
That and the game has a bad habit of sticking these enemies with the simplest of attack patterns. Which unfortunately also extends to the bosses - probably the most hit or miss element of the entire experience. You get some really cool ones that have a bunch of cool moves and then other ones that seem like they should be this big and difficult thing, but end up having just a single move that they repeat the entire fight. Very disappointing there.
Aesthetic & Story
The level design is cool and leaves room for secrets and even full blown sidequests, the game world is incredibly detailed and I really liked the grungy pixel art aesthetic, the music has some standout tracks and matches that aesthetic, and the story actually is not that bad. I did not go into this game expecting the story to be such a large element, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a somewhat well thought out plot complete with characters that are genuinely interesting to talk to, dark humor that matches the setting, and even the ability to make decisions throughout the story that change certain outcomes. It is not something super complex, but it is engaging enough.
Length & Replayability
It took me just under five hours to complete the game and that is with doing some side quests along the way. The experience is rather linear and I cannot say that it is really that replayable as a result. That said, there are some sizeable side quests to clear if you are looking to squeeze additional time out of it, along with some achievements that could possibly require a second playthrough.
Performance
A bit disappointing that it appears to be locked to 60 fps, but otherwise, I had no issues with performance and no bugs to speak of. It is a very polished experience and plays well on both controller and keyboard and mouse.
Overall
Gunbrella is fast, fun, and violent - mixing a dark and grungy aesthetic with some very fluid and satisfying gameplay. It may be lacking in some areas - namely enemy variety, the boss fights, and the ammo types, but the rest of the experience makes up for it. I enjoyed my time with it and it’s a great way to kill five hours or so.
This game is rlly interesting. The movement is really cool and feels great to be able to get the hang of it. The story behind this game is also pretty good, i found it to be really interesting. Overall, this is a great, fun game albeit fairly short for the presentation and setup of it all. The only problems I'd say I have with it is the story's pacing. Things move 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 quickly. The soundtrack, and overall the entire sound design, of this game is phenomenal however.
O jogo é bom, a história e todo o mundo envolvido é cativante, tal como as personagens do jogo. Contudo, o controle é esquisito, ele parece não funcionar como deveria as vezes. De toda forma, um jogo que recomendo e vale seu preço
ending part of game good but feels like it needed more depth and bosses were bad
Great pixel artwork, some really killer tracks. A really by the numbers story I've seen from a lot of similar indies, Iconoclasts especially. While the gunbrella feels good to use there's not really any enemy that responds to it well - especially not bosses most enemies even on hard are easily punished by dashing into them. The utility of the umbrella function is really under utilised as well being a fun platforming mechanic with few areas for it to shine with any depth. Fun character portraits, animations, and flair are here but there's not much of substance it just looks very pretty.
interesting story and the rest is just ok
Mm ah yes, it appears we have a umbrella gun of sorts, ah yes, rather dapper indeed, ah yes indubitably (and other British sounding words)
Kingsman did it better
Kingsman did it better
The portmanteau of this game is the highlight.
I don’t just mean that the game’s title being memorable is all this game has going for it but Gunbrella’s biggest strength is the Gunbrella itself.
As a tool it is used for combat, traversal and tricks - the gun fires like a shotgun with the ZR trigger while tapping and holding R unfold an umbrella, using it while being attacked creates a shield, using it while falling causes you to glide like Mary Poppins, that would be enough but there is more. This “shield” has a parry as timing the opening just right can ricochet projectiles back whilst a simple tap while moving a direction also causes the protagonist to dash and finally if there are hooks they can be grabbed giving more options for traversal as they appear in the later levels.
Alongside usual hopping and wall jumping the Gunbrella makes this game a fun time to control if a little floaty.
Back during, I want to say, Steam NextFest this alone sold me on the game. It was a joy darting about through corridors, splating enemies, taking out turrets with their own attacks - it was slick, simple and responsive.
Sadly however the demo really did just show the best game had to offer as progression of systems is slow and arguably non-existent.
You do get different ammo types, grenades, machine gun bullets for a longer range and others but none of them ever feel as good as the default shotty.
Switching weapons is done simply using the d-pad but I found having more choices just meant flicking between them was more of a pain and I’d just sell most of it in-game for health items or the later, extremely unexciting upgrade system that increases strength and reload speed.
Enemy types seem to be diverse at first, the sewers have weird creatures whereas elsewhere on your mission above land you’re fighting cultists with their guns, magic and turrets but those two splits are mostly all there are too.
Levels too mostly feel quite similar, the dark grimy steampunk world of Gunbrella involves a lot of shades or brown and grey, later on there’ll be a bit of snow and the finale does bring a little more colour but again for the largest percentage of the game it feels quite the same.
Regarding the world of Gunbrella this is a point where it completely changed from my expectations and I wasn’t left either excited or majorly disappointed, once the credits rolled however I still just wondered about the logic in the design decision and whether or not the end game was what Doinksoft were even going for.
To explain, with a side-scrolling action platformer I was expecting a lot of extended stages of fighting through, moving right into another with an occasional boss.
What I was met with was much slower, the protagonist on a revenge mission to save his daughter and avenge his dead wife traveling slowly between chatting with NPCs to get leads that would eventually get you into action heavy levels, get a macguffin or piece of information and back into the crawl of doing so again.
I love stories in games, but here it just felt like it was trying to take the main stage on a game in a genre which is meant to be led by how it feels to play and not how you feel experiencing its story.
The story isn’t bad per say, it is just unremarkable and takes up more time with going back and forth with NPCs than it does letting you use the thing the game is named after.
I said by the credits I questioned if this is what Doinksoft were aiming for - in game you have a journal that gives you your objective but it is never more than one page and I never seemed to have more than one sidequest at a time. The way the objectives are presented says to me that there were going to be lots of quests, during the game there are conversation choices and whilst you do see some impact of your decisions it didn’t feel like it ever branched anywhere, just another thing to give the illusion that the game wouldn’t be linear and would branch out.
Non-linear isn’t something I was expecting going in and I wasn’t disappointed by the end when it wasn’t, but the choices in pacing and presentation made me feel like maybe the developers were worried about being labeled linear, that a journal to show objectives or conversational choices would hide their “shame” of simply being an excellent action-platformer and that’s weird.
Gunbrella was on my radar quickly because they made the excellent mini Metroidvania Gato Roboto which I thought was great, an excellent distillation of the genre, still had some of its own style and never outstayed its welcome. Gato Roboto never seemed to show hints of it trying to be anymore and that was fine, it aimed to be something and it succeeded.
Now Gunbrella has its own style, didn’t out-stay its welcome either but just feels a lot muddier and messier.
I almost feel bad because in a way I am saying that this game having ambition was a poor choice.
As far as what they did with this ambition, I found it a mixed bag.
The characters and dialogue are solid, the story while fairly cliché was good and the world with its hints of Lovecraft was good.
The dreary feel and colour did help create a world but not only did it make levels feel a little too similar as mentioned before, it also made some parts harder to navigate, back and foreground items not always being so clearly marked, invisible walls and odd edges occasionally ruining the flow - the world is cool but it was not concise.
The challenge or at least the curve barely went up due to lack of diversity and I always felt I was given tools but not much to do with them.
Even in combat encounters like bosses, the first two or three felt good and later on they either felt too easy, simple or even like a retread with the final boss just being disappointing.
Sadly disappointing is the word. I was expecting more from Gunbrella, coming into 2023 I believed this would be one of a handful of indie games that everyone should play and everyone would be talking about but instead 2023 has been too good that it has passed by and even somebody like me, who would prefer to shun the AAA and shout about the smaller titles, I find it unlikely I’m going to recommend this with such love as some of the other recent indie titles I’ve played even in the last few weeks.
Doinksoft have definitely got some great ideas, even though I’ve come out the end feeling quite cold I would like to see more Gunbrella because as I said from the start the Gunbrella itself is great - a thing to experience and enjoy, it just needs a better world to be carried through.
I don’t just mean that the game’s title being memorable is all this game has going for it but Gunbrella’s biggest strength is the Gunbrella itself.
As a tool it is used for combat, traversal and tricks - the gun fires like a shotgun with the ZR trigger while tapping and holding R unfold an umbrella, using it while being attacked creates a shield, using it while falling causes you to glide like Mary Poppins, that would be enough but there is more. This “shield” has a parry as timing the opening just right can ricochet projectiles back whilst a simple tap while moving a direction also causes the protagonist to dash and finally if there are hooks they can be grabbed giving more options for traversal as they appear in the later levels.
Alongside usual hopping and wall jumping the Gunbrella makes this game a fun time to control if a little floaty.
Back during, I want to say, Steam NextFest this alone sold me on the game. It was a joy darting about through corridors, splating enemies, taking out turrets with their own attacks - it was slick, simple and responsive.
Sadly however the demo really did just show the best game had to offer as progression of systems is slow and arguably non-existent.
You do get different ammo types, grenades, machine gun bullets for a longer range and others but none of them ever feel as good as the default shotty.
Switching weapons is done simply using the d-pad but I found having more choices just meant flicking between them was more of a pain and I’d just sell most of it in-game for health items or the later, extremely unexciting upgrade system that increases strength and reload speed.
Enemy types seem to be diverse at first, the sewers have weird creatures whereas elsewhere on your mission above land you’re fighting cultists with their guns, magic and turrets but those two splits are mostly all there are too.
Levels too mostly feel quite similar, the dark grimy steampunk world of Gunbrella involves a lot of shades or brown and grey, later on there’ll be a bit of snow and the finale does bring a little more colour but again for the largest percentage of the game it feels quite the same.
Regarding the world of Gunbrella this is a point where it completely changed from my expectations and I wasn’t left either excited or majorly disappointed, once the credits rolled however I still just wondered about the logic in the design decision and whether or not the end game was what Doinksoft were even going for.
To explain, with a side-scrolling action platformer I was expecting a lot of extended stages of fighting through, moving right into another with an occasional boss.
What I was met with was much slower, the protagonist on a revenge mission to save his daughter and avenge his dead wife traveling slowly between chatting with NPCs to get leads that would eventually get you into action heavy levels, get a macguffin or piece of information and back into the crawl of doing so again.
I love stories in games, but here it just felt like it was trying to take the main stage on a game in a genre which is meant to be led by how it feels to play and not how you feel experiencing its story.
The story isn’t bad per say, it is just unremarkable and takes up more time with going back and forth with NPCs than it does letting you use the thing the game is named after.
I said by the credits I questioned if this is what Doinksoft were aiming for - in game you have a journal that gives you your objective but it is never more than one page and I never seemed to have more than one sidequest at a time. The way the objectives are presented says to me that there were going to be lots of quests, during the game there are conversation choices and whilst you do see some impact of your decisions it didn’t feel like it ever branched anywhere, just another thing to give the illusion that the game wouldn’t be linear and would branch out.
Non-linear isn’t something I was expecting going in and I wasn’t disappointed by the end when it wasn’t, but the choices in pacing and presentation made me feel like maybe the developers were worried about being labeled linear, that a journal to show objectives or conversational choices would hide their “shame” of simply being an excellent action-platformer and that’s weird.
Gunbrella was on my radar quickly because they made the excellent mini Metroidvania Gato Roboto which I thought was great, an excellent distillation of the genre, still had some of its own style and never outstayed its welcome. Gato Roboto never seemed to show hints of it trying to be anymore and that was fine, it aimed to be something and it succeeded.
Now Gunbrella has its own style, didn’t out-stay its welcome either but just feels a lot muddier and messier.
I almost feel bad because in a way I am saying that this game having ambition was a poor choice.
As far as what they did with this ambition, I found it a mixed bag.
The characters and dialogue are solid, the story while fairly cliché was good and the world with its hints of Lovecraft was good.
The dreary feel and colour did help create a world but not only did it make levels feel a little too similar as mentioned before, it also made some parts harder to navigate, back and foreground items not always being so clearly marked, invisible walls and odd edges occasionally ruining the flow - the world is cool but it was not concise.
The challenge or at least the curve barely went up due to lack of diversity and I always felt I was given tools but not much to do with them.
Even in combat encounters like bosses, the first two or three felt good and later on they either felt too easy, simple or even like a retread with the final boss just being disappointing.
Sadly disappointing is the word. I was expecting more from Gunbrella, coming into 2023 I believed this would be one of a handful of indie games that everyone should play and everyone would be talking about but instead 2023 has been too good that it has passed by and even somebody like me, who would prefer to shun the AAA and shout about the smaller titles, I find it unlikely I’m going to recommend this with such love as some of the other recent indie titles I’ve played even in the last few weeks.
Doinksoft have definitely got some great ideas, even though I’ve come out the end feeling quite cold I would like to see more Gunbrella because as I said from the start the Gunbrella itself is great - a thing to experience and enjoy, it just needs a better world to be carried through.
Fun idea of a main mechanic and you can literally wavedash in this game which is cool, but the overall structure left me wanting a little more depth. Levels felt relatively basic. Bosses and story were pretty good though.
El pasado 13 de septiembre llegaba a PC y Nintendo Switch un llamativo juego de acción y plataformas de nombre Gunbrella. Desarrollado por doinksoft, estudio responsable del exitoso Gato Roboto (2019), y publicado por Devolver Digital, una de las editoras con más ojo del mundo indie. Con estos ingredientes y con la pinta que tenía en los tráileres llamó mi atención cuando lo presentaron hace ya unos meses y he tenido que probarlo en cuanto ha estado disponible.
La premisa es original y sencilla, eres un leñador con un arma que es mitad escopeta, mitad paraguas, al más estilo Mary Poppins. Así que deberás ir avanzando haciendo frente a multitud de enemigos y obstáculos mientras planeas y disparas. Original es un rato, eso ya os lo digo desde el principio. Para conocer el resto de lo que he encontrado os invito a seguirme en esta aventura.
Un leñador en busca de Venganza
En Gunbrella nos ponemos en el papel de un duro leñador que se encuentra de paseo por el bosque recogiendo setas, cuando al regresar a su hogar descubre que su mujer ha sido asesinada y que su bebe, una adorable niña, ha desaparecido. La única prueba que queda en el lugar del crimen es un arma especial, una gunbrella. Lleno de ira e impulsado por el motor de la venganza y el amor a su hija comenzará una investigación que le llevará a una gran aventura y a inmiscuirse en medio de una gran conspiración.
La historia que nos presenta este título de doinksoft es oscura y tiene un halo triste desde el principio, pero la verdad es que te hace empatizar con el protagonista y su venganza desde el principio. Desde que ves la intro hasta el final quieres ayudarle. Además, el argumento incluye sectarios diabólicos que invocan criaturas infernales y espectros, mafias corporativas, policías que hacen abuso de poder, la explotación de los recursos del planeta, la desigualdad de clases,… un montón de temas que hacen que la narrativa sea profunda y todo ello adornado con toques de humor para que no sea duro para el jugador.
La originalidad de Gunbrella, mitad arma, mitad paraguas
Si probamos este título de doinksoft descubriremos que es un juego de acción y plataformas de estilo muy clásico, en él se intuyen algunas mecánicas parecidas a un metroidvania por que nos podemos mover con libertad por unos escenarios muy ricos en secretos y ubicaciones, pero en realidad la trama y las misiones nos llevan de forma más o menos lineal desde el principio hasta el final. Cada pantalla suele tener un puñado de enemigos que te harán disfrutar de tu momento de sacar el arma y empezar a disparar.
Pero si hago hace que Gunbrella sea diferente al resto de juegos del género es su original arma, la que da nombre al título, que te permite planear, impulsarte en el aire o bajo el agua, devolver balas, protegerte,… es muy divertido de manejar cuando lo dominas y hace que los combates sean únicos y muy dinámicos. Además, es la forma ideal para superar los obstáculos que encontraremos, llegar a lugares de difícil acceso, agarrarnos a salientes y muchas cosas más.
Por si esto fuera poco, nuestra gunbrella cuenta con diferentes mejoras de potencia y velocidad de recarga, así como varios tipos de munición que incluyen desde balas de largo alcance a bombas lapa, pasando por sierras metálicas, granadas o lanzallamas. ¡Es el arma definitiva en cuanto a diversión!
El diseño de niveles tiene una estructuración bastante buena y da la sensación de que el mundo por el que nos movemos está bien conectado. Cada obstáculo esta pensado para ser superado gracias a alguna de las mecánicas de gunbrella. En algunas ocasiones nos hace pensar un poco hasta dar con la solución, pero en realidad a medida que lo dominas la mayoría de escollos que encontramos se supera con facilidad. Quizás me hubiese gustado un poco más de dificultad en el juego, he muerto 2 o 3 veces en todo el juego, y no me considero el jugador definitivo.
Las batallas contra los enemigos y jefes que saldrán a nuestro paso son divertidas y sangrientas. Los combates contra cada jefe cuentan con rutinas de movimientos y mecánicas de ataque que hacen que se sientan únicas y nos exijan cautela hasta aprenderlas. He echado de menos un poco más de variedad de enemigos o algún escenario donde haya un elevado número de ellos intentando acabar con nosotros, pero aún con todo es uno de los apartados mejor implantados en Gunbrella.
Una oscura y muy lograda ambientación
Gunbrella esta ambientado en un mundo distópico de estilo Noir-Punk y el apartado gráfico de estilo pixelado lo representa de forma sublime. Cada personaje esta diseñado con mucha personalidad al igual que los enemigos que encontraremos. Los escenarios que van desde pequeños pueblos, a ciudades, fábricas, montañas, minas, alcantarillados, sectas,… tienen un estilo propio y muy marcado con colores que abusan de los tonos marrones pero que le sientan muy bien estéticamente. Gráficamente es una pequeña obra de arte.
La banda sonora es realmente buena, y los efectos de sonido muy sorprendentes. Todo esta bien elegido, todo suena bien, desde los disparos, a los sonidos ambiente. De verdad que la ambientación esta muy lograda, pero gran parte de responsabilidad le corresponde a la música.
Conclusión
En conclusión, Gunbrella es un juego altamente recomendable, sobre todo si te gustan los juegos de acción llenos de sangre y píxeles. Como siempre, Devolver Digital no defrauda, y publica un título con alma y una historia profunda e interesante. Su estética noir-punk y el mundo distópico que han creado los artistas de doinksoft tiene una ambientación brillante, es perfecta para la historia que quieren contar.
Como punto negativo, es que tras acabarlo me he quedado con la sensación de que le falta algo, como si no estuviese terminado. Es una experiencia corta y muy divertida pero se echa de menos algo de contenido y un poco de dificultad. Su mayor arma, Gunbrella, un dispositivo perfecto para superar plataformas, obstáculos y todo tipo de enemigos que encontramos en nuestra aventura.
La premisa es original y sencilla, eres un leñador con un arma que es mitad escopeta, mitad paraguas, al más estilo Mary Poppins. Así que deberás ir avanzando haciendo frente a multitud de enemigos y obstáculos mientras planeas y disparas. Original es un rato, eso ya os lo digo desde el principio. Para conocer el resto de lo que he encontrado os invito a seguirme en esta aventura.
Un leñador en busca de Venganza
En Gunbrella nos ponemos en el papel de un duro leñador que se encuentra de paseo por el bosque recogiendo setas, cuando al regresar a su hogar descubre que su mujer ha sido asesinada y que su bebe, una adorable niña, ha desaparecido. La única prueba que queda en el lugar del crimen es un arma especial, una gunbrella. Lleno de ira e impulsado por el motor de la venganza y el amor a su hija comenzará una investigación que le llevará a una gran aventura y a inmiscuirse en medio de una gran conspiración.
La historia que nos presenta este título de doinksoft es oscura y tiene un halo triste desde el principio, pero la verdad es que te hace empatizar con el protagonista y su venganza desde el principio. Desde que ves la intro hasta el final quieres ayudarle. Además, el argumento incluye sectarios diabólicos que invocan criaturas infernales y espectros, mafias corporativas, policías que hacen abuso de poder, la explotación de los recursos del planeta, la desigualdad de clases,… un montón de temas que hacen que la narrativa sea profunda y todo ello adornado con toques de humor para que no sea duro para el jugador.
La originalidad de Gunbrella, mitad arma, mitad paraguas
Si probamos este título de doinksoft descubriremos que es un juego de acción y plataformas de estilo muy clásico, en él se intuyen algunas mecánicas parecidas a un metroidvania por que nos podemos mover con libertad por unos escenarios muy ricos en secretos y ubicaciones, pero en realidad la trama y las misiones nos llevan de forma más o menos lineal desde el principio hasta el final. Cada pantalla suele tener un puñado de enemigos que te harán disfrutar de tu momento de sacar el arma y empezar a disparar.
Pero si hago hace que Gunbrella sea diferente al resto de juegos del género es su original arma, la que da nombre al título, que te permite planear, impulsarte en el aire o bajo el agua, devolver balas, protegerte,… es muy divertido de manejar cuando lo dominas y hace que los combates sean únicos y muy dinámicos. Además, es la forma ideal para superar los obstáculos que encontraremos, llegar a lugares de difícil acceso, agarrarnos a salientes y muchas cosas más.
Por si esto fuera poco, nuestra gunbrella cuenta con diferentes mejoras de potencia y velocidad de recarga, así como varios tipos de munición que incluyen desde balas de largo alcance a bombas lapa, pasando por sierras metálicas, granadas o lanzallamas. ¡Es el arma definitiva en cuanto a diversión!
El diseño de niveles tiene una estructuración bastante buena y da la sensación de que el mundo por el que nos movemos está bien conectado. Cada obstáculo esta pensado para ser superado gracias a alguna de las mecánicas de gunbrella. En algunas ocasiones nos hace pensar un poco hasta dar con la solución, pero en realidad a medida que lo dominas la mayoría de escollos que encontramos se supera con facilidad. Quizás me hubiese gustado un poco más de dificultad en el juego, he muerto 2 o 3 veces en todo el juego, y no me considero el jugador definitivo.
Las batallas contra los enemigos y jefes que saldrán a nuestro paso son divertidas y sangrientas. Los combates contra cada jefe cuentan con rutinas de movimientos y mecánicas de ataque que hacen que se sientan únicas y nos exijan cautela hasta aprenderlas. He echado de menos un poco más de variedad de enemigos o algún escenario donde haya un elevado número de ellos intentando acabar con nosotros, pero aún con todo es uno de los apartados mejor implantados en Gunbrella.
Una oscura y muy lograda ambientación
Gunbrella esta ambientado en un mundo distópico de estilo Noir-Punk y el apartado gráfico de estilo pixelado lo representa de forma sublime. Cada personaje esta diseñado con mucha personalidad al igual que los enemigos que encontraremos. Los escenarios que van desde pequeños pueblos, a ciudades, fábricas, montañas, minas, alcantarillados, sectas,… tienen un estilo propio y muy marcado con colores que abusan de los tonos marrones pero que le sientan muy bien estéticamente. Gráficamente es una pequeña obra de arte.
La banda sonora es realmente buena, y los efectos de sonido muy sorprendentes. Todo esta bien elegido, todo suena bien, desde los disparos, a los sonidos ambiente. De verdad que la ambientación esta muy lograda, pero gran parte de responsabilidad le corresponde a la música.
Conclusión
En conclusión, Gunbrella es un juego altamente recomendable, sobre todo si te gustan los juegos de acción llenos de sangre y píxeles. Como siempre, Devolver Digital no defrauda, y publica un título con alma y una historia profunda e interesante. Su estética noir-punk y el mundo distópico que han creado los artistas de doinksoft tiene una ambientación brillante, es perfecta para la historia que quieren contar.
Como punto negativo, es que tras acabarlo me he quedado con la sensación de que le falta algo, como si no estuviese terminado. Es una experiencia corta y muy divertida pero se echa de menos algo de contenido y un poco de dificultad. Su mayor arma, Gunbrella, un dispositivo perfecto para superar plataformas, obstáculos y todo tipo de enemigos que encontramos en nuestra aventura.
tudo o q tenho a dizer sobre as críticas que vi desse jogo, é: cara, só tem 5 horas, relaxa.
AMEI a ambientação e a história desse aqui, me cativou muito e tem um ritmo muito bom. logo quando comecei a ficar cansado, cheguei na área final e zerei. todo jogo te enjoar ou não é muito subjetivo mas no caso desse aqui eu acho que deve ficar bem pior caso você morra muito e perca o ritmo da história (que é bem linear). eu por exemplo fiquei super entretido e o sentimento do início de "heheh o cara tem uma arma guarda-chuva" durou até o final.
mas sim, uma sequência disso aqui se sair tem MUITO POTENCIAL, principalmente por conta do level design. senti que os devs aqui se seguraram muito nessa parte. pra ser justo tem uma variedade até que boa de inimigos e logo quando a fase começava a me cansar, acabava avançando e esse sentimento sumia. mas muitas vezes um bom pacing disfarça os erros. esse jogo é tipo um broforce se broforce tivesse uma movimentação. agora imaginem o quão paia é um jogo com uma movimentação muito boa não te desafiar nessa movimentação. pense o quão sem graça seria hollow knight se, por exemplo, você podendo kickar nos espinhos ao bater neles não tivesse nenhuma plataforma que exija que você faça isso. imagine se mario 64 não fizesse você aprender e usar as mecânicas pra pegar as estrelas. se em quake não tivessem partes da fase que você precisasse usar o rocket launch. é mais ou menos esse "falta algo" que eu queria dizer com os devs tendo se segurado. é um level design muito simples que explora de maneira muito rasa as possibilidades criadas por essa movimentação deliciosa. uma pena msm papo reto.
no final creio que isso é (quase) irrelevante pq não impede em nada esse jogo de ser muito bom. só impede de ser muito melhor, tlg? enfim, eu adoro gato roboto tbm e esse estúdio ganhou meu coração de vez nesse aqui pq O PAI NÃO RESISTE A UM JAZZ VIBES DURO DESSES.
(também tem o bônus de ser aqueles "🗿🚬 capitalismo..."
AMEI a ambientação e a história desse aqui, me cativou muito e tem um ritmo muito bom. logo quando comecei a ficar cansado, cheguei na área final e zerei. todo jogo te enjoar ou não é muito subjetivo mas no caso desse aqui eu acho que deve ficar bem pior caso você morra muito e perca o ritmo da história (que é bem linear). eu por exemplo fiquei super entretido e o sentimento do início de "heheh o cara tem uma arma guarda-chuva" durou até o final.
mas sim, uma sequência disso aqui se sair tem MUITO POTENCIAL, principalmente por conta do level design. senti que os devs aqui se seguraram muito nessa parte. pra ser justo tem uma variedade até que boa de inimigos e logo quando a fase começava a me cansar, acabava avançando e esse sentimento sumia. mas muitas vezes um bom pacing disfarça os erros. esse jogo é tipo um broforce se broforce tivesse uma movimentação. agora imaginem o quão paia é um jogo com uma movimentação muito boa não te desafiar nessa movimentação. pense o quão sem graça seria hollow knight se, por exemplo, você podendo kickar nos espinhos ao bater neles não tivesse nenhuma plataforma que exija que você faça isso. imagine se mario 64 não fizesse você aprender e usar as mecânicas pra pegar as estrelas. se em quake não tivessem partes da fase que você precisasse usar o rocket launch. é mais ou menos esse "falta algo" que eu queria dizer com os devs tendo se segurado. é um level design muito simples que explora de maneira muito rasa as possibilidades criadas por essa movimentação deliciosa. uma pena msm papo reto.
no final creio que isso é (quase) irrelevante pq não impede em nada esse jogo de ser muito bom. só impede de ser muito melhor, tlg? enfim, eu adoro gato roboto tbm e esse estúdio ganhou meu coração de vez nesse aqui pq O PAI NÃO RESISTE A UM JAZZ VIBES DURO DESSES.
(também tem o bônus de ser aqueles "🗿🚬 capitalismo..."
Un juego que siendo honesto me decepcionó un poco; esperaba más, y más aún tras ver Gato Roboto. Aún así sigue siendo buen juego, es tan solo que se siente incompleto, especialmente por la duración de los entornos y la progresión. Como si estuviese especialmente recortado de contenido. Lo recomiendo en alguna rebajita
A pretty fun little experience. I am usually very bad at these types of games, but this one was a blast to play through and the platforming never reached a level that was just frustratingly difficult to complete. The story and characters are great and endearing and the ending was a nicely satisfying little cap-off to the whole adventure.
It pains me to say this game is very average. I really wanted to like this game as a kind of hidden gem. Aesthetically it is very cool. The world building is also well done. There are reoccurring characters that pop up that really make it feel like an adventure. The story is pretty good too. Some people complain that its too talky but if you like RPGs like then this is no big deal.
Where it falters to me is overall gameplay. While the gliding and shooting feels cool when you get the hang of it the level design, enemy design, and boss design is just average.
Where it falters to me is overall gameplay. While the gliding and shooting feels cool when you get the hang of it the level design, enemy design, and boss design is just average.
This review contains spoilers
Short, sweet, and to the point. Gorgeous artstyle, great soundtrack, a compelling story, great movement mechanics, and more. However, this game does have its flaws, leaving not much expansion to your movement arsenal, occasionally bugging out now and again, and some aspects feel a bit overlooked like the upgrade system.
The game bugs out every now and then (the biggest one I experienced being a guy I killed in a previous fight somehow coming back from the dead to help fight a giant rat), but that isn't much of a problem. It feels like some sounds are a bit too loud, while others are way too quiet (primarily the boss noises for the latter), but those can easily be fixed in a patch. The biggest issue for me would be the weapon balancing.
The weapon balancing however could use a bit of work, as I found myself not using most of the ammo types. I never used the sawblades, rifle ammo feels a bit too weak, grenades deal too little damage for their cost, and sticky bombs activate on opening the umbrella (an odd choice). The only auxiliary ammo type I used was the flamethrower, which is because it is simply too overpowered, annihilating bosses with ease, especially given how cheap the ammunition is. Most of the time the standard shot was what I used.
In spite of its flaws however, I do think that this game is really good, and was everything I hoped it would be when I saw the concept, and do recommend it greatly.
The game bugs out every now and then (the biggest one I experienced being a guy I killed in a previous fight somehow coming back from the dead to help fight a giant rat), but that isn't much of a problem. It feels like some sounds are a bit too loud, while others are way too quiet (primarily the boss noises for the latter), but those can easily be fixed in a patch. The biggest issue for me would be the weapon balancing.
The weapon balancing however could use a bit of work, as I found myself not using most of the ammo types. I never used the sawblades, rifle ammo feels a bit too weak, grenades deal too little damage for their cost, and sticky bombs activate on opening the umbrella (an odd choice). The only auxiliary ammo type I used was the flamethrower, which is because it is simply too overpowered, annihilating bosses with ease, especially given how cheap the ammunition is. Most of the time the standard shot was what I used.
In spite of its flaws however, I do think that this game is really good, and was everything I hoped it would be when I saw the concept, and do recommend it greatly.
Gunbrella me fez pensar sobre o quão bem celeste consegue fazer sua gameplay simples ser divertida pelo jogo inteiro, cada fase testa o jogador e suas próprias regras mantendo um interesse continuo. O motivo dessa comparação é que Gunbrella é um action plataformer simples que não consegue desenvolver novidades interessantes, a variedade de inimigos é extremamente limitada e seus conjuntos de movimentos são simples, os cenários não são interessantes de se navegar, os bosses são simples e honestamente, bem descartáveis, e a história é esquecível (tirando uma cena especifica que eu achei bastante legal).
A melhor parte do jogo é certamente o ato de controlar o protagonista, é preciso, satisfatório, e faz a exploração dos cenários mais tolerável. Mas não demora muito para a repetição atingir esse aspecto também, a mecânica de diferentes munições é honestamente inútil e nem um pouco satisfatória, você basicamente só utiliza nos bosses pela quantidade extremamente escassa que te dão. A progressão de personagem também não é nem um pouco satisfatória, aumenta dano, aumenta velocidade, pega pedaço de coração pra fazer um coração grande, deu pra entender.
Eu esperei bastante tempo por esse jogo e fico triste que acabei me decepcionando tanto com ele, mas acho que a base da movimentação do personagem tem bastante potencial, quem sabe em uma sequência.
A melhor parte do jogo é certamente o ato de controlar o protagonista, é preciso, satisfatório, e faz a exploração dos cenários mais tolerável. Mas não demora muito para a repetição atingir esse aspecto também, a mecânica de diferentes munições é honestamente inútil e nem um pouco satisfatória, você basicamente só utiliza nos bosses pela quantidade extremamente escassa que te dão. A progressão de personagem também não é nem um pouco satisfatória, aumenta dano, aumenta velocidade, pega pedaço de coração pra fazer um coração grande, deu pra entender.
Eu esperei bastante tempo por esse jogo e fico triste que acabei me decepcionando tanto com ele, mas acho que a base da movimentação do personagem tem bastante potencial, quem sabe em uma sequência.
Different than what I was expecting; this is far from a sprawling action platformer. It’s much more of an adventure game with action segments in between story beats. Moving the story forward is dependent on talking to NPCs, gathering and exchanging items, and learning more about this gritty steampunk setting.
The action is good but a little unfocused. It’s weird that this is an analog system; you can’t use the D-pad to move, and aiming is based more on a twin-stick system. They seemingly hedged their bets on the control scheme, because there’s a twin-stick/shoulder buttons option for control but it doesn’t always feel great, and using just the left analog and face buttons feels like you’re missing the full functionality of the aiming system. It still works and feels good most of the time, there’s just less of a focus on the action than I anticipated for a game called “Gunbrella”.
Overall I’m enjoying it; I’ve seen that it’s pretty short and the mystery at the center is compelling enough. If this system was put into a huge sprawling maps with deeper systems and upgrades it might interest me a little more, but it’s enjoying for the smaller experience that it is.
The action is good but a little unfocused. It’s weird that this is an analog system; you can’t use the D-pad to move, and aiming is based more on a twin-stick system. They seemingly hedged their bets on the control scheme, because there’s a twin-stick/shoulder buttons option for control but it doesn’t always feel great, and using just the left analog and face buttons feels like you’re missing the full functionality of the aiming system. It still works and feels good most of the time, there’s just less of a focus on the action than I anticipated for a game called “Gunbrella”.
Overall I’m enjoying it; I’ve seen that it’s pretty short and the mystery at the center is compelling enough. If this system was put into a huge sprawling maps with deeper systems and upgrades it might interest me a little more, but it’s enjoying for the smaller experience that it is.
It's fun as is but I think they needed to focus more on the gameplay than the story. As it stands the story is an interesting motivator but it shouldn't have been the focal point of the experience. The gunbrella is such a fun mechanic but it ultimately feels a little disappointing because the game never takes full advantage of it
it was fun to zoom around so idc
After following this game for quite some time and being interested in the fresh idea of using an umbrella for defence, I was really looking forward to playing this one and came into it with the best of intentions. However, the finished game leaves much to be desired.
Playtime: Finished playthrough at almost 7 hours, with all optional quests finished as far as I can tell.
Pros:
+ Cool Gunbrella movement and combat options
+ Neo-Noir setting is a fresh take
+ Quest book is detailed enough to not get stuck
+ Progression is generally quick and the pacing is fine
+ Decisions in dialogue scenes actively affect the plot
+ Bosses are tightly designed and not too difficult
+ Wraith hunting is pretty fun in the endgame
+ Soundtrack is okay for what it is
Cons:
- The game in general feels unfinished and unpolished...
- ...and there are still placeholders in the ending credits!
- Controlling the Gunbrella in mid-air is far too difficult
- Dark art style makes identifying important objects difficult
- Level design is barebones and mostly without surprises
- Most screens have invisible borders
- Enemy design makes no sense and does not fit the setting (frogs?)
- The economy of the world is pretty busted...
- ...and extra ammunition in particular is far too expensive
- Items for upgrading are far too rare (which can be exploited with honeycombs)
- Extra weapons are unnecessary for progress
- Dialog cannot be skipped or fast-forwarded
- Technical performance on Switch is pretty bad
- The fridging of the protagonist's wife is pretty anachronistic
- The story ends on a weird sequence and an unearned downbeat
Blagic Moments: Suffering a hard crash during a boss fight. Re-entering an old stage and not understanding why the literal geography of the place has changed. The final sequence and credits scene with placeholders instead of actual names of the voice actors.
Verdict:
Yes, the setting and central mechanic are as fun as the trailers made them look. But apart from the Gunbrella itself and the Mary Poppins movement and attacks it allows, there are plenty of elements in this game that feel unfinished, unpolished, or simply poorly thought out. From the lack of lighting in most areas and the difficulty or identifying important areas to the weird enemy designs that make no sense in this world and the lack of viable or cheap enough combat options, the team made a lot of weird design decision that keep the finished product from making much of an impact.
In a month - and year - as packed as this, you can safely skip this.
Playtime: Finished playthrough at almost 7 hours, with all optional quests finished as far as I can tell.
Pros:
+ Cool Gunbrella movement and combat options
+ Neo-Noir setting is a fresh take
+ Quest book is detailed enough to not get stuck
+ Progression is generally quick and the pacing is fine
+ Decisions in dialogue scenes actively affect the plot
+ Bosses are tightly designed and not too difficult
+ Wraith hunting is pretty fun in the endgame
+ Soundtrack is okay for what it is
Cons:
- The game in general feels unfinished and unpolished...
- ...and there are still placeholders in the ending credits!
- Controlling the Gunbrella in mid-air is far too difficult
- Dark art style makes identifying important objects difficult
- Level design is barebones and mostly without surprises
- Most screens have invisible borders
- Enemy design makes no sense and does not fit the setting (frogs?)
- The economy of the world is pretty busted...
- ...and extra ammunition in particular is far too expensive
- Items for upgrading are far too rare (which can be exploited with honeycombs)
- Extra weapons are unnecessary for progress
- Dialog cannot be skipped or fast-forwarded
- Technical performance on Switch is pretty bad
- The fridging of the protagonist's wife is pretty anachronistic
- The story ends on a weird sequence and an unearned downbeat
Blagic Moments: Suffering a hard crash during a boss fight. Re-entering an old stage and not understanding why the literal geography of the place has changed. The final sequence and credits scene with placeholders instead of actual names of the voice actors.
Verdict:
Yes, the setting and central mechanic are as fun as the trailers made them look. But apart from the Gunbrella itself and the Mary Poppins movement and attacks it allows, there are plenty of elements in this game that feel unfinished, unpolished, or simply poorly thought out. From the lack of lighting in most areas and the difficulty or identifying important areas to the weird enemy designs that make no sense in this world and the lack of viable or cheap enough combat options, the team made a lot of weird design decision that keep the finished product from making much of an impact.
In a month - and year - as packed as this, you can safely skip this.
Good platformer with an interesting movement system. Wish there was more. Game sequel baits at the end.
I wasn't really digging it my first hour of the game. I thought it was a game that's treading water and I did not like the combat really at all. But after pushing through, I find that this is a very solid indie game with a lot of charm and a great story. I also warmed up to the gameplay once more types of ammunition were introduced to prevent it from being stale and when I finally learned the movement. The pixel art is well done and stands out to me. I actually was pleasantly surprised by this games story and characters as I could not be bothered to care with that first negative hour. And man for 15 bucks this is a must buy for the quality. I was expecting to be way shorter than it was. There's a decent amount of content in a game like this that's priced that low. There were some moments during boss fights where I was frustrated, but that turned into satisfaction once I would learn the boss and finally beat it. The boss fights were all around very fun. There was a part where I went to a part of the game to grind for more cogs which you can use for powering up your gunbrella, and I got soft locked. Luckily, I went to the devs twitter where they already released a patch. I tweeted them with when the switch version would launch even though it was out and I didn't see it lol. They hit me back very quickly and were very nice. And sure enough, I closed the game and there the patch was to take me back to where I needed to be. Shout out to Doinksoft. Yeah definitely check this out.
I liked the concept but found the details lacking. The movement was good when it worked but often the controls felt sluggish. Also a few very obnoxious parts really frustrated me.
A fun game that was not hooking me at all story wise, but really had me dialed in with the combat. Nice to play a non-roguelike action game. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend to everyone, but I think it FEELS really good.
It's just that, for me, Gunbrella feels like it should be something much different than what it actually is. The namesake weapon feels surprisingly undercooked, the main mechanic of switching between a shotgun and an umbrella showing pretty much everything it has to offer in the first few minutes of gameplay. Other than that, the story is surprisingly rich, but that isn't really the kind of thing I'm looking for in this kind of game. It's fun for a while, but as the story evolves and the gameplay fails to do so, Gunbrella might start to wear out its welcome
Gunbrella deserves more attention than it has received. The game tells a gripping story in a unique and interesting world, all backed up by incredibly fun and nuanced gameplay. The soundtrack is also phenomenal, and notable songs such as the merchant's theme will continue to loop in my head for a long time. The only notable thing this game lacked was iteration on the core gameplay, as the ideas mostly end at the concept of the Gunbrella, leading to slightly repetitious level design and boss fight design.
What a weird rollercoaster of interest this was for me. This game was first announced at a Devolver Digital thing and I heard the name alone and I was interested. Then I heard it was the guys that did Gato Roboto and got excited. For a while I was just excited. Then I finally got a chance to play.
Gunbrella is interesting. When I finally got to playing it, I did so for a bit and then just kinda felt like "oh, this is it?" like it didn't really do much for me. Kinda just felt like a generic retro inspired jump and shoot game.
Then I started getting frustrated because it felt unnecessarily hard. EVERYTHING from wizards with energy fireballs to a simple BEE does the same amount of damage so you can die from fucking nothing after surviving against what feels like should be a decent gauntlet. There was at least a few times I cleared a room of enemies with one heart left, went to the next room, and then hit a bee I didn't see and died and had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. It got to the point where I would clear an area and then run back to the save and heal point so that if I died at least that room would still be clear.
Then something clicked. I got to the first boss and it fucking wiped the floor with me and I felt like I was doing NO damage. I almost gave in and was going to start the whole game over as there's no way to change the difficulty to lower once you've started. I thought back to how you could basically control the whole game from the shoulder buttons on the controller and suddenly it felt like a whole new game. Movement with the titular weapon flowed seamlessly and I was able to dispatch the boss fairly quickly.
Turns out, despite the simple naming of the thing, the Gunbrella is like easy to pick up but hard to master. At least for me it was. The game is truly built around the unique movements you gain using the gunbrella to its fullest. You shoot up into the air with it, glide down slow, use knockback from the shots, block with it, block in midair, use it to zipline and all these things in tandem make for exciting combat and platforming moments. Float in the air and block or even reflect shots and then return fire and keep floating down. It's exhilarating when you get into the groove of it.
Anyway, mechanics aside, the story is actually fairly interesting. I won't get to into it but its a personal tale of revenge with the backdrop of a ruined classist world and a twist of supernatural. Characters you meet along the way are actually decently memorable as well and choices you make regarding some of them lead to different dialogue choices and rewards.
Yeah this game is great. I think maybe a little better than I expected. It's the closest thing I've played to Cave Story in a long time and though it isn't as interesting as Cave Story I would say it's nearly as fun to play in its own way. Solid action game with some backtracking stuff that makes the world feel lived in and gives into the tone really well. Think I could recommend this to just about anyone who shows an interest. Might have to warn them it takes some getting used to though.
Gunbrella is interesting. When I finally got to playing it, I did so for a bit and then just kinda felt like "oh, this is it?" like it didn't really do much for me. Kinda just felt like a generic retro inspired jump and shoot game.
Then I started getting frustrated because it felt unnecessarily hard. EVERYTHING from wizards with energy fireballs to a simple BEE does the same amount of damage so you can die from fucking nothing after surviving against what feels like should be a decent gauntlet. There was at least a few times I cleared a room of enemies with one heart left, went to the next room, and then hit a bee I didn't see and died and had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. It got to the point where I would clear an area and then run back to the save and heal point so that if I died at least that room would still be clear.
Then something clicked. I got to the first boss and it fucking wiped the floor with me and I felt like I was doing NO damage. I almost gave in and was going to start the whole game over as there's no way to change the difficulty to lower once you've started. I thought back to how you could basically control the whole game from the shoulder buttons on the controller and suddenly it felt like a whole new game. Movement with the titular weapon flowed seamlessly and I was able to dispatch the boss fairly quickly.
Turns out, despite the simple naming of the thing, the Gunbrella is like easy to pick up but hard to master. At least for me it was. The game is truly built around the unique movements you gain using the gunbrella to its fullest. You shoot up into the air with it, glide down slow, use knockback from the shots, block with it, block in midair, use it to zipline and all these things in tandem make for exciting combat and platforming moments. Float in the air and block or even reflect shots and then return fire and keep floating down. It's exhilarating when you get into the groove of it.
Anyway, mechanics aside, the story is actually fairly interesting. I won't get to into it but its a personal tale of revenge with the backdrop of a ruined classist world and a twist of supernatural. Characters you meet along the way are actually decently memorable as well and choices you make regarding some of them lead to different dialogue choices and rewards.
Yeah this game is great. I think maybe a little better than I expected. It's the closest thing I've played to Cave Story in a long time and though it isn't as interesting as Cave Story I would say it's nearly as fun to play in its own way. Solid action game with some backtracking stuff that makes the world feel lived in and gives into the tone really well. Think I could recommend this to just about anyone who shows an interest. Might have to warn them it takes some getting used to though.
Solid gameplay with very minimal issues. I did find a way to cheese a few fights, which was unfortunate, but it was short enough that I could see myself coming back to this soon. Movement was UNREAL and the art was incredible too.
Gunbrella is a good solid game! Great visual, satisfying gameplay, simple yet captivating story. Nothing stood out as exceptional to me and its OK, not every game need to be revolutionary or ground breaking.
Primarily, it's a twin-stick shooter/2Dplatform where the protragonist progresses through small levels, each filled with unique enemies and boss fights. Adjusting to its controls may require a bit of finger gymnastics and could be slightly uncomfortable at first. However, once the titular weapon is mastered, it can reward the player with satisfying moves and actions.
After hearing some complaints on the game being too easy in at normal, I jumped directly into hard mode and found myself enjoying the challenge quite a bit: every room becomes some sort of a puzzle, forcing the player to find the best approach to tackle enemies and quickly master the Gunbrella to avoid death. This approach heightened the action sequences and allowed me to get more out of each level, despite some frustrating moments due to the lack of autosave and sparse resting benches.
The narrative sequences are surprisingly long for this genre of game. Gunbrella constantly alternates between action and linear story-driven moments, occasionally slowing down the pace of progression. Luckily, well-written dialogues, interesting sound and visuals keep things engaging throughout the 5-6 hours it takes to beat the game.
I believe better-designed levels and more creative uses of the Gunbrella could have elevated the game. However, overall, it was a nice experience that didn't overstay its welcome.
Primarily, it's a twin-stick shooter/2Dplatform where the protragonist progresses through small levels, each filled with unique enemies and boss fights. Adjusting to its controls may require a bit of finger gymnastics and could be slightly uncomfortable at first. However, once the titular weapon is mastered, it can reward the player with satisfying moves and actions.
After hearing some complaints on the game being too easy in at normal, I jumped directly into hard mode and found myself enjoying the challenge quite a bit: every room becomes some sort of a puzzle, forcing the player to find the best approach to tackle enemies and quickly master the Gunbrella to avoid death. This approach heightened the action sequences and allowed me to get more out of each level, despite some frustrating moments due to the lack of autosave and sparse resting benches.
The narrative sequences are surprisingly long for this genre of game. Gunbrella constantly alternates between action and linear story-driven moments, occasionally slowing down the pace of progression. Luckily, well-written dialogues, interesting sound and visuals keep things engaging throughout the 5-6 hours it takes to beat the game.
I believe better-designed levels and more creative uses of the Gunbrella could have elevated the game. However, overall, it was a nice experience that didn't overstay its welcome.
Solid game, fun gameplay, cool aesthetic. There are a few parts I'm not sold on, mainly the saving and loading system, but overall I had a fun time.