I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when booting up Gunbrella as I hadn’t heard a huge amount of buzz online. All I really knew was it would be a 2D action game published by Devolver, and honestly that’s enough to grab my attention.
After now completing the game in full I can confidently say that I would describe Gunbrella as a 2D action, story platformer. I say this because at any given point in time you will be battling enemies and bosses in a dungeon, following up on NPC’s and side-quest or traversing a snowy mountain Celeste style. Gunbrella is many things but it almost feels like it’s not quite enough of any one thing. I could almost say my problem with Gunbrella is that it feels stretched quiet thin between ideas and gameplay concepts without enough room to develop encounters around them.
Firstly the combat feels great but really struggles to be more than use your main gun while dodging some relatively easy attacks. Your given a variety of different limited ammo types but at no given point does it feel like they are required or better than the infinite ammo starting weapon. Your weapon has a few utilities such as a parry to deflect bullets, a dash to push enemies back and a shield to block gunfire. All of these are quiet fun and feel very fluid when fighting however they are not at all required to succeed. This is unfortunately because the enemy AI is generally quite dumb and focuses on placement rather than challenging combat. Similarly to regular enemies, boss encounters are almost trivial as, often they repeat the same move consecutively for most of the fight. I’m not sure if this is a bug or accidentally cheese but despite their creative or interesting design it makes what should be exciting encounters, quiet lacklustre.
Unlike combat I loved the atmosphere and the story about revenge with a creepy Lovecraftian undertone. It really makes you feel like a lone ranger hunting his prey no matter the cost. The soundtrack and sound design while traversing the world is desperate and worn out, which perfectly captures the vibe I feel Gunbrealla is going for. There are multiple instances where you will be given side quest or options involving side characters. This can lead to multiple outcomes however they don’t seem to have significant impact on the game outside of different dialog or vendor options.
Looking back at Gunbrella I feel a little let down as it has a lot of potential but doesn’t really shine in its gameplay or traversal. I feel that a longer run time or more challenging in depth dungeons could remedy my concerns. However, this doesn’t subtract from the intriguing story or the art and soundtrack which honestly were the highlights for me. Id absolutely recommend giving Gunbrella a go if it’s concept or style interest you, but it might be better to go in with tempered expectations.
After now completing the game in full I can confidently say that I would describe Gunbrella as a 2D action, story platformer. I say this because at any given point in time you will be battling enemies and bosses in a dungeon, following up on NPC’s and side-quest or traversing a snowy mountain Celeste style. Gunbrella is many things but it almost feels like it’s not quite enough of any one thing. I could almost say my problem with Gunbrella is that it feels stretched quiet thin between ideas and gameplay concepts without enough room to develop encounters around them.
Firstly the combat feels great but really struggles to be more than use your main gun while dodging some relatively easy attacks. Your given a variety of different limited ammo types but at no given point does it feel like they are required or better than the infinite ammo starting weapon. Your weapon has a few utilities such as a parry to deflect bullets, a dash to push enemies back and a shield to block gunfire. All of these are quiet fun and feel very fluid when fighting however they are not at all required to succeed. This is unfortunately because the enemy AI is generally quite dumb and focuses on placement rather than challenging combat. Similarly to regular enemies, boss encounters are almost trivial as, often they repeat the same move consecutively for most of the fight. I’m not sure if this is a bug or accidentally cheese but despite their creative or interesting design it makes what should be exciting encounters, quiet lacklustre.
Unlike combat I loved the atmosphere and the story about revenge with a creepy Lovecraftian undertone. It really makes you feel like a lone ranger hunting his prey no matter the cost. The soundtrack and sound design while traversing the world is desperate and worn out, which perfectly captures the vibe I feel Gunbrealla is going for. There are multiple instances where you will be given side quest or options involving side characters. This can lead to multiple outcomes however they don’t seem to have significant impact on the game outside of different dialog or vendor options.
Looking back at Gunbrella I feel a little let down as it has a lot of potential but doesn’t really shine in its gameplay or traversal. I feel that a longer run time or more challenging in depth dungeons could remedy my concerns. However, this doesn’t subtract from the intriguing story or the art and soundtrack which honestly were the highlights for me. Id absolutely recommend giving Gunbrella a go if it’s concept or style interest you, but it might be better to go in with tempered expectations.