Fast, loud, and relentlessly fun
We love an indie success story here at Gamezebo, and we think Guinea Pig Gunner may very well be the next one. And if you don’t believe us you can check out the just released demo for the fast paced platformer on Steam right here.
It’ll whet your appetite for what’s to come, and we’ve had some time to play around with it since having a go on a test build a few months ago – so let’s take a look, shall we?
What is it?
First up there’s the plot, and it’s actually a pretty interesting one. Based in the 22nd century the Federation of Earth has unleashed Gunner – a cyborg guinea pig who is tasked with fighting a reptilian race called the Terranublans. Oh, and these lizards also worship a rogue AI focused on world and galactic domination. So there’s that.
What this basically boils down to is a load of stages which you have to double jump, wall jump, and dash through. The demo allows you to gun your way through the first level, Earth City, and there are some very welcome (but not intrusive) in-game tutorial sections to help you get the hang of things.
Because as you’d expect with the main character called Gunner there’s a lot of gunplay involved. There are eight weapons available in the main game, and the arsenal has been finely tuned to make sure you’re well equipped to take on anything the game throws at you.
There are rockets, grenades, flamethrowers, firebombs, and much more besides – with each one allowing you to approach enemies in a range of unique and quite frankly massively destructive ways.
How does it play?
Which is just as well, as the combat is definitely not on the easy side (even in the opening level) with enemies often very aggressive – shooting on sight in most cases. Things never feel unfairly stacked against you though, and we never ran away from a gunfight. Mainly as doing so would end badly anyway.
In terms of the aesthetic and general feel we really enjoyed the classic stylings here too. Lots of original, expressive character animations, and bright, colourful environments. The custom soundtrack, a collision of breakcore, industrial, house, and dubstep, hits as hard as the gameplay demands.
There are some clear inspirations to classics such as Earthworm Jim, but Guinea Pig Gunner plays faster and more aggressively than most of its peers. The dash is as much a combat tool as a traversal move, and the movement has a fluidity that puts it closer to Sonic or Doom Eternal than a standard Contra-style run and gun.
There’s a good variety in the enemies you face too, with certain foes dropping new weapon types on death. Overall fights feel fast-paced and hectic, but never overwhelming. The game has enough substance to challenge people who have experience with run and gun titles, while being accessible to those less familiar with the genre.
Anything else?
The teleporter gun adds a strategic dimension too. It allows you to fire a projectile and then teleport to its location by hitting the firing button again. This adds another layer to the combat and is one more reason why we’re very excited to see when the full game launches.
So make sure you download the demo for Guinea Pig Gunner now, and why not wishlist it while you’re at it? This isn’t a game you’ll want to miss when it launches later this year, and we’ll likely post a full review when it’s available.
