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Arcade gameplay, cheap thrills, mindless fun | Gungrave G.O.R.E. - Full Review

2K View2022-11-24

Bullets, beauty, badass. That’s the tagline of Gungrave G.O.R.E. a newly released third person action shooter game for the PC, Xbox, and Playstation. As with the tagline, Gungrave G.O.R.E. is full of bullets, a beautiful display of fireworks, and a badass protagonist to boot.

🟩Pros

+bullet hell madness

+old school arcade gameplay

+metal soundtrack that compliments the combat

🟥Cons

-heavy movement and control mechanics

-PS2 era animations and visual feel

-only one weapon set for the whole game (pistols and coffin)

Gungrave is back

If you are a fan of the somewhat obscure Gungrave series from the PS2 era, and the Anime that followed after it, you’re in luck, as Gungrave is back. Gungrave G.O.R.E. feels exactly like the same games you’ve played almost 20 years ago, perhaps a little too exact: Auto-targeting, unlimited ammo, hit combos, big-ass coffin behind you all the time, and ridiculously visually cluttering gunfights.

All the hallmarks of eastern video game influence are heavily present in this game. Anime style action, anime soundtrack, crazy big weapons, and the most important of all: cool hairstyles.

Aside from the Gungrave series itself, the game also reminded me of the game Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. The main character looks the same, guns are also the focus, and tones are similar. The two pistols in Gungrave are even named Cerberus. The similarities are just uncanny.

Less talk, more kill

You mostly control Grave, a tall slim brooding man armed with two pistols and a coffin behind his back for the duration of the whole game.

Against Grave are the worldwide drug cartel Raven Clan, who would stop at nothing to spread the dangerous narcotic SEED (which can turn people into monsters) across the fictional version of our world. As powerful as Grave is, he is super silent throughout the whole game, almost Gordon Freeman like from the Half-Life series if not for a few bits of dialogue. Thankfully, the side characters are all there to provide all the narrative needed on his behalf.

Newcomer friendly

For newcomers, worry not. Gungrave G.O.R.E. has a recap feature that gets you up to speed with what has transpired so far and where the story is going. The recap goes very fast and doesn’t go into the minute details but it’s enough to crash-course-introduce every character and plot device you need to understand the coming narrative.

Over the top firepower

Grave's coffin doubles as a melee weapon for basic attacks and with the use of demolition points, can transform into different types of weaponry. Into weapons like a literal super bazooka or a missile launcher to eradicate enemies with over the top firepower.

You can also enter a standstill rage mode and unleash even more firepower on enemies for a limited time, again by using demolition points. It is as flashy as it is action packed.

Soundtrack and voice acting

Bundled with a pumping metal soundtrack, killing enemies now turns into some work of art, you are even scored at the end based on art score. While the soundtrack is great, the voice acting is not up to snuff, with comparable quality to English dubs of many Animes. If you don’t have a problem with those, the voice acting won’t bother you in any way.

Game Mechanics

While there is an interesting overarching story and background to Gungrave with an Anime on top of it, Gungrave G.O.R.E's story takes a backseat and focuses on one mission: kill enemies, ”kick their ass” as so elegantly displayed at the start of every level.

Missions are linear in design and relatively straightforward, with the whole campaign beatable in under 15 hours. You can earn points by finishing levels, rated in different categories such as beat count and the aforementioned art score, which can be used for upgrades like health, damage, or shield upgrades. There are no other weapons in the game aside from the initial Pistols and Coffin, so you can only upgrade your stats or unlock special moves.

As mentioned earlier, the gameplay is full of guns blazing unlimited ammo action, but that’s not everything. Aside from the melee combat, thanks in part to the ability to swing your big-ass coffin around, you can also lunge in any direction to dodge and even shoot at the same time. Unfortunately, there is no bullet time or slow-motion mechanic present to better appreciate the bullet hell nature of the game. Positioning is also important as the enemies can swarm you and stun lock you to death if you’re not careful.

Mechanically, the movement is very clunky and heavy; snapping back and forth between different animations which doesn’t mesh well together. Something that I’ve last seen around 20 years ago in the PS2 era. It doesn’t help that the main character moves unncessarily slow and that can easily lead you into frustrations in some levels where you need a bit of agility to survive. Maybe the coffin is too heavy for him to sustain a high degree of agility lore wise?

Speaking of the coffin, it is ridiculous, hanging behind you at all times is very off putting and adds to the general awkwardness to the game. I would have liked to say it's part of the game’s charm but it’s not exactly charming to me.

Visuals

Graphics wise, most textures and models look very flat, and this game has no distinct art style to it that can carry the load. The only saving grace is the lighting system they used to at least make it look more modern. Gungrave G.O.R.E. just straight up looks like a 2000s era game for all intents and purposes. Fortunately, they have CGI for the cutscene segments of the game, albeit also feeling like it came from the PS2 era as well.

For better or for worse, Gungrave G.O.R.E. feels just like a remastered game from a PS2 era even though it's not. In fact, if you told me it was a unfinished canceled sequel unearthed by the developers and remastered for modern systems, I would have believed it.

Having said that, it is a nice contrast from all the try hard games of this modern era. It plays like an old school 2000s third person arcade shooter and it does that part exceptionally well. Simple gameplay, but effective.

Conclusion

Gungrave G.O.R.E. does its own little thing in its own little world and we shouldn’t hate it for that. In spite of its flaws in storytelling and mechanics, plus some missed opportunities and three stories worth of room for improvement, at its very core it has old school arcade gameplay, cheap thrills, and mindless fun.

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