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An unexpected PlayStation 2 throwback that fails to adapt - Gungrave G.O.R.E. Quick Review

23K View2022-11-27

Gungrave G.O.R.E. revives an old action series I never expected to see come back, but unfortunately a lot of the game seems to be stuck in the past. It’s been twenty years since the first Gungrave released on the PlayStation 2, followed closely by a sequel two years later. But despite a two-decade break and a switch to new South Korean developer Iggymob, this series doesn’t seem to have grown at all.

THE STORY

Gungrave G.O.R.E. features a helpful optional recap video to help catch up gamers who didn’t play the original games (or who have forgotten the story in the long gap between releases). Unfortunately, even with that video, I was more than a little lost. The Gungrave series follows the post-death adventures of Brandon Heat, a one-time gangster who was betrayed by his best friend. After his murder, Brandon was resurrected as a coffin-and-pistol-wielding undead badass now going by the name Grave.

As G.O.R.E. picks up, Grave has pulled together a group of like-minded allies who all want to put a stop to the criminal gangs who are ruining the world. Of particular concern is Raven Clan, a powerful mafia organization that has begun selling a horrifying drug known as SEED, which grants its users superpowers but also acts as a parasite, draining the life from them. Grave and his friends learn that Raven Clan is operating out of a cyberslum city known as Scumland and sets out to put an end to them.

PLATFORMS

Gungrave G.O.R.E. is available on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S and X. I played the PC version and had no technical issues aside from some small framerate drops that seemed a little surprising for such a visually unimpressive game on my mid-range machine. Also of note for Steam Deck owners, the game does not currently appear to function on Valve’s handheld device.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve spent four hours with Gungrave G.O.R.E. since it launched earlier this week. In that time, I’ve completed six of the game’s two dozen-plus levels (including replaying a couple to try to get a better grade). The full game is said to run between twelve and fifteen hours.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Style. In its best moments, when everything is firing on all cylinders, Gungrave G.O.R.E. gives off the same vibes as the Devil May Cry games. There’s no denying that there’s something incredibly satisfying about pulling off a huge combo (called a Beat Count here), or ending an encounter against a massive group of enemies only to see that your shield meter is totally full. Post-level grades encourage riskier and more stylish play as well.

• Level variety. Gungrave G.O.R.E. is packed full of a lot of levels, and though the Scumland environments can look a little samey, the game keeps moving and takes players on quite a journey.

WHAT SUCKS

• The controls. In particular, I absolutely hate the fact that you need to keep tapping the right shoulder button to shoot your pistols rather than just holding it down. This plays into the rhythm of combat and the idea of each shot as a “beat,” but in stark physical terms it just doesn’t feel good. I felt bad for my poor old wired Xbox 360 controller that I have hooked up to my PC for the abuse it took while I was playing this.

• Level design. Sure, you can murder mafia goons in a wide range of locales, but don’t expect to actually explore them. Gungrave G.O.R.E.’s levels are strictly linear affairs, with not even generic collectibles to reward going off the beaten path. It feels like there was a missed opportunity to at least reward players with a little DNA (the currency used to purchase upgrades between levels) for checking out various nooks and crannies.

• Story. Beyond being a little difficult to follow, G.O.R.E.’s plot also just isn’t very good or compelling, even when taken as the pulpy, anime fun it’s seemingly going for. Bad dialogue, bad voice acting, and a bad time for anyone expecting to care about the predictable twists and turns of this story.

• Instant death junk. I was a little baffled at first when I read early reviews about how Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a difficult game, because I wasn’t having too much trouble. Then I got to the train level. In a true showcase of early-to-mid-2000s game design, this title throws in multiple ways for your character to go from full health to dead, such as not getting to an exit in time, getting crushed by a giant spike death trap, or, sigh, failing a quick-time event during a cutscene. Awful stuff that goes directly against the skill-rewarding combat.

SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?

Nah. Unless you have a lot of fondness for the old PlayStation 2 Gungrave games, I suggest skipping Gungrave G.O.R.E. The potential for a fun, stylish action game is buried in here somewhere. But the standards for game design have risen since 2002, and this title feels like it was plucked from that era without any modifications.

💬 What’s your favorite obscure PlayStation 1 or PlayStation 2-era game that you wish they’d bring back from the dead? I’m still holding out hope for a Tomba! revival myself. Share your personal pick in the comments!

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