On a recommendation from one of my co-workers, I grabbed a copy of Gunfire Reborn and holy geez.
About This Game:
- Gunfire Reborn is an adventure level-based game featuring FPS, roguelite, and RPG elements. Players can control unique heroes—each with different abilities—as they adventure through random levels and pick up randomly dropped weapons. You can play Gunfire Reborn alone or cooperatively with up to three other players (4-player co-op).
- Every level is random; each new restart is a brand-new experience. You will meet different heroes and experience new weapons, items, checkpoints, and unique combat rhythms across the game’s many levels.
- Gunfire Reborn is still in Early Access. We will gradually fix bugs, add more content, and come up with new gameplay ideas. Thank you for your support! We will try our best to optimize our game to deliver a premium experience you can’t wait to return to.
Copied from: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1217060/Gunfire_Reborn/
First, let me start by saying that first-person shooters (FPS) are at the lowest end of my skill tier. I have never been great at them. For the most part, I am impatient. I tend to rush in when I shouldn’t. I know this, but I still do it. I don’t have the discipline for it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t enjoy the occasional jaunt into the genre. In fact, it seems that I’ve been playing a lot of FPS games lately.
This game, however, is nuts. It is this weird combination of simple, and yet, hard. I originally started the game solo and immediately got nowhere. If you want to see me struggle and laugh at my game play, you can watch my video on our Facebook channel. I’ll link it at the end.
I find the game really, really fun. Part of the reason why I don’t really enjoy FPS shooters is the “other player” aspect. Yeah, I don’t really find joy at being slaughtered by better skilled/geared players. When you’re a casual player, and the FPS incorporates seasonal gear or bonuses and you just don’t play enough to be competitive, it’s a big turn off. This aspect, single-handedly, ruins FPS games for me. I know for some of you, that hustle to claw your way to the top is the carrot you need to enjoy a game. That isn’t me. I like there to be a balance, and Gunfire Reborn does that. By going roguelike, it changes the FPS dynamic completely for those of us who don’t want to spend the entire day getting teabagged.
You might be wondering what “roguelike” or “roguelite” means. It is a very loosely-defined term and if you Google it, the consensus is there is no consensus. In general, it typically means there is a perma-death element, and you may (or may not) be able to carry skills, skill currency, coin, or weapons when you restart. Typically, roguelike games are dungeon crawlers or floor-based, but not exclusive to. There are roguelike-card, turn-based card games as well as FPS games. So, when you see the term “roguelike” or “roguelite”, you can pretty much guarantee you get one run and then have to start over.
I have still not been able to beat the first boss on a solo game. That being said, I haven’t made an attempt after I streamed the game. Almost immediately off-stream, I made it to the boss and got wrecked. That is when I employed the help of Rugjen and Pyroplop who are infinitely better at FPS games. Rugjen, on his first or second solo run, managed to make it to the first boss. That just shows the disparity between our skill levels. On our second run as a group, we managed to take down the first boss and are now stuck on the second.
We thoroughly enjoy playing the game together, so I recommend grabbing a few friends and giving it a go. I love the randomness of it all. Some runs, we had divine intervention and all received the weapons we wanted with the skills we needed. And, some runs, we immediately knew we had our work cut out for us. That is what makes it fun. We all get this individualized experience while still being able to work together as a team.
I would say, for the casual player, this game is challenging. You’re going to have to grind some skill currency to boost your stats to make up for the lack of skill. And, you know what? That is perfectly okay! I had a great time earning the first 10 levels on my own before turning to the guys for help. It is my opinion that the developers really did a great job of extending the content in such a way that progress didn’t feel like a grind.
On the flip side, the game may feel childish to true, hardcore FPS players. You are playing against the computer. After playing for awhile, you do learn the enemy mechanics. That may not be challenging enough for those of you who like the thrill of unpredictability.
Overall, I recommend this game. It is early access, so content is still forthcoming. You can also pick it up for the low price of $11.99 on Steam. Honestly, for a few hours of fun, you cannot beat the value you get from this game. Don’t let the early access tag scare you. This is probably one of the cleanest, well-put together, early-access games I own.
10/10 – Do recommend.
Filthy Casual for Life 