Like the good old two-in-one DVD and VCR player, it’s often more practical for your equipment to serve more than one purpose. Sure, if one of those two things breaks, then you’re left with an overly large DVD player, and you need to decide on whether you should push forward and stick with your growing DVD collection or get the VCR side fixed for a premium cost. But it’s worth it for the novelty, yeah? This intro may have gotten away from me a bit. Still, the point I was working towards is that developer doinksoft clearly loves dual-purpose devices if their upcoming action-adventure game Gunbrella is anything to go by.
Published by Devolver Digital, Gunbrella is a side-scrolling adventure game set in a pixel art film noir-esque world filled with intrigue and fuelled by investigation. With a planned release in 2023, I’ve recently had the opportunity to play the opening hour or so of Gunbrella, and I’ve come away with positive impressions and a desire to wield the blasting brolly again soon.
I’m terribly sorry, don’t mind me
Stepping off a boat onto the shore of an unknown region, our unnamed protagonist finds himself wielding a mysterious and unorthodox weapon – the Gunbrella. The bane of your foes and the rainfall alike, the titular device provides the foundation for both combat and traversal. With the ability to swap between multiple ammo types, the weapon acts as you would expect any gun: point, click, dead. However, at the press of a button, you can unfurl the umbrella to deflect and (if timed correctly) reflect enemy fire. You can also use the multi-purpose miracle to perform a short dash and float gracefully back to the ground like a murderous Mary Poppins.
The beauty of the Gunbrella is that the functions, while many, can only be used one at a time, necessitating some thought before you go in guns blazing. While it would be entertaining to blow away enemies while hiding behind a shield, it wouldn’t exactly provide much of a challenge. During the demo, I came across three different types of ammunition, though I assume you’ll unlock more down the track. The standard buckshot is versatile and extremely effective at a short distance, while the tri-burst rifle setting is handy for dealing with foes at a distance. Lastly, the grenade option is best for, well, it’s a grenade, so it’s useful for just about any combat encounter.
Umbrella, gun, zipline, I reckon this thing could do my taxes as well
The shotgun ammo is infinite, but the other two types can be dropped by enemies or found in chests throughout the world. You can craft and purchase medical items from merchants you see, but I didn’t run into anyone willing to part with bullets. I don’t mind saving my more potent weaponry for nastier foes, but I hope the full game provides another way to procure them.
The baddies you turn your brolly towards ranged from bullet-blasting brutes and automatic turrets to magic-wielding occultists as the demo stretched on. The level design and enemy placement allow you to make the most of the Gunbrella’s movement and combat abilities, with mastery of the weapon resulting in giblets of the Cult 45 Gang strewn about the area. While the opening moments of the demo may have you thinking that a floating wizard shooting balls of energy is the weirdest thing you’ll come across, the boss that caps off the short snippet of the game will have you re-evaluating. I’m keen to see just how far Gunbrella will go with the macabre, especially considering how surprisingly violent and bloody the combat is.
Resting on a bench will refill your health and give you a moment to reflect and contemplate your next rampage
The tight gameplay would be enough to have me wish-listing Gunbrella, but then it adds a healthy dose of charm to lock my attention in. The pixel art visuals are beautiful, both in the details of the background and the character shown in the foreground. The sprite’s animations, goofy noises that substitute speech and clever, text-based dialogue create a world I want to know more about. I did notice a general lack of music, leaving contextual noises and ambient sounds to fill the silence during gameplay. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does seem like a missed opportunity.
This short 45-minute demo of Gunbrella did more than enough to endear the game to me in a big way. The charming world and beautiful pixel art visuals are immediately appealing, but the fast and fun gameplay centred around the all-important weapon/rain-repeller is what takes the cake. If the full experience offers a good amount of variety past the opening moments, then we’ll have a sure-fire winner on our hands.
Gunbrella is set to release on Switch and PC in 2023.
Previewed on PC // Preview code supplied by publisher
