Up until my hands-on, I didn’t know what to expect from Gungrave G.O.R.E. Sure I’d seen the game’s absurd announcement trailer and I knew it was the latest entry in a series that had been dormant for many years (17 to be exact), but I didn’t have the faintest idea about the series outside of that. The easiest way to describe Gungrave G.O.R.E. is that it’s Devil May Cry mixed with Bayonetta, and it’s fucking wild. And as someone who was a big fan of PS2-era action games, consider me on board.
If you want to talk about setting the scene, our guy Grave (who’s undead by the way), carries around a coffin (known as the Death Hauler) – a literal instrument for death – that he uses to send enemies to their…graves. Well actually, he uses it to brutally smash them to pieces or to unleash a special attack or two, I just couldn’t resist the low-hanging fruit.
Gungrave G.O.R.E. is the product of South Korean developer Iggymob, who was in attendance at the event where the hands-on took place. While the studio isn’t the creator of the IP, it’s the team’s third Gungrave entry, having developed two Gungrave VR titles previously. However, from my discussion with the developers present, it’s obvious that the team has a strong passion for the series and wants to do it justice.
My hands-on took part at what appeared to be the start of the game, and while I gleaned little about the story (I don’t think people are playing this for a deep narrative), the game quickly introduced me to some of the weapons and abilities Grave will have at his disposal to make human soup – make no mistake, this guy is a killing machine.
The combat is a mixture of gunplay, melee attacks and special abilities, with Grave dual-wielding pistols with infinite ammo that have auto-lock on for precise gunslinging. He also has several highly useful and satisfyingly visceral ranged moves. One is a finisher called R.I.P. which is a pinpoint brutal headshot ripped straight from the John Wick playbook, while another sees Grave pull enemies towards him (think Scorpion from Mortal Kombat) to use as a human shield before throwing them to their death. But it’s the coffin that allows Grave to really rack up the kills, with the death vessel full of surprises that crank the absurdity up to eleven. Not only can the coffin be used to deflect incoming rockets back at their shooter, it can also be used as a battering ram to take down enemies. Where it gets really bombastic though, is when Grave has enough juice in a meter (tied to your Beat counter – see below) that allows him to enter a fury mode for ultimate damage, or to use his coffin to execute a Demolition Shot, which is a special attack that deals out heavy damage and looks as over the top as you’d expect. This also gives Grave a little bit of health, which makes it both fun and profitable.
Despite the fast-paced nature of the action, Grave moves a little slower than I’d probably like (to be fair he is lugging around a heavy-arse coffin), although dodging (which you also can shoot during) helps alleviate this a little. Still, there’s a general clunkiness that is unlikely to surprise long-time fans.
Like other games of this ilk, the combat rewards players who put on a show by racking up kills, with a Beat counter telling you how many you’ve got. As the number of beats rises the better the moves you can execute and the tastier the rewards. It’s all about finding your rhythm and style, and the task is made easier thanks to composer Tetsuya Shibata (of DmC fame), who has put together metalesque tracks that help players embrace their inner Grave.
One thing I loved about playing G.O.R.E. was how powerful it makes you feel. Grave can sustain a heavy amount of damage before he starts to feel it, and there’s a real sense of making the player feel like they’re in the driver’s seat of their own power fantasy. If you’re worried that it might be too easy don’t stress, the game’s developer Iggymob tell me that the difficulty does increase over the course of the game. Even though I loved arcade action games such as Devil May Cry as a youngster, I do wonder how long the game can sustain its old-school appeal. The South Korean developer says that it should take players around 14 hours on average to finish, while those who want to do everything will squeeze closer to 20 hours from the title.
While Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a game made with a coffin-load of love, it’s not one made with a blank cheque, so expect some jank, stiff animations and a general PS2-era feel. It’s very much a product of its predecessors’ formula and that era of action games. If you told me this was a remaster of an older game then I would have believed you without question. I say that in the most complimentary way, as that’s part of the charm – it’s a homage to the past but one that doesn’t forget that it needs to bring new players on board.
Despite my hands-on only being about 20 minutes long, it was a tasty sample of what Iggymob is cooking up with Gungrave G.O.R.E. It’s a game that hasn’t forgotten where its roots lie, and instead of ripping up the tree and starting fresh, Iggymob has watered it with all the ingredients that should likely see it bloom with nostalgia.
Gungrave G.O.R.E. releases on November 22 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
