Monday 28 December 2015

Review No. 117 Gunpoint - PC (12+)

Strong Points:
It has very 'well thought through' feel to it
Great humour
Nice mechanics
Genuine fun
Perfect level of challenge
Level editor with full Steam workshop support

Weak Points:
Little control over course of events in story
Story progression and gameplay felt too separate
Story Mode is the only mode
Sub-quests have little influence in anything, they are just a source of cash


In-depth Review:
Release Dates:
World Wide: 3rd June, 2013

Controls: customisable
AD: move
W: move up walls/enter elevators or staircases
S: move down walls/exit elevators or staircases
Left Shift/RMB: take out revolver
LMB: connect things in Crosslink mode, jump
Left Alt/Middle Mouse Button: enter Crosslink mode
Arrow Keys: pan camera

Hello Banters and Bantresses,

Gunpoint is, put simply, great fun. The concept is great being able to reprogram the game so you can progress through the level, by switching between regular and hacking modes. This means making buttons on your floor make a door smack a guard in the face (which is very satisfying btw). It's like 2D Watchdogs but without being some weird modern day Assassin's Creed.

The ability to reprogram mixes puzzle with stealth in this 2D detective story. The producers took a good concept and delivered it with perfection.

I absolutely loved the sense of humour throughout the game. It really appeals to my sense of humour (which if you ask any of the other guys may not be such a great thing). It is sarcastic and makes references that most people should get, so won't cause any feeling of exclusion.
The level of challenge is great. It doesn't make you grind but still makes you work, so you come out of every level feeling like a god. If you feel like you need a challenge, this is the kind of game that you can play as a pacifist, without any awkward workarounds or exceptions.

The level editor is great, the game made me think things like "If they did that that would be awesome" or "I would make a level like that". The level editor, if a little sh..aky but still allows me to do what I want, even if I make many mistakes. Although it is good, the level editor is not intuitive, it could do with some nice snapping and a better UI.

Now the story was good, but at times hard to follow. Admittedly I didn't read every piece of dialogue but it took me two playthroughs (which I didn't mind doing) to actually completely understand it. Also, having played the story twice, I noticed that the decisions you make in the gameplay doesn't affect the story by much. Because of this, the story and gameplay felt too distant from each other, with you hardly seeing main NPCs throughout the entire game.

Also, I would have liked to see more gamemodes than just Steam Workshop and story. Maybe like a multiplayer collab where one person can only see hacker mode and the other can only see regular mode, a bit like Clandestine.

Another gamemode could be random side quests. This could work because the side quests had absolutely no affect in the main plot line, which was a bit of a let down, so they could be implemented as an extra mode with relative ease.

Overall, I would have to recommend to all those people who want to play a good game on low end equipment as it is low intensity on your PC, well made and great fun.

Rating: 91%

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