IGGYMOB and Prime Matter bring back Grave, the anime anti-hero in a stylish arcady shoot’em up and I got my hands on it at Paris Games Week!
Gungrave has completely changed its style from the cel-shaded universe back in early PS2 times. The game has gone for a more realistic visual approach with crisp 4K textures and butter-smooth gameplay. And that’s where the game shines, it runs at full frames and doesn’t drop even when there’s a bunch of bullets, rockets, enemies and other crazy explosive visual effects. But for fans of the series, the new realistic visual style is further away from the anime and feels like another version of the franchise.
The gameplay, while very solid and fluent, was quite repetitive in the level I got to play in the demo booth. Apart from shooting and slamming with your coffin there wasn’t much variation nor other weapons or play styles to choose from. I surely hope the full game offers a bit more variety in weapons and styles of play. The enemies however come in a wide variety from melee tot long range attackers, even shielded enemies that will not hesitate to charge at you at full force and in groups.
The music was decent from what I could hear and the voice acting was okay. The game itself has a very arcady feel to it and you can see it in the level design as well. Giant yellow arrows to point the way forward in a game that looks already linear enough. Nothing wrong with an arcady feel though as it really feels like a game you could pickup and play at anytime, whether it’s for a long period or a short shoot’em up session.
I surely hope that the full game offers more variety and less repetitiveness in this franchise that has quite a dedicated and loyal fanbase.
