Take a trip back to the PS2 era arcade style gameplay | Gungrave G.O.R.E. - Short Review

If you are a fan of the somewhat obscure Gungrave series from the PS2 era, It has now been recently revived with Gungrave G.O.R.E. - a newly released third person action shooter game for the PC, Xbox, and Playstation.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. plays exactly where it left off the series, perhaps a bit too exact: Auto-targeting, unlimited ammo, hit combos, big-ass coffin behind you all the time, and ridiculous visually cluttering gunfights. All the hallmarks of eastern video game influence are heavily seen in this game. Anime style action, anime soundtrack, crazy big weapons, and the most important of all: cool hairstyles.

You control Grave, a tall slim brooding man armed with two pistols and a coffin behind his back. A coffin that doubles as a melee weapon and can transform into different types of gadgets, like a literally super bazooka. Against him are the worldwide drug cartel Raven Clan, who would stop at nothing to spread out the dangerous narcotic SEED across the fictional version of our world.

For newcomers, worry not. Gungrave G.O.R.E. has a recap feature that gets you up to speed with what has transpired so far and where the story is going. The recap goes very fast and doesn’t go into the minute details, but it’s enough to crash-course-introduce every character and plot device you need to understand the coming narrative.

As mentioned earlier, the gameplay is full of gun blazing unlimited ammo action, but that’s not everything. Aside from the melee combat, thanks in part to the ability to swing your big-ass coffin around, you can also lunge in any direction to dodge and even shoot at the same time. Unfortunately, there is no bullet time or slow-motion mechanic present to better appreciate the bullet hell nature of the game.

For better or for worse, Gungrave G.O.R.E. feels just like a remastered game from a PS2 era even though it's not. In fact, if you told me it was a unfinished canceled sequel unearthed by the developers and remastered for modern systems, I would have believed it. Having said that, it is a nice contrast from all the try hard games of this modern era. It plays like an old school 2000s third person arcade shooter and it does that part exceptionally well. Simple gameplay, but effective.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. does its own little thing in its own little world and we shouldn’t hate it for that. Arcade gameplay, cheap thrills, mindless fun. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.