It’s not often you see a game in a series release a new title 18 years after its last one, but here we are with Gungrave G.O.R.E. Based on the original PS2 games, Gungrave G.O.R.E has you playing as the “Gunslinger of Resurrection” on an attitude filled action ride. Compared to games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, Gungrave is a character action game that sees you tearing through groups of enemies in stylish combos for highscores. Don’t expect to be bouncing around arenas like you do in those games however, as Gungrave G.O.R.E features a more lumbering hero. Your character, Grave, slowly lurches forward with his main form of violence being his two guns that unleash hell on anyone unlucky enough to get in their way. Because of how slow the character moves, and the auto-aim of the guns, Gungrave G.O.R.E almost felt more like an on-rails shooter than a character action game and I mean that in a good way. Some action games require some practice and effort to look cool in battles, but in Gungrave G.O.R.E it’s effortless.
You’ve got your two guns to shoot hordes of goons with, along with a hunk of metal he carries on his back and a variety of special abilities you can trigger. Ammo is infinite and the game aims for you, all you need to do is point in a direction and let loose. The game feels perfect as one of those games you throw on real quick to get some absolute peak, video-game power fantasy; at points I was using a grappling hook to pull myself between enemies, bouncing back and forth with these brutal finishers and ridiculous special moves. The carnage that erupts out of Grave’s gun barrels puts a quick smile on your face, but I still wish you could move faster than a slow shuffle. For better or worse the game very much feels like it’s pulling the PS2 era of Japanese action games, down to the UI and overall vibe of the game. It very much feels like a modernized game of that era and it’s proud of it.
