Gungrave G.O.R.E Review on Xbox

Gungrave: G.O.R.E is a 3RD person action shooter, which re-opens the franchise and continues the story from Gungrave Series. All reviews (unless stated otherwise) are based on the Developer/Publisher providing myself with a review code, which i am grateful for, but does not influence my outcome.

The premise is you take control of Grave, a gun-wielding badass reanimated corpse who mows down tons of enemies in a gory ballet of bullets. You are tasked of stopping the production of Seed, a drug that turns users into monsters by any means necessary.

The game boasts a story of vengeance, love and loyalty, over the top third-person action shooting with close-range martial arts, a selection of different characters to play as, and unlockable moves, skills and stats and approximately 31 levels. 

Accessibility

With regards to accessibility, there is only subtitles, and here they can be turned on or off. The games basic attack button is the RT that you have to continuously press in order to fire, and even without motor issues, this did make my hand abit sore. Visually there are no colour tone options and with the mass carnage on display, things can get visually hectic for those with out visual issues. This means in general if you have motor skill issues or visual issues, you really won’t be able to play this. The developer just recently confirmed that they are listening to gamers and will be adding in some options. 

Gameplay

The gameplay starts with you taking control of Grave and are quickly introduced to the mechanics which will help you shoot, slash and blow up anything or one, who stand in front of you.

You don’t have to have played the original series as there is a catch video in the option menu allowing you to understand the backstory and where you stand in this new iteration. In essence all you really need to know is that SEED, a drug turns its users into monsters had thought to be eradicated, but in reality, hasn’t. This time, it’s being sold by the Raven Clan, so Mika (your boss), Beyond the Grave or Grave to his friends, plus crew, head to Scumland to stop SEED production and take the Raven Clan, and its four bosses, down.

Dropped off, you make your way forwards to do just that. Grave starts with 5 health pips and a rechargeable shield to allow him to take quite a bit of damage, as he progress through the story. Grave wields a pair of unlimited bullet pistols, as his main weapons of choice for killing. However with these he can also charge them for a powerful shot capable of breaking shields or burst mode, which can do area wide attack, but fixes you in place whilst doing so. You also have the ability to dodge whilst shoot and jump.

He also carries a large coffin which he uses as a melee weapon with a variety of different three-hit combos. Whilst doing this move, you can also deflect incoming missiles being thrown at you back to the owner. Also using your coffin, you can grab nearby enemies and use them as a human shield should things get too hectic and you see your life leaving before your eyes. However, this coffin does so much more with regards to Demolition Shots, (special abilities that cost charges, which you build up by dealing damage to enemies).

These special abilities are by far the most visually impressive attacks, that can be anything from area effect devastating moves that wipes out a good selection of enemies or powerful continuous stream attack that fixes you in place, but does tremendous damage. Using these are also your best option for regaining back large amounts of health as there is no health pick-ups in this game. You can gain back shield energy by executing enemies at low health, and is faster at first than letting it recharge over time.

Now you may think its all about killing enemies, whilst true it’s the way you do it that’s the real key to this game. For every bullet you land on an enemy or destructible object, you get one beat. Keeping Grave’s Beat Count high as you can by constantly shoot enemies, and grabbing a high Art score, which comes from executions, melee combo finishers, and Demolition Shots. Keeping this maintained is tough as it disappears quickly if you’re not hitting or shooting something, which in turn pushes you constantly to be on the attack. In the more quieter area where enemies are limited you can still maintain this by shooting objects in the environment, like cars, boxes, or neon signs.

Keeping on top of this can be tricky as different moves give different things, for example executions boost your shield recharge and up your Art score, but only add one to the Beat Counter. While demolition Shots, restore a good amount of health and Art score, but don’t contribute to your Beat Count. When you finally hit your stride, it feels amazing and can be addictive in your bid to get higher chains.

Of course doing this isn't just for fun, as when you complete a level, you will be graded. You are scored in five categories: time, kill rate, life remaining, highest Beat Count, and Art Score on a scale from D to S. The bigger the score the better the rating you will achieve which in turn gives you more points to spend at your Lab. Here is where you can upgrade your characters move list, stats and add different demolition shots for you to enjoy. Another great option here is to refund your choices and use it to choose alterative abilities should you get stuck. Now you can’t do this in game, only at the end of a level or the main menu, so be aware should you hit a wall that you are struggling to get past.

One thing, I would thoroughly recommend you do, is upgrade your gun damage stats as quick as possible, even grinding some earlier levels to ramp this up. The game can quickly switch difficulty mid level, and become brutal when waves of enemies come at you and you can’t kill them quickly enough, something I learnt early on to my own detriment.

Another aspect that could put some people off besides the odd difficulty spike, is that some enemies are truly brutal from the beginning. One such git is the enemies carrying a shield which can only be killed after said shield is removed. To do this you need to either get in close and bash him with your coffin to break it or do a charged shot which requires that you stop shooting long enough to charge it. Ok for the odd one guy but with more, things can quickly go nasty as you are trying to avoid a number of them and get rid of their shields at the same time.

The game also boast a huge variety of bosses to fight, some of which have several phases. Most of them are really enjoyable learning their patterns in order to avoid attacks and counter with your own stylish attacks. Each are extremely unique and almost all of them are quite enjoyable, however levels don’t always end up with having a boss fight until you’re more than halfway through the campaign. They normally end with a big fight against a ton of smaller enemies, or just stop once you reach a certain section for a cutscene.

Another nice touch is that you don’t always play as Grave, further into the story you switch to Bunji and Quartz, but only there for one level each. Regardless, their playstyles are a welcome switch with Bunji being a faster more agile Grave who can dodge while in Burst mode. And Quartz, being more a melee character based, even though the game is not really built for melee characters. Both was a welcome change and their move sets where different enough to make it very entertaining.

Overall, once you get past the teething issues and learn to familiar yourself with the games mechanics, things quicky jump from frustrating to a highly enjoyable experience that will push you into just one more level…

Graphics

The game visuals are truly unique and has some interesting design choices. Without a doubt, the characters shine the most, in terms of presentation overall aesthetics. Cutscenes are superb and capture the brutality of the games landscape and its protagonist, with a action film like affect. Levels are gorgeous, and Gungrave G.O.R.E provides you with a ton of different environments throughout its campaign, from the dirty graffiti filled alleys of Scumland, to neon-soaked streets of Hong Kong moving on to the lush forests of Vietnam, among others. Each place looks, feels, and plays a little differently, and the developer has done a great job of imbuing each location with own unique vibe.

One downside to this gorgeous landscape is the need to explore them as the levels provide numerous nooks and side rooms. Why is this a downside, well apart from enjoying the hidden visuals, there really is no reason to ever explore them unless there are enemies there. This is because there are no collectibles to find, no optional objectives to complete, or lore to pick up. It genuinely feels as this was forgotten or they ran out of time with the amount of places you can wander around, and I hope they patch something in as it really does need it.

Enemy design is equally varied number of types, though this can faulter a little bit nearer the end. One crux of the level design though is that some stages are too brutal for their own good. One level contains a hall full of lasers you need to roll through – if you get clipped, you are instantly killed. Another is you running along the top of a train to get to the back to drop down before a tunnel kills you. However, its populated by way too many enemies and also complicates it further with large signs coming at you, that can also kill you instantly. Thankfully these scenarios are few but being that one is early on, this can almost put the player off right at the beginning of their journey.

There are two visual options on the Series X version with 4k 30 with Ray tracking or 4k 60 without said ray tracing. Both of these are stable and allow the games visuals to shine when there is a large number of enemies on the screen, showcasing of a true blood bath bonanza.

Sound

The games sound is another superb aspect that ramps up the sound to really get you in the mood for murder. The shooting is loud and impactful, with the most visual Demolition Shots pulling out almost canon like sounds to really showcase of the devastation. Melee attacks don’t feel quite feel as weighty or damaging as they should, but when you’re pulling off high combo’s it really doesn’t matter that much.

The Music is a combo of techno and metal that gives it the right amount of weight to the games over the top style. Depending on the levels they change abit, but overall the seems to be over a average amount of variation. It really does match the ridiculous mood well, tapping into the edginess of its mood and adding an intensity to the combat.

My recommendation here would be a good quality soundbar or headset to really get the best bullet impact as you stylishly show off your skills

Verdict

This leads me onto the rating of the game:-
Now I rate games in order of, avoid, on sale, great purchase and must own. My rating for Gungrave: G.O.R.E is a "Great Purchase’’.

Without a doubt this game is going to be marmite to some as its clear to all, this is a love letter to the original series and the 2000’s style of gameplay. This is old school gameplay through and through, with the odd tweak for modern audiences, but not much. The game is about captivating a ballet of blood, bullets and Gungrave’s signature style within a modern day style that aims to be the best of old and modern day gameplay.

The game is currently priced on Xbox at £44.99 or approx. $50 and depending on skill and patience would give you about 15+ hours worth of gameplay. However with the upgrades, and additional outfits to unlock, you can add another 15+hours to the mix. The game is also on gamepass, so you wont have to spend a penny if you have this service.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and even though it has some frustrating elements, I keep going back to this and wanting to just do one more level. The lack of accessibility options is disappointing and now the developer has announced some to be patched in, this will allow the addictive fun once everything clicks, for everyone. I want more Gungrave and hope this keeps the series alive and killing..