The Calm before the Storm

Early Sunday morning on the floor of PAX I had the chance to meet with David, the Brand Marketing Manager for Gungrave G.O.R.E. an intense button-mashing combo fest. He was excited to share some information on this new title, and how it’s the first title in over 18 years! This was stunning, as the original was a PS2 title and since then has traveled a long way. With new bone-breaking abilities and plenty of tiny little humans to tear through, Gungrave G.O.R.E. clearly shows a directed audience. Another aspect of the game that David was excited to share was the music score. Gungrave G.O.R.E. shares its composers with games like Final Fantasy XV or Devil May Cry. Beautiful music masterfully transforms the experience and creates the impact needed for these titles to work. After talking about all of this, David let me take the controller for the demo experience of Gungrave G.O.R.E.

A Cacophany of Carnange

In my demo time for Gungrave G.O.R.E., I discovered plenty of things to like. The character designs were a bit edgy but reminded me of the Japanese imported titles we would have seen on the PlayStation 2. A bit of a welcoming feeling, but one surely not for everyone as the game is very dark. Another thing I noticed while playing the combat was how hulky Grave really felt to play with. Moving around was quite slow, and I definitely had concerns initially when playing the title. The combat is more focused on a casual, god-like feeling. Since your character has guns that have unlimited ammo and instantly kill most living things, this makes quick movement not as needed (since you are a walking tank). Enemies that move closer to you as well will be dealt with by the giant chainsaw-like weapon on Grave’s back. This combined with the abilities that can be triggered after long combo strings created an aura of absolute death and destruction. Lastly, targets that you wanted to pull yourself to could be hooked into and this would move Grave to them. This was one of the only movement-focused abilities and it felt nice to have. I honestly felt myself experimenting the most with this ability since it allows the combat to transform.

Final Thoughts

Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a collected title that knows what it wants to be. Something new and fresh, while still allowing those who loved the original series to connect to what they loved. The game definitely brought a smile to my face but if that smile is to stay can only be seen. My greatest hope is that this game understands that movement in games focused on combo strings is crucially important. One of my last questions with David about the title was if there were to be abilities that could be unlocked, such as more movement abilities. David reinforced this idea by saying that yes, new abilities and gadgets unlocked further in the game will give the player more options. If this is the case, definitely expect me to support this title on Steam. The official release date has been set for November 22, 2022. Don’t miss it!