If you asked any gamer to guess which PS2 game would get a sequel in 2022, nobody would have said Gungrave. It originally debuted in 2002 and was created by mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow, best known for his work on the massively popular Trigun. The first Gungrave was stylish and incredibly simple, with a third-person gunman telling the story of a man named Grave. The titular character in the game takes on a drug cartel and its bosses.
The plot of Gungrave G.O.R.E is one of vengeance. As Grave, players must stop the distribution of the SEED street drug. While series fans will be familiar with this storyline, background knowledge of the game is not necessary.
Nonetheless, context is provided to bring everyone up to speed. If you have played previous entries, you will be familiar with the characters and overall setting. If you haven’t, you might wonder why the silent and brooding Grave is involved in all of this. In a nutshell, he’s one of the coolest and most profound characters in video games. His gothic presence and overall style are not easy to overlook, and this new entry reflects that.
Other characters become free to play in later stages, which changes some aspects of the gameplay. Gungrave G.O.R.E is stunning in comparison to its predecessors. It does not stray too far from the original series, and the visuals are remarkably similar. Although the camera and motion options have been modified, this game still evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. Unfortunately, this also serves as a major setback.
Each mission can be completed at one of three difficulty levels. There are, however, occasional challenging spikes that slow down the rhythm. It is also possible that the developers expect players to rack up spendable points by replaying missions to upgrade Grave sufficiently to handle the later stages. The majority of the artificial difficulty is caused by time-based missions.
For instance, you may need to get to a specific area of a train before reaching a tunnel, but to do so, you must first avoid enemies and even mines, which can knock you off the train and force you to restart the mission. There is also a level in which you must ride a crate while enemies fire bullets from your left and right. Oddly, the crate is just too small to avoid, and being hit by a bullet will knock you off your feet, forcing you to restart that phase. It is pretty annoying, particularly when you reach the final segment and fall off.
Other difficult periods involve areas where lots of enemies bombard the space. It is amusing how widespread this drug is because it does not look like there is a shortage of people willing to battle for it. You will defeat numerous enemies all through this game, and as awesome as that seems, it will leave you with a sore finger. This is because there is no autofire option, and you must tap the trigger button to fire. However, you can stand still to activate an autofire posture that leaves you vulnerable to attack.
Conclusion – Gungrave G.O.R.E Review
Regardless, Gungrave G.O.R.E provides a distinct experience not found in any other game released recently. In certain aspects, it’s a niche thing, but it can still provide hours of entertainment. You may be puzzled by some of the mechanics, but you’ll find this game difficult to put down. Its irregular challenge spikes put your ability to respond to different types of enemies to the test. Given how clumsy the game is, the difficulty does not feel deserved. This is terrible enough in standard missions, but it gets worse when you can drop off the side of a small platform for a quick game over. This trick is repeated several times throughout the game.
If you got excited when you heard “a new Gungrave,” the game was made for you. For what it’s worth, it gets it right. It feels like a long-lost PS2 game, which is what the fans may like. The original game, however, had the advantage of being only approximately two hours long, whereas the new installment has about a twelve-hour runtime.
