Review - Guns of Fury

Developer: Gelato Games

Publisher: Gelato Games

Available On: PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch

Review System: Nintendo Switch

Since the days of Metroid and Castlevania, the term “Metroidvania” has been around for quite sometime. The term describes a level design in which players must explore large labyrinths, picking up essential items to further explore and progress through the game. From Metroid: Dread to Ghost Song to Hollow Knight, the genre continues to thrive to this very day, and it continues to do so with Guns of Fury from Gelato Games. 

When the fate of the world is at stake, the balance falls on your pixelated shoulders as you enter a warzone to secure the planet’s future. Guns of Fury adopts the Metroidvania design with the look and feel of a 90s SNK side-scrolling shooter to become a wonderfully strong and entertaining gameplay experience. 

Lock and Load

Planet Earth. The future. As an energy crisis looms over the Earth, a scientist makes a breakthrough for a new energy source. Clean, efficient, it can make the planet far more habitable while meeting the energy demands of the 8 billion people on Earth. Suddenly, a rogue army captures the scientist and his energy device, threatening to use it as weapon to take over the world. Only you and your skills in warfare have the power to stop this army. 

Guns of Fury is a sidescrolling shooter set within a large explorable labyrinth. The goal is to stop the enemy army from taking over the world. The opening level plays like a level straight out of Metal Slug, with explosions and machine-gun fire. Eventually, the player is captured and forced to escape. From there, the game gives players the freedom to explore. However, this is a mammoth battlefield with multiple areas to explore. Each area is brimming with enemies and obstacles. 

A World to Save

After breaking out of jail, players are given a basic sidearm to defend themselves. This sidearm has unlimited ammo and can get the job done. Eventually, a knife is recovered for more effective melee attacks and grenades are obtained, which are useful for accessing areas. There are a multitude of items to locate from machine guns to glasses that measure enemy health. Not all items are available from the start. Some are hidden while others require backtracking. Certain items are required and will present themselves in order to progress. One nice feature is a general marker on the overworked map,indicating to the player where they need to go   

Players acquire new weapons and items. Grenades can blow apart weak rock walls. Machine guns and shotguns can dispatch enemies quicker. They do have finite ammunition, and more ammo can either be collected from defeated enemies or at save points. This does create a need for ammo management. 

Tools of the Trade

Combat and action feels extraordinarily polished to a sheen. Movement feels great and shooting feels pulled straight from the inspirations of Metal Slug. It's right, controlled, and a solid sensation to to shoot waves of bad guys. This is complimented by a strong presentation that feels right at home with an arcade booth. This is doubly so with the boss fights, which are gargantuan and a blast to fight. Giant robots, giant tanks, and an entire ensemble of giga-sized bosses await. 

When everything comes together, Guns of Fury rocks and rocks hard! Every new discovery is a rush of excitement. Every enemy downed feels good and tackling the giant bosses feels just right. Sometimes, in video games, it's not a matter of innovation but sticking to what works and doing it very well. Guns of Fury doesn't have anything new to say about Metroidvanias but it doesn't have to. It has to just stick to its foundations and do it well, which it does. 

Guns of Fury

Guns of Fury is a solid Metroidvanias worth delving into. It's acting is high-stakes, it's gameplay is solid, and it's Metroidvania aspects are well done. Guns of Fury is an action-packed thriller ride I'm glad to have taken, and I encourage others to take the same ride. 

GUNS OF FURY IS RECOMMENDED

A key was generously supplied by Gelato Games