<
If one is to set out on a quest of vengeance that requires fighting the occult, mercenaries, giant rats, and corrupt police, then they must wield one of the world’s most powerful weapons: a shotgun attached to an umbrella. From developer Doinksoft and publisher Devolver Digital comes Gunbrella, a pixel-art 2D action platformer about an ordinary man fighting through extraordinary and often ridiculous forces to satisfy his vengeance. There are a number of rough moments in this journey, intentional and otherwise, but the beautiful western-inspired art, unique gameplay, and snappy pacing make it an addictive adventure that’s hard to put down.
On a macro level, the full release holds true to the impressions provided in Screen Rant’s Gunbrella preview coverage. The world is fun and over the top, the gameplay is responsive, and the art direction is stunning in every way. On the micro level, however, Gunbrella struggles to harmonize all of its systems and ideas, which just leaves it feeling under baked and absent any true challenge.
A Tonally Diverse And Slightly Confused World
The opening moments of Gunbrella are quite dark, opening with the game’s protagonist, Murray, seeing his home on fire and rushing back only to find the bodies of his family. It’s an opening that immediately gets players invested in a dark, western-inspired story of loss and revenge. That darkness doesn’t last long, as the reveal of the gunbrella and first bit of dialogue presents a world that is over-the-top and unafraid to be silly. Gunbrella immediately doubles down on this tone shift with its first level, which has Murray fighting a cult and their Lovecraftian meat monster in order to free a town.
Gunbrella also throws in some commentary that adds another tonal shift. In this case, the world of Gunbrella is ruled by the Avalon Corporation and its monopoly over crude oil. Not only to characters repeatedly bring up how Avalon’s oil practices are literally poisoning the world and its people, but it is also in control of the police, which lets its corruption run rampant. Intrinsically linked to the main conflict, Avalon’s involvement results in moments where both the humor and darkness of the story are replaced by a serious moral indictment that might not land with some players.
Gunbrella struggles to clearly articulate some important details, such as the nature of the gunbrella. One of the first NPC interactions, and many after, allows players to ask about the gunbrella, which stood out because nothing ever suggested that Murray didn’t know about it. It felt odd to repeatedly ask about the titular weapon since Murray has been comfortably using it since the beginning, and the reveal only added more confusion to this plot point. Gunbrella has many similar moments where a revelation is made that’s meant to be a twist, but the setup for the twist wasn’t clearly communicated.
Addicting Action, Okay Platforming
Where Gunbrella really shines is in its gunplay, which is straightforward and finely tuned. The gunbrella is an incredibly versatile weapon that can either shoot an infinite amount of shells or a limited number of special objects like grenades or sawblades, as well as use its bullet-proof umbrella to absorb projectiles, reflect them, and glide across the arena. To sell how impactful the gun is, as well as offer an extra layer to combat, shooting the gunbrella will propel the player in the opposite direction of the shot. This is a mechanic that can be seen in games like Hollow Knight and is a really effective tool for making combat feel responsive and weighty.
The platforming, while fun, is definitely the weaker side of the action platformer. The gunbrella is the main tool for platforming and can be used to propel the player forward horizontally, diagonally, and vertically, essentially serving as a dash and double jump. It can also act as a glider to travel long distances or to hook onto ropes and turn them into ziplines. What really brings the platforming down is the Murray’s jump height, which is weirdly low in ways that feel unnecessary. There are plenty of obstacles that make use of the gunbrella and Murray’s ability to wall-jump, which makes small ledges that are a single pixel too high for Murray’s jump feel annoying and unnecessary.
Limiting Its Potential By Doing Too Much
After completing Gunbrella, it was hard to shake the feeling that it could have been so much more if it focused on doing much less; namely, in removing the lite RPG elements. These primarily center around a handful of items and gunbrella upgrades, but interacting with them doesn’t impact the game at all. All players really need are the basic health packs and occasional food items for extra hearts. Upgrading the gunbrella requires collecting spare parts and going back to a specific NPC, but the pacing and difficulty of the game make this process feel redundant.
Unlike many modern 2D action platformers, which tend to be Metroidvanias, Gunbrella is completely linear. It actually feels refreshing to have a straightforward run-and-gun experience with the occasional puzzle mixed in, but that brevity also means there are no barriers that require specific abilities or upgrades to overcome. While that linearity is a positive part of the experience, it also makes RPG elements like upgrading the gun a minor, if not completely forgotten, mechanic.
On top of this, Gunbrella is rarely challenging enough to justify these systems. The biggest challenges to the player are enemies ganging up on them or the umbrella not consistently registering incoming attacks when blocking or deflecting. For boss fights, neither of those are an issue as all players need to do is stay close to them and fire, which stun locks almost every boss. Not only does this further reduce the need to engage with its lite RPG mechanics, but it also limits the combat by removing any need to master the movement mechanics since doing so is extra work with little payoff.
Final Thoughts And Review Score
Despite its shortcomings, there’s something about Gunbrella that kept the engagement alive. Maybe it’s because of the beautiful visuals, fantastic score, and clever character writing, or maybe it’s because it oozes with personality and potential. Whatever it is, there is something here that is special and will surely satisfy anyone that’s a fan of this genre. With any luck, Gunbrella will find enough success to get a second installment that can take this concept to its full potential.
Gunbrella is available September 13 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam digital download for the purpose of this review.
