There has always been a market for indie platformers, but what if you mix that in with stealth and action? Well, you get 2013’s Gunpoint developed by Tom Francis. This game is proof that a game can be comedic and noir and packed full of charm and elegance. You trudge through the world of murder mystery and espionage, with the help of some special trousers and other items to get you going.
The special trousers you ask? Bizzare for trousers in a video game to be a main feature and mechanic but they give you the ability to leap through the air like an oversized cricket. It’s pretty simple, you can see the arc of the jump for good control. Of course, the higher the jump, the more height, less distance. Lower the jump, more distance, less height. Very simple, and it’s perfect. This see’s you cling to walls like a Spider-Man wannabee or smash through windows, without taking any damage whatsoever, providing you don’t alert a guard and get shot in the process.
Jumping can only get you so far, it goes hand in hand with great straightforward hacking mechanics that have the capacity to provide a challenge, but never confuse you. You can do a lot of things with this mechanic, activated by a secondary silhouette view, like Batman’s detective vision from the Arkham games, you can reroute wires from anything from lights to doors. You can set up interesting little circuits, for example when a door is opened, a light goes off. Perhaps to hide you when a guard enters. There are a lot of sequences you can set up with your hacking ability, and it always works as planned, providing you have set it up correctly.
The difficulty increases as you progress through the game, but the freedom and ability to roam the level never change. Most of the levels are about retrieving items from inside secure buildings, with that you can scout the levels all you want. You have control, and the game wants you to know that.
Stealth is the primary way of finishing the game, and it is heavily encouraged, giving you abilities to unlock to give you an upper hand against the guards and the buildings you’re up against. As most games do, it gives you a post level rating, that won’t change depending on your play style, even if you have a heavy trigger finger, you can still get that A+, however, you will maybe get labelled something a little different. Possibly a psychopath.
Experiment all you want, the game allows and wills you towards it, with another ingenious feature, the autosave feature. It gives you the option to start 2,5 or 10 seconds previous to when you died, making the game fast paced and never waiting around for anything. The feeling of death not being paramount gives given by this system lets you try out all the stupid, action movie scenes. Want to see what happens when you charge through that window, hitting that guard with a rugby-esque tackle? By all means, go for it.
The graphics and writing only compliment each other, the art style fits perfectly with the style of noir, espionage writing, throwing in a lot of wits and comedic release, making the game not serious at all, but still not overly silly. It is appealing to look at and also appealing to read.
The unfortunately short time you spend with Gunpoint is filled with fun and intrigue, providing a refreshing and fun way to play a stealth platformer. It is highly recommended if you like indie games with short stories, that don’t require maximum investment but still get maximum enjoyment, then this game is for you. At only £6, you can’t go wrong. Make sure to check it out. HIGHLY recommended.
Final score 9/10
PROS-
+ Gameplay simple but perfect
+ Graphics and writing are fantastic
+ Stealth and hacking feel complete and fluid
CONS
– Perhaps a little too short
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