It is always nice to meet new Italian development studios and it is also with a certain parochialism and particular interest that we are attracted to such projects when we find ourselves at sector fairs abroad. This is why at EGX Rezzed (a fair where there was also another made in Italy project at a rather advanced stage such as Close to the Sun) we could not fail to visit the stand of Ludicrous Games - a small independent developer currently composed only of a couple of friends and based in Lucca - authors of Guntastic, a nice 2D party game that will presumably see the light by the end of the year, at least in Early Access form on Steam.
Gunstastic, made in Unreal Engine, is a multiplayer shooter title with arena mechanics that supports up to 4 players locally or online, where matches last a few seconds and you compete to reach a certain number of KOs. Each player, after choosing one of the bizarre characters, starts unarmed from a random position in the level, first trying to equip one of the weapons that spawn randomly in the arena.
Not even a moment's respite
Then, they are immediately punched: Guntastic is immediate and adrenaline-pumping and to win you need luck, strong nerves and a good aim. The game is very reminiscent of the splendid Towerfall Ascension or even the less known Cobalt, a concept that is not original but executed well, at least for the short test we were able to do at the fair. Ludicrous' work can be seen in the originality of the artwork and the design of the arenas and characters, something we particularly appreciated. In fact, you can impersonate fighters on the verge of delusional as monkeys, zombies, satanic koalas and many others. Even the stages, although only one screen wide, also seem very accurate and the result of a long testing and refinement by the developers, full of obstacles and elements capable of giving players a hard time (for example a train or a lift equipped with blades). Just a pity that, for a game with apparent repetitive mechanics in which variety will be fundamental in the final judgment, the promise of only 6 arenas upon release is a little disappointing.
Even the weapons, which range from simple rifles to proton weapons, without forgetting grenade launchers or flamethrowers, show a certain care and after the first games we already had our favorites.
There is still time but ...
Gunstastic is fun - at EGX people seemed really happy - and it's clearly a product developed with love by Ludicrous Games, on their first project. Our huge fear is that in 2019 this will not be enough, especially in the sea magnum of video games released on Steam and Early Access. Although the devs have promised us that over time they will add modes, weapons and characters to the game, Guntastic does little to bring anything new to market and it could probably work, at least in the current state of things, only as a release at a really budget price, able to entertain a group of friends on the sofa at home for an hour or so. This also considering that for the moment it is intended only for the PC market (certainly not the best known for local co-op) and that the console release will perhaps be considered in a possible future undefined.
The game reminded us of other past Italian projects such as Hyperdrive Massacre by 34bigthings (then authors of Redout), well-made titles, of course, but without too many pretensions. sure Guntastic actually looks like a good start for a team of just two people on their first job, but to establish itself in an overcrowded market and also to make the Italian gaming industry grow, something more is probably needed. We will certainly look at Guntastic with interest in its development and hope that its nevertheless sparkling gameplay loop manages to carve out at least its 15 'of stardom and give Ludicrous the resources to be able to cultivate their current dream, and why not also future ones.
► Guntastic is an Arcade-type game developed and published by Ludicrous Games for PC, Expected release: 2019
