Gungrave G.O.R.E. Preview (PS5) – Gungrave G.O.R.E. is the latest instalment in the Gungrave franchise that sees the return of Grave and his gun-crazy band.
Developer Iggymob and publisher Prime Matter were gracious enough to provide PSU with a hands-on preview code for the game.
I must say it’s been a pleasure returning to the Gurngrave universe in its more traditional sense.
Gungrave G.O.R.E. Hands-On Preview (PS5) – A Symphony Of Destruction
A Much-Desired Return To The Gungrave Universe
Gungrave G.O.R.E. sees the return of Grave and Mika as their group, “El Arcangel”, once again assemble to stop another evil organization from spreading its evil across the world.
I only got to play through the first four missions of G.O.R.E. so I couldn’t experience a lot of the game’s story, but it’s looking to provide a much more cinematic experience than ever before.
The few cutscenes I got to witness were jaw-dropping and blood-soaked. I can only hope there is more to come in the final product.
When people ask me what kind of game Gungrave is, I can best describe it as a musou game with guns.
You take on waves of enemies as they try and take you down. Being resurrected gives Grave the excuse of being able to take dozens of bullet shots and continue to dish out punishment to his foes.
Blasting Enemies With An Infinite Number Of Bullets
Gungrave retains its high-powered shoot-a-thon action. Grave is accompanied by his trusted Cerbrous pistols and his coffin, which he uses for melee attacks.
You can jump dodge while shooting, run and gun, but more entertainingly, if you stand still and rapidly shoot your guns, Grave shows a unique animation that sees him twisting and jumping around, blasting anyone in his way.
Grave also has access to melee attacks with the coffin he carries on his back.
These melee attacks aren’t as effective but provide a great way of pushing enemies away from Grave when he gets surrounded.
Some enemies come equipped with shields that Grave must break before he can hurt these thugs, and melee is an excellent way of busting through those shields.
Grave has a health bar and a shield bar. Before he takes any health damage, his shield must be depleted.
The shield recharges when not in combat, but Grave must perform executions to recharge his shield during encounters.
When doing enough damage to enemies, they can become stunned, at which point you can perform a brutal execution.
The good news is you don’t have to perform this execution at close range.
Grave’s coffin comes equipped with a grappling chain that he can use to pull enemies toward him for a grab allowing him to use enemies as a human shield or pull himself toward an enemy he’s attached the grapple.
The grapple allows Grave to pull off long-range executions, saving valuable time during an encounter.
A Surprising Amount Of Enemy Variety
Though you’ll face plenty of the same type of foes, I encounter a good variety of enemies in my short preview.
Sure they can all be killed in the same manner, but their tactics are different when up against Grave.
Enemies vary from melee brutes that can destroy your shield in a single hit to those who use stealth camo to hide and sneak around to attack you.
Some enemies even launch poison gas to damage Grave in a wide area constantly.
When the game combines the many enemy varieties in its encounters, G.O.R.E. can get challenging, and I died numerous times.
Grave has access to various abilities that provide him with various ways to take down his foes. One of which is the Domination.
The ability that gives Grave his unique super abilities, like turning his coffin into a Gatling gun or even a massive rocket he kicks into enemies.
These skills are the only way to heal Grave since there aren’t any health pick-ups or rechargeable health, at least not in my preview.
I was also given access to the upgrade system that allows you to improve Grave and his skills.
You can unlock different Domination skills and increase his damage with guns and melee, but more importantly, new skills provide better melee attacks and shield strength.
It’s not a robust system, but it allows you to grow Grave to take on the more challenging encounters in the game.
Not The Most Visually Groundbreaking Experience
Much like its predecessors, G.O.R.E. is a linear experience with a bit of exploration. You’ll go from level to level, mowing down foes.
The locations I got to play in weren’t that exciting, from a factory to city streets and into the sewers. The environments aren’t unique, but future plenty of distractable pieces to create a plethora of destructing.
The graphics won’t blow anyone away, and the character designs are pretty basic outside the main players like Grave and Mika.
I also enjoyed the soundtrack in G.O.R.E. Mixing rock music with fast-paced electronic music works well, and there were many times when it felt like I was playing a Devil May Cry game.
The entire game has also received a full English dub which is nice since you get plenty of communications coming in from Mika, and it would have been a pain to read with all the action on screen.
Gungrave: G.O.R.E. is looking to be a great return to the franchise.
Though the franchise’s resurrection wasn’t as well received a few years ago with Gungrave VR, G.O.R.E. brings back its traditional gun-blazing symphony with plenty of modern-day quality-of-life improvements.
Gungrave G.O.R..E. releases on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on November 22, 2022
Preview code provided by PR.