Once upon a rainy night
Here is something that not a lot of people know about me; I LOVE the noir genre of films. Tenacious, hard-boiled gumshoe, detectives, a beautiful woman in distress, and of course a thick layer of rain and fog just to set the atmosphere. As it turns out the video game Gunbrella has a good bit of the above and more in spades A weapon more commonly associated with Batman’s villain the Penguin; the developers at indie studio Doinksoft have taken the simple umbrella and truly made it an all-purpose tool of death and destruction for our protagonist.
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: Switch (reviewed), PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
In Gunbrella players take on the role of a woodsman who while working in the cold, snowy forest spots a fire coming from his home. Upon returning to his horror, he finds his family slain in pools of blood on the floor. Gunbrella may be pixel art type game, but it doesn’t shy away from the red stuff. After the screen goes black and the title pops and is read aloud by a cool sounding announcer, we find our hero a short while later, armed with the titular weapon and on his way to find those who have slain his family. The various environments that players will come across in Gunbrella are places that feel like they were pulled from noir novels of the past. Levels drip (sometimes literally) with atmosphere, dark rainy nights and more really work to sell the neo-noir dystopian, steampunk world.
Players will need to unravel a giant conspiracy to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding this world and the origins of Gunbrella itself. Even the identity of the protagonist remains a mystery that will need exploring. As the players make their way around the city, they will be tasked with speaking to the locals for help in trying to figure out the mysterious Gunbrella. But these folks will also offer side quests and tasks for the players to complete that will usually reward materials that are needed to upgrade the Gunbrella weapon.
The world of Gunbrella is darker than it seems, as players progress their investigation they will come across cops, cultists, ghouls and even monsters before it’s all said and done. Players will also utilize interrogation skills to get vital information from people to help progress the story. On top of the great combat and story Gunbrella is also a platformer at its core. The titular weapon can also be used to gain height for jumps and slow falls just like Mary Poppins would. There are zip lines that can be slid on with the umbrella and if players aim the gunbrella down they can bounce like a pogo stick like ole Uncle Scrooge ala the Duck Tails old school Nintendo game. The Gunbrella is much more than just a weapon, it’s a multipurpose tool which players can also use as a shield to block and reflect bullets among other things that will be discovered along the way.
The only real complaint I had with Gunbrella was the map system, I always felt like I was lost as I wandered around cities, sewers and more, but due in large part to the fun of traversal with the Gunbrella I never really was too angry at being lost. A large part of Gunbrella’s charm for me is its atmosphere, as I said I love the noir genre; so much so that I am writing a neo-noir novel, so I thoroughly relished my time with Gunbrella. From its beautiful pixel graphics, its fantastically smart writing, and its amazing soundtrack, Gunbrella is yet another great game in the sea of great games that is otherwise known as 2023.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
