GIBZ Review

GIBZ is the first game developer Torrunt has released on Steam and can be purchased for the low price of $4.99. The game is an addicting, action-adventure currently in Early Access. It was released on May 20, 2016, and already has a respectable amount of content.

GIBZ Game Review

INTRODUCTION

GIBZ is a brand new, fresh of the press game that most definitely has huge potential. With a wide range of unlockable guns, mini-games and fights with bosses, I found it hard to believe that this game just came out! The game focuses on immersing the player into a fast-paced, difficult playing field where the player’s main objective is to kill zombies, buy upgrades and eventually, take out all the bosses the game has to offer. A great touch about this game is it already supports cooperative play, meaning you and up to three of your friends can all play in the same match at once, but if you’re up for a harder challenge, you also have the option to play alone.

You can take a look at GIBZ for yourself on Steam. The game costs 4.99$.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay itself is simple; you spawn in a church (which is essentially a safehouse), kill a bunch of zombies, grind until you have an optimal variety of guns and upgrades, then take on challenges including boss fights and mini-games. Essentially, you’re going to want your character to be in top-notch shape as the challenges in this game are far from easy.

Boss Fight in GIBZ
Each boss has their own strengths and weaknesses; the “Machete Slinger” (pictured above) is capable of spawning many bats onto the level, creating a stressful, yet challenging environment for the player. His weakness, however, is that he is incapable of hitting you from a long range, making it necessary for the player to evade all of his attack attempts. Different strategies will come apparent to you as you play, but rest assured that this is a game of trial and error!

A normal fight is similar to a boss fight, but instead of having one main enemy, you have tons of them! These fights can happen randomly as you walk around the map and you will need to be sure to adapt to your environment quickly, otherwise you’ll find yourself dying quite quickly. Be sure to buy some repellent from the store if you wish to avoid these!

That's your usual Zombie massacre in GIBZ
In a normal zombie fight, you have the opportunity to earn coins, which can, in turn, be used to purchase upgrades or other useful power-ups. You will likely also encounter many crates in these fights containing weapons, clothing items and coins. Partaking in these fights and destroying these crates is not only recommended but completely essential if you wish to succeed in the boss fights mentioned earlier.

These zombie fights will get harder as you progress further in the game; you might see more zombies, harder zombies or other strange creatures that’ll give you a hard time. I can’t count how many times the “Black Beast” (pictured below) has tackled me down to the ground and killed me unrelentingly.

Having fun with the Black Beast creature. GIBZ is full of surprises
If you’re really lucky, perhaps you’ll find a “Supa” gun! (pictured below). Essentially, these temporary guns allow you to fulfill your dreams of becoming an absolute zombie slaying machine by having extreme fire rates, range, and damage. They are limited on ammo, of course, but they are extremely effective against the stronger zombies and will allow you to sweep down a horde of zombies in a relatively short period of time. These “Supa” guns can range from being anywhere between machine guns to flamethrowers and you can rest assured these things will do more than just get the job done.

Supa gun. It is a kind of ultimate weapon in GIBZ
The upgrade system is fairly well-done in this game, giving the player different options fit for their play-style and their in-game budget. Each upgrade can cost around ~300 coins at first and does a phenomenal job of helping the player raise their attack stats, melee stats and much more. Eventually, once you reach the higher “Zones” the prices of these upgrades will go up, but the quality of them will increase as well. During my playthrough, I tended to go for upgrades that increased my gun’s damage and my character’s health and I think this proved to be beneficial in the long run.

GIBZ's upgrade system
The mini games are quite unique and add a decent amount of content to the gameplay. You can unlock mini-games by beating the bosses and they can offer a lot of coins as well as give you and your friends something to do after a successful boss fight; my personal favorite has to be the “Surfing” mini-game.

During the surfing mini-game, your objective is to collect as many coins as you can while avoiding crates and zombies. This can be a little difficult, but the reward is really great when it comes to this game. You’ll find yourself earning enough money to upgrade your character entirely by just playing this mini-game a few times.

That's my favorite mini-game in GIBZ
Controls

As for the controls of the game, there really isn’t too much to say other than the fact that they are very functional in their current state and allow for easy maneuvering as well as shooting throughout the entirety of the game. Essentially, you move with the WASD keys and aim your weapon with your mouse. If you’ve played games similar to this genre before, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble picking this title up, but if this is a new concept to you, definitely practice a bit before jumping into the harder stuff.

AUDIO

The sound effects in this game are definitely well-done for an indie game. The gunshot effects are loud and fitting to the game and the sound effect upon killing a zombie is rewarding. The soundtrack is also marvelous as it fits the time period and setting of the game (the early 1900s, London) and is overall just a nice track to listen to.

The soundtrack for the game really reminds me of the older flash games I used to play when I was younger, but this game adds a twist to it that makes it sound much better than these cheaply made games. Overall, I think it’s enjoyable to listen to especially when you go into battle or play a mini-game.

Graphics

The graphics remind me a lot of those Flash games you’d find on AddictingGames or Kongregate, but this really isn’t a bad thing for this title! The game runs at 60 FPS making every animation look solid and I’m fairly convinced that almost every modern day computer could play this game easily. The cartoon-like assets actually fit in well with a game of this caliber and I think this is the best theme the developer could have picked. Overall, the graphics are really nicely done for the genre and does a good job of accommodating for the people with slower PCs.

Glitches

Glitches are, without a doubt, existent in this title. I’ve seen zombies get stuck on crates, my movement wouldn’t work right and if I was unlucky, my game would even crash occasionally. This is completely understandable considering it is an early release title, but they most definitely need to be addressed. If a player’s keystrokes glitch out while they’re in the middle of the last boss fight or if their game would to crash, they might just uninstall the game right then and there and never touch it again! Quite frankly, the frequency of these glitches can vary, but when they do happen it can be a little frustrating. I have high hopes that these will be fixed in the future as the developer seems to show a lot of care for the game, so this really doesn’t matter too much in contrast to the quality of the game.

Overworld view, GIBZ
Conclusion

GIBZ is a little bit broken in its current state, but I can see a ton of potential in this game. Whether you want to give something new a try, or if you’ve already played many other similar games, I’d give the green light for this one. The developers seem to really care about where the game is going and I’ve seen a few updates download seemingly fixing bugs. The one thing that really disappointed me about GIBZ was the length; I had a really great time leveling my character to the best he could be, but the game ended much faster than I had originally expected. When it really boils down to it, if one player can finish the game in a little less than five hours, how fast can a group of four do it? Nevertheless, I had a great time playing this game and I feel as if you have an extra $4.99 sitting in your Steam wallet, you should at least look into buying it. The gameplay is addictive, there is a plethora of mini-games and challenges and there is never a better feeling than finding a new weapon in a crate.

So, if you’ve got some friends or if you’re looking to try the game solo, give it a shot! I’m positive that the developers will expand upon the duration of the game rapidly and I’m sure you and your friends will be anxiously waiting for the next game update.

Pros Cons
 + Fun and challenging gameplay  – Not too many guns to pick from (as of right now)
 + Graphics is well made and fits the game well  – You're bound to come across glitches
 + Music and sound effects are pleasant to listen to  – You'll find duplicate items from crates a lot
 + The upgrade system is well-made  – Free alternatives on various websites
 + Battles are rewarding and addicting  – Short. especially when playing with friends
 + The player has to be strategic  – Hard mode doesn't feel that hard
 + Interesting, exciting mini-games
 + Auto saves!

7.5
Good

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