After being cast from the Citadel for the crime of being weak, you encounter a talking crocodile and a gunboat. You commandeer the gunboat and various weapons, navigating through dangerous waters to return to the Citadel. As you proceed through your journey, you encounter new challenges and a variety of weapons to assist you. Every level has a high score that you can replay to beat once you have new tools to work with.
This is a fast-paced game where your goal is to survive, complete the objectives, and beat the clock. New weapons and abilities keep you playing to find out what’s next for your arsenal. After going through the levels, gameplay becomes repetitive since there’s nothing to break up the adventure. It’s a great game in short bursts but there’s little reason to return unless you pursue high scores.
Gunboat God is available on PC, Xbox X|S, and PlayStation 5 for USD 12.99.
It’s up to you to defend yourself and your friend from enemy attacks.
Story – Falling from the Sky
The story begins when you are expelled from the Citadel, a location high in the sky. You are expelled along with other citizens for being “too weak”, being released into the world below. Many perish during the fall but you somehow manage to survive by falling into the titular gunboat. With the help of a talking crocodile, you commandeer the boat and fight various enemies in your journey back to the Citadel.
The story gets more context than games like Nova Antarctica but it’s still simple. While you explore new areas, the goal is to return to the Citadel by any means necessary. The world below is full of threats that you must destroy or outlast before you can get there. It’s not a complex story but it works to establish the setting. Your new companion communicates with you but it’s mostly led by a silent protagonist using the gunboat.
Your mission is to return to the Citadel after completing regions.
Gameplay – Gunning for the High Score
Gunboat God consists of moving your gunboat around the level while firing at enemies threatening to sink you. Your objective ranges from surviving against enemies, moving from one end to the other, or defeating enemies within a time limit. Clearing a level lets you move to the next one though you don’t need to finish every level to move to a new area. Every level gives you a score at the end and you can replay levels to get better scores.
Fighting with the gunboat is an action-packed and hectic affair. Enemies fly quickly and you only have a single gun to hold them off. Luckily, you gain new weapons and abilities as you progress though you can only use one weapon at a time.
You must also use the gunboat’s ability to travel underwater to dodge attacks or navigate past obstacles. Everything moves quickly and it’s a relief to finish everything. The excitement of completing a level and aiming to surpass your previous score is great, especially when you have more experience and better weapons.
Sometimes you must defeat enemies quickly to fill a trap.
The downside is that there’s no other form of gameplay and it’s all you do. Even with the variations in level objectives, they all involve the same fundamentals of fighting with the gunboat. Gameplay becomes repetitive towards the middle and your interest in action platformers is what drives you to finish the game. Even replaying levels to achieve the highest score only matters for bragging rights; it doesn’t mean much if you don’t revisit a level.
Audio & Visual – Shadow Characters, Bright Setting
Most of the characters are shadowy, black characters with only their eyes and mouths having any white colour. Unlike games such as Painted in Blood, the background is colourful and vivid. You can see the detail in the obstacles and the creatures. Environments are often bright colours like green or blue though this is sometimes averted with colours like purple. The level selection offers a more beautiful use of visuals and colours.
There are barely any spoken words, mostly text bubbles for communication. Your audio mostly comes from enemies that attack you and the sounds of the gunboat. It’s nothing unique but it stands out from the background music that serves to highlight the intensity of your battles.
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- Going underwater is a key part of your strategy for survival.
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- The weapon wheel lets you decide what weapon is most effective.
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- The creatures you encounter get more intense as you progress.
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- Getting a new weapon is always a nice feeling since it gives you more power.
Gunboat God was reviewed on Steam with a code provided by Tinsley PR.
