Gunfire Reborn - FPS Rogue-Like (Early Access)

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
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So, in tune with my recent stint in the Rogue-like games, I've been playing a game called Gunfire Reborn through Steam. Gunfire Reborn is an FPS Rogue-like game, which currently consists of three levels that each have... I believe four stages. In Rogue-like fashion, you start off each run with a basic set of equipment, and throughout your run, you will gain new weapons and temporary upgrades. The game also features a simple leveling system fueled by talents (i.e. attaining one talent = gain one level), which is in staunch contrast to the temporary upgrades as the talents persist across runs. Similar to other Rogue-like games, certain weapons and scrolls (one of the two temporary upgrade mechanics) are locked behind small achievement-like tasks. For example, unlocking one weapon required me to kill a Fire Lizard a specific amount of times with fire damage. The game can be played solo or with three other people.

Overall, I have a fairly positive response to the game. It's important to note that it's currently in Early Access; however, the game doesn't have too many technical issues. The most glaring issues to most will likely be the rough translation work. I have seen others complain about the lack of content and/or the game being too easy, but I guess that depends upon your capability. The game also has a bit of a Borderlands feel, which is likely from the art style and gunplay, but instead of humans, you play as a bipedal cat or dog. (Although, playing as the dog requires you to get level 30, which I think should probably be a bit lower.) Also, it may be worth noting that in typical Rogue-like fashion, you can feel a bit hampered by poor upgrades or weapon drops. For example, during a run last night, it wasn't until after the second boss where I finally felt like I received a good weapon.

The game is pretty cheap in its current state (I believe it's just $12), and I think I've had enough enjoyment out of it to justify the price.

A few tips for anyone starting out:
  • The chest at the beginning of the first level can only be opened if you get the appropriate talent. This chest will offer you three random guns that you can choose from (at no cost to you), and adding more points into the talent can change that to include more weapons, or any weapon.
    • Only weapons that have been unlocked can be offered.
    • Adding more points to the talent will increase the type of guns that can be offered. It isn't clear what weapons are included based upon the talent points, but I think the default talent includes weapons that use Normal ammunition, the second point offers weapons that use Large ammunition, and the third point offers weapons that use Special ammunition. (That's my guess since I can't recall seeing the latter offered.)
    • The translation for the talent may suggest that you can "get any weapon", but be aware that it just means that they're part of the randomized pool of weapons that are offered.
  • Glowing cracks in the wall are vaults, which can only be accessed if you get the appropriate talent.
    • The talent is cheap to purchase and is at the bottom tier, so it's easy to get.
    • Vaults are a good way to get upgrades (scrolls), so it is important to unlock that feature quickly.
  • Stages in levels two and three have glowing walls that block access to buildings or through arches. These cannot be opened.
    • The game uses a form of stage randomization that takes a bunch of connected rooms, and only opens specific doors to create a connected series of rooms. This means that some rooms are simply not accessible as they are not part of your current path, which is why they are blocked.
    • Level one has visible stone barricades on the doors that are a bit less confusing.
    • The game will usually block you in a room after the enemies have been engaged. This block is similar to the ones that block your access to off-path areas; however, these walls will go away once the room has been cleared. This means that you can go back and pick up things that were left behind (e.g. some health restore if you took a lot of damage).
      • However, you cannot go back through a portal to the previous stage. So, do not forget to loot the blue upgrade chest.
  • Each room has a chance to spawn certain extra, non-hostile entities. These include...
    • Peddler: This is your vendor that will sell health restoration, grenade restocking, ammo restocking, some weapons (only those that have been unlocked), and sometimes scrolls (only those that have been unlocked).
    • Craftsman: This is your weapon upgrade vendor. He can upgrade the effectiveness (i.e. the damage) of a weapon or the Gemini inscription on a weapon.
      • Only two weapon effectiveness upgrades can be performed per Craftsman spawn.
      • My recommendation is to avoid weapon effectiveness upgrades unless your weapon is really good. The problem is that weapon upgrades start becoming expensive, yet the damage increase stays the same. In other words, if the upgrade to level 1 grants +5 damage, then the upgrade to level 6 will also grant +5 damage. This means you're effectively gaining less of a percentage of an upgrade each time. You're better off waiting for good weapon drops.
    • Red Chest: These chests are sort of random event chests that often grant bonuses but have negative effects. For example, you may get an option to lose 45% of your health to gain a certain amount of max health or max shields.
    • Vaults: As mentioned above, these are displayed as glowing cracks on the wall that need to be shot to reveal a portal.
      • The vaults require you to either kill all the enemies or get past a jumping puzzle.
      • The reward for vaults is usually a blue chest that contains a scroll.
      • Level two and level three commonly have elite battles in vaults where you will have to fight an elite mob and instead of gaining access to a blue chest, you gain access to a green one, which allows you to choose one of three randomly chosen scrolls.
      • Jumping puzzle rooms have a hard challenge that will reward you with an additional (green) chest.
        • These puzzles often require very tight jumping/dashing between platforms. Be prepared to step on the very edge of platforms to maximize air-dash range.
        • These puzzles are limited to 2 minutes. If you fail to reach the indicated point, you cannot open the chest, but you can still try to complete the puzzle.
  • Most scrolls can be dropped.
    • This allows you to remove scrolls that you don't end up liking or ones that don't work well with your other scrolls.
      • For example, if you get the scroll that converts your shields to health and gives you health restore per second, there's little point to having any shield restoration scrolls.
    • This allows you to trade scrolls with teammates.
      • You cannot use this as a method to take more than one of the same scroll.
    • Some scrolls cannot be dropped.
      • Cursed scrolls, which provide a negative effect, cannot be dropped.
      • Some beneficial scrolls, such as the one that provides one free item per Peddler spawn, cannot be dropped.
  • When you die, you can be resurrected in a different way depending on your game mode.
    • In both single player and multi-player, you can resurrect yourself at the cost of some of your spirit shards (these are used for buying talents). Resurrecting yourself can only be performed once per run. This may come across as odd because the game will still show you the cost the second time, but the buttons are grayed out. (I've had enough for it.)
    • In multi-player, you can be resurrected by a teammate either through a timed interaction, which is common in FPS games, or through a purchase at the Peddler.
      • A specific player can only be resurrected at a each Peddler spawn one time.
    • In multi-player, a player will be automatically revived after the boss is defeated at the end of a level.
 
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