Inaccurately named: Gunpoint

I'm not a historian and I don't know when it happened, but at some point advertising took over the naming of things. Probably in the sixties, but probably like the 60s BC. A flashy name was worth more than actually, I don't know, describing the contents of the project. Thusly we have Gunpoint, a game in which I was shot about a hundred times but never held at Gunpoint, and only shot a singular person throughout the entire campaign. The developer straight up admits he came up with the name and built a game that got away from the name.

Your character is holding a gun on the box so... Actually I guess it's kind of a reverse spoiler or something... Well, whatever. Gunpoint is a puzzle game, a genre rarely recognized for its thrilling action-o-matic scenes. Actually it might be better described as a Noir detective ninja puzzle game, or maybe a spy thriller puzzle game. You're described as a spy, but you look more like a noir era detective. It's a spy game, basically, in that fantasy realm of spy games that I don't think we get that many of any more.

Well, there isn't a box. If there was a box, then he'd be holding a gun on the box. Or the tin, if you bought the hypothetical nonexistent collector's edition.

It's also a pixel art game. If you've been reading my reviews for a while, you probably realize I'm a little enamored with pixel art games. Good pixel art, mind you, which can be minimalist like Risk of Rain or incredibly detailed like Sonic Mania. There's lots of bad pixel art, lots and lots, people just taking the easy way out and making something "retro".

I wouldn't describe Gunpoint as retro. In fact, the juxtaposition of elements and ideas in Gunpoint are such that it really ends up defining itself by stringing together those elements into something that feels familiar but also unique.



Action in Gunpoint is relatively simple to watch but complex to explain. Your character is a freelance corporate spy, hired to perform jobs around 'East Point', a city where guns are banned. Oddly, you do spend a lot of time getting shot, and for a city where guns are banned the security force certainly don't miss.

You accomplish your spying by re-wiring doors, cameras and lightswitchs to get into rooms, get around security forces or even knock out security officers from halfway across the building. As such, the game is something of a puzzle game, but while it gives you lots of time to figure things out the guards are quite lethal and some dexterity really helps. Sometimes, solutions feel very nuanced and linear, and other times they feel completely seat of your pants. It's a really different experience from the usual puzzle gaming feel, the solutions usually feeling completely logical (if game logical) but also immensely satisfying for those occasional visceral moments where you slam a door into a guard's face.

Visually Gunpoint is a beautifully rendered pixel art puzzle board. The game isn't going to blow your mind, but it's clean and sharp looking with detailed backgrounds and detailed interiors. You enter a "crosslink mode" with a tap on the mousewheel that shifts the visuals, darkening most objects and highlights interactive objects, which makes it generally pretty easy to pick out what you're doing. I did miss a couple bonus items along the way, which tended to end up just looking like part of the background. But I guess that sort of makes sense.

crosslink

The soundtrack is a somber into jazzy affair, charming and ambient but not overwhelming in its presence. It shifts up when you enter crosslink mode, alongside the visuals.. Audio in general is very subdued; windows crash as they break and gunshots are stark against the jazzy soundtrack, but otherwise it's a gentle affair. When things are going well, generally, it's a pretty gentle game. You have a lot of choices in terms of how violent the game is, and honestly, if you're timid I don't think it's difficult to avoid violence to you or other people for most of the game. But I'm pretty impatient.

The rules to guards are a little bit of a stretch to wrap your head around, but generally I didn't mind too much. Basically, if they can see you, they will shoot you, and then you restart. Autosaving in this game is extremely generous, and there is very little downtime. You spend the game solving puzzles, executing on puzzles, and screwing up. You don't spend much time reloading, sitting through anything or waiting around - except when you're trying to line enemies up or waiting tensely on a patrol, but that's a little different. Man do I appreciate this. Gunpoint doesn't try to pad itself out at all. The main campaign is three good hours of gameplay, with no drama or flair.

There aren't too many enemy types, but they provide enough variety in how you interact with the game Basically, you need to use different solutions to solve different increasingly complex problems. One complaint, I guess, is that two of the enemy types are really easy to tell apart while a third type is hard to tell from the first type. I kinda wish they were a little visually more distinct; maybe the game in general could use a little more visual distinction. Oh and my other complaint is that the battery abilities felt a little wonky, but I think you might be able to go back grind for cash, or something to that effect. I never did, so maybe they work better if you do.

The game, as an aside, has excellent tutorials that are fun to play. The story is good as well, very noir. The writing is on point, a little bit funny, a little bit dark. It does the job effectively; it's not the kind of story you play the game for, but it is the level of story you read to add to the atmosphere of the game.

I'm a little shaky on how to evaluate Gunpoint. I mean, from a pure subjective opinion, I really enjoyed this game. I found it to be quirky, unusual, amazingly well paced and just a joy to solve its puzzles. Unlike a lot of other puzzle games, these felt very natural. And not just natural in a reasonable logic fashion, but sometimes you needed to come up with some silly ridiculous solution that worked by the skin of your teeth. But objectively I'm not sure it's for most puzzle gamers, but not to say it isn't. I did a lot of wonky, silly solutions and there's not certainty in my mind that puzzle gamers will I like it.

So basically, do I recommend Gunpoint? Yes, it's a very good game. It could use a little bit of polish on a small couple issues, and the pixel are - while gorgeous to me - might not satisfy everyone. Beyond that I really don't have any personal complaints, but the way the game flows might not work for people who like truly deliberate puzzle solving.