The Indie Challenge: Gunpoint - Week 6
I'm not the sort person who is fond of Indie games. I like my big name titles, my polished graphics and my big budgets. I dislike titles that I can't add to Steam or that can't use the processing power I've lovingly paid out for in my gaming rig. I am, for lack of a better term, a gaming snob. For this reason, I have given myself The Indie Challenge.
Each week, I will be playing at least one lesser known Indie game. I may not have enough time to complete said game, but I will at least try it. I'm doing this to attempt to expand my gaming horizons and stop being so focused on a small selection of game types. There is a whole world of gaming out there ready and waiting for me to come across.
I'll be posting a weekly blog following this challenge and detailing the game I've been playing as well as the game I will be playing next week. If you want to follow along with me, I'll be posting a link to the game.
Previous weeks:
Week 1 - Receiver
Week 2 - FTL: Faster Than Light
Week 3 - Reus
Week 4 - Thomas Was Alone
Week 5 - Home
It's week 6 and I'm somehow still finding time between work and home life to play these indie games. How exactly is unbeknownst to me, but hey, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if it was easy!
This week I was playing Gunpoint, developed by Suspicious Developments. Although this game has got a fair amount of interest from gamers and press alike, it was a title that I still hadn't tried. This was partly because of a busy schedule and partly beacuse of the retro graphics. I don't know what it is but I seem to instantly dismiss something with retro graphics. Last week's Home was testament to the fact that I should broaden my horizons, and so I dove, smashed and kicked my way into Gunpoint.
In Gunpoint, you play as a freelance spy, equipped with gadgets galore, the most notable being your Crosslink and Hypertrousers. The latter allow you to jump great lengths like a frog and fall from dizzying heights without hurting yourself. The former allows you to control the electronics within the building. This tool reminded me a lot of the soon to be released, Watch Dogs.
When using the Crosslink you switch to a blueprint overlay of the building you're in and certain electronics are highlighted: switches, lights, doors, plug sockets etc. You can then see lines connecting the different devices and the flow of power between them. This is where it gets interesting; you can drag the 'power lines' around as much as you want, connecting light switches to trap doors, security cameras to lifts and so on. It's this that makes Gunpoint such an enjoyable title.
For the first few levels, it's pretty straight forward and you always know what you're supposed to do, but it's not long before you have to start getting creative. The enemies slowly get more difficult to deal with and the electronics more complex. One situation comes to mind: I had a light switch connected to a lift switch. In the same room as the lift switch was a sound detector which was connected to a light in the room below. The light was then connected to a door and the door, a trap door over my head. Timing it correctly, I managed to flick the switch next to me, call the lift upstairs, the sound sensor opened a door, smacking a guard in the face which turned off a light in the floor above me and opened a trap door.
Moments like this are what Gunpoint are made for.
Mix this with a humorous dialogue between the spy and his contractors and you have yourself an amazing little puzzle/action/stealth game, the likes of which match (and exceed) some triple AAA stealth-ers. Gunpoint is certainly one to add to your game library as soon as is humanly possible.
If you'd like to pick up a copy of Gunpoint, you can do so by visiting their website here: http://www.gunpointgame.com/
This week I will be playing Guns of Icarus Online. Whilst this is a game that I have played already, I have been wanting to get back in the pilot's seat for quite some time now. It's been updated quite a lot since I last played it so this should be interesting.
If you'd like to check the game out or play along, you can visit the Guns of Icarus Online website here: http://gunsoficarus.com/
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