Developer: Live Motion Games
Publisher: Gaming Factory
Platform: Switch, PC
Tested on: Switch
Gunslingers & Zombies – Review
The Wild West was a time and place that brought us a bunch of iconic things. One of those was the gunslingers. These pistol-wielding warriors were known for their speed and accuracy with their revolvers. One would think that with so many armed people around that nothing would form a problem, not even bandits. Suddenly a new threat emerges over the horizon as a zombie horde is making its way toward the town and only a handful of these gunslingers can stop the rampage of these aggressors. This is what Gunslingers & Zombies is all about.
Story
The game starts with two unnamed protagonists walking out of the local saloon. Everything looks calm at first in their small town in the desert but things take a turn for the worse. Suddenly they see a group of “green men” ravaging the town and attacking people. This event sets the gears in motion for our group to start taking care of this menace while gathering other survivors for a chance of survival. At the beginning of each level, you have a few slides showing the current story as well as the current mission.
In the entire game there isn’t too much story value to be found and this isn’t really all too bad as the game is focused on enjoying the action with some slivers of information rather than bringing you a long story about zombies in the desert.
Graphics
Visually Gunslingers & Zombies looks pretty decent. Viewing the game from an isometric point of view means that you won’t really notice a lack of details when you are hovering over the map trying to make your next move. Most of the play areas are pretty large and it is quite easy and enjoyable to look around on the battlefield for the various different houses and general clutter. Then during the combat, there will be moments where the game zooms in on the action showing you a close-up shot of the attack and these show the game’s low-poly graphics really nicely.
Sound
For a game that is set during the Wild West, you would expect some country music, ambient sounds, and a lot of gunfire. Sadly the only music that is playing in the background is some generic music that fits in your everyday game but it would have been great to have some country songs instead. For the sound effects, you could say the same thing. The sound effects are ok but with how many unique and powerful-sounding weapons there were during that time it would have been better to have the guns sound the part. Finally, when it comes to the characters, there is no real voice acting present. Humans can grunt and zombies can wail, and that’s about it.
Gameplay
Gunslingers & Zombies is a turn-based strategy game where you must stop a horde of zombies from taking over your small town somewhere in the desert. During the introduction, you get explained how the game generally works and it is quite easy to understand even if you have no real prior experience with the genre. This first level serves as a good tutorial where you get the time and help to get acquainted with the controls and rules of the game.
Each character has two action points and every action will consume one point. For movement, you have two options: moving in a close radius (blue outline) will consume one point, and sprinting to a farther distance (yellow outline) will consume two. Once you get in range of an enemy, you will notice a little shield symbol that changes color, and this is essential for flanking tactics. The better you have positioned your characters, the more damage and critical hit chance you will have.
The combat in Gunslingers & Zombies feels excellent. You have a hit chance indicator that lets you know how your chance is to hit your target and the health bar will show the potential damage. This allows you to make quick work of some targets. Maybe the most interesting combat tactic is the defense mode, with this action you will make your character alert and they will engage with an enemy that comes too close. However, it is best to have multiple gunslingers on defense as they can only shoot once. To make the action more exciting, there are a handful of different zombies, each with their own unique abilities. Some of the undead can attack you at the range or will spawn small minions if they die, while others explode in a violent way so it is best to keep your distance.
Once every character has run out of action points or you want the enemy to make their move, then you just end your turn and let it play out. Probably the most fun thing about the gameplay is that you control all characters simultaneously, meaning that you won’t have to rely on strict timing to set up your tactics. This gives you an endless amount of possibilities and can give you an edge in certain battles.
While everything in the game looks good there is only one real point of frustration and this is mainly pointed toward console players. The game is available on both PC and Switch but there seems to be a slight oversight when using a controller and having to select certain actions. Moving around the different menus and actions is very easy, but there is no safety in place when you accidentally slip with your joystick and do a wrong action or end your turn. The way to fix this would be a confirmation message before using the sprint function during movement (as this drains all your action points) and also when trying to end the turn. During our playthrough, we had a few accidental misses and this did have some serious consequences during combat.
When it comes to content, the game is a bit limited at the moment. In total, you have two chapters with five levels each and they will give you a few hours of entertainment. For the completionist, there is always the option to try and get all the stars in all the levels by completing the special objectives. These stars may not grant you a real reward, but at least it gives you bragging rights and some extra playtime. Maybe the developers will release more levels as time progresses but when looking at the game’s price tag, you’re already getting a good deal.
Conclusion
Gunslingers & Zombies is a little gem that deserves a place on each strategy gamer’s machine. Thanks to its low price point it guarantees a fun experience for everyone for a few hours at least. All in all, you’ll be treated to an enjoyable little title with an original theme. You’ll have a blast shooting your way through this Wild West zombie infestation, and the overall gameplay loop proves to be very entertaining. Thanks to its simple controls it can be played by everyone, even though the console version could use a safety feature when accidentally pressing the end turn button with remaining action points.
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