Kinda sorta feels familiar... and I'm completely okay with that.
Shout out to Duoyi Interactive Entertainment Limited for hooking us up with a copy of the game for this review. That said... let's jump in!
Cats, Dogs, and Guns... oh my! Gunfire Reborn is an Indie multiplayer shooter, delivering a rogue-lite-RPG experience through the eyes of... heroic pets that reminds me of Borderlands.
I don't want to give you the impression that you will go into Borderlands: Pet Edition, but... it reminds me of it based on the art style and the portals. No need to worry about getting your hands on a clone, this game has its own charm, and structure.
Gameplay: When it comes to the fun factor... Gunfire Reborn delivers the fun in the heat of battle (surprisingly) when all hell is breaking loose, that's when your skill is truly put to the test. You encounter normal monsters primarily during your adventure (i.e. terracotta soldiers, bandits, primitive creatures, and more), but... you can't underestimate any of them because you can end up KO'd waiting to be revived.
In the heat of battle, sometimes you can't always expect to be revived... because a teammate can end up in the same situation as you as they stand defenseless trying to revive you. Luckily you have the ability to revive yourself (at least once)... and you can be brought back if another player has enough coin to buy your way back into the game through the Peddler (frog merchant). So it requires some level of strategy and teamwork to progress from beginning to end. If you pass up the chance to revive a fellow player to get your hands on a different weapon or something... that's one less person to actually have your back (especially during boss battles).
Battling massive bosses can also be fun, especially if you're playing with friends. The same can apply to strangers, but it's a mixed bag because you don't know what you're going to get (if you get anything at all... I'll explain it later). It's a thin line between fun and frustration in this game (sometimes) because you don't know how some players will act in the field.
Teamwork goes a long way when making your way through this level-based adventure game, but when you have someone or a few people taking off running ahead, teamwork falls apart. There is no way to escape a firefight once you're locked into a certain area, you have to eliminate the monsters. If you ran ahead and your team went into a vault, you can only rely on luck if you need to be revived at that point.
Vaults are those portals that I mentioned prior (I call them portals because they look like portals)... which are hidden areas you can access by shooting cracks in the wall in certain areas. These vaults contain a variety of challenges, whether you're taking on enemies or obstacles.
Gunfire Reborn is a level-based adventure game... so you're moving from point A to point B to point C where you fight a boss character before moving on to the next area. You take on a variety of characters like bugs, statues, cats, monsters, these snipers that remind me of a certain bounty hunter from Star Wars the Clone Wars (animated show), etc.
As far as protagonists go... you only have two to choose from right now (that I've seen), but... the game is in early access. In the full release, they need at least four characters... that compliment each other. The current options don't stand in the way of gameplay, but... more protagonists boost the replay value.
Visuals: Borderlands comes to mind with this game... although it's more linear, but... I think it's not only because of the gameplay and the portals but also the cel-shaded voxel graphics. I like the toonish toy-like look of the characters, they're memorable and I think the look of this FPS is one of the reasons why the popularity got a boost in it's early access.
Replay Value: In Gunfire Reborn, I see the replay value coming by way of building your character and unlocking various abilities for the weapons.
In-game you have a variety of elements like Wildfire which gives you the ability to affect enemies with an elemental effect between +40% to +60% for a certain amount of time, Energy Echo gives you the same element type as your current weapon, and these are 2 of 6.
Smoke gives you access to different options as well, which include Backpack Expansion that boosts your grenade capacity, and Toxic Smoke. Toxic is my fave because I put in some serious damage with lingering results. Toxic grenades give between +300% - +500% and gain 100% additional damage each second after the explosion.
The other smoke options are cool, but... toxic is the most effective in my book. The elemental shield is cool too, which gives you a +30 - +90 max shield, and gives you 6s to 20s of immunity time to elemental effects.
The Orb also gives you a good set up options, ranging from the number of times you can use them before you recharge (via the Power Source power-up), Energy Blade delivers damage to the enemy and adjacent baddies, Advanced Shield which recharges the shield after use, etc. The orb's basic use allows you to freeze the baddies, and this can help you in the long run if you make good use of it. Use the Enhancement Lasts option to boost the freeze time for an additional 2 to 6 seconds and that could have you dash out of the path of clear and present danger. These are for the Crown Prince.
Ao Bai's ascensions are mainly weapon damage, health, and explosions damage... not elemental. So you will not have the same experience between two characters.
You also have talents to unlock, like the Gemini Inscription... which allows the weapon with the Gemini Inscription to appear in the adventure. The name comes from it activating when two different weapons having the same inscription are equipped, and that's when you get access to their power. The Tyrant Leader talent gets you more Soul Essence from bosses... which gives you +10 to 50%! Soul Essence gives you the ability to revive yourself if you have enough of it.
Tip: Currently, you have 10+ talents available and I recommend going after the Dimension Pouch that allows you to keep a certain amount of Soul Essence... so that you don't lose what you have leftover, and Starting Funds, and Money Maker. This gives you the ability to level up and equip yourself with the best... earlier on.
You also have things like Occult Scrolls, but you have to be careful with these. Sure you have scrolls like the Ammo Belt that double your ammo capacity, and Snow Boots that give you immunity to slow effects and 50% less damage when it comes to traps, but... you also have bad ones. The Devil's Covenant might double copper, and all copper gain afterward is increased by 50%, but... it decreases your HP by 75% and it cannot be discarded. It cannot... be... discarded. So keep that in mind and make sure you know what you're picking up.
The Fire, Corrosion, and Lightning Enthusiast scrolls are all bad. They hurt the enemies, but... they also hurt you. So the replay value is there in an interesting way.
Price: Gunfire Reborn comes in (right now) at $11.99 (on Steam)... which is a steal for the experience (I kid you not), but I do hope they work on a few things prior to the full release.
A few things I hope to see improved in this game are the matchmaking and the aiming. You can get by with the aiming, but I would love to aim down sight with the handguns too. That's not a major problem, but the main thing I'd love to see improved... is the matchmaking. I want to see the number of people online in the matchmaking area, just show us a number of people online and a number of people in-game so that we know matchmaking will result in multiplayer action. I don't want to wait around not knowing whether a match is going to happen with other players or not.
Regardless of the fun experience, I hope to see more boss characters in the final release of the game... with updates that deliver even more enemies, etc. 3 Bosses is okay, but will it keep players coming back in the long run? That's a question the developers need to keep in mind, but they are actively working on the game and delivering updates.
A few days prior to this review an update was made with new weapons, enemies, occult scrolls, and level changes!
This is my score based on my Early Access experience.
Gameplay 5
Visuals 5
Replay Value 4
Price 5
4.75 out of 5 Cool Points
