Gunfire Reborn is an early access roguelike-FPS with RPG mechanics. It first launched on Steam back in May but managed to fly completely under my radar until the most recent Steam sale. For an EA title, I'm incredibly impressed by the level of polish the game already has. It's got a long way to go in terms of customization, weapon and enemy balance, and variety, but Gunfire Reborn is an addicting roguelike with solid gunplay and fascinating collection of weapons and items to unlock, experiment with, and combine into an infinite numb𓆉er of unique builds and strategies.
If Borderlands Was An Indie Game
Gunfire Reborn follows a familiar roguelike formula: You move from stage to stage clearly rooms full of enemies and collecting currency, weapons, and power-ups. Every 4-5 stages there's a boss fight. The goal is to push as far as possible each run until you are overpowered and defeated. Upon dying, you'll have a small collection of souls you've collected that can be spent on permanent upgrades for your character that will (hopefully) allow you to push a little bit further each time.
Gunfire Reborn borrows a lot of the best ideas from other popular roguelikes. Achievements like killing a certain enemy type X number of times or reaching a new boss will unlock new weapons and scrolls (collectible items that give passive benefits) to use. Weapons have randomized stats and perks, and as you gain levels by completing runs you will unlock new, more powerf💫ul perks that guns can roll with. The randomness and the constant micro-progression creates the perfect recipe for a♏ddicting gameplay. A new unlock is always right around the corner if you keep playing.
The real hook of the game is the random weapon rolls. All of the 34 guns currently in the game feel like fresh takes on familiar weapon types. For example, there's an SMG you can throw at enemies like a hand grenade, there's a long-range bolt caster that fires a dozen rounds in a horizontal formation, and there's an assault rifle that can't be reloaded, but rather always refill ammo over time.
What's more, no two drops of the same gun are ever the same. Guns can potentially roll with 1 of 3 elemental damage types and a corresponding chance to apply a status effect on enemies. They can roll with any number of medication or enhancement, including rate of fire, reload speed, rounds-per-shot, crit chance, and many, many more. Finding "god roll" weapons is exciting and can push a run much further than your last.
The other collectibles, scrolls and ascensions, compliment the weapon choices and help players create builds with strong identity. You can really lean into a specific elemental damage type, or high crit, or a variety of different builds that all feel really rewarding and powꦓerful.
Cat Vs. Dog
There are 2 characters ꧅in the game right now, a cat named The Crown Prince and a dog named Ao Bai, and they have completely d꧟ifferent playstyles.
At the end of each stage, you're rewarded with a chest contain 3 Ascensions and you must choose one. Ascensions are passive talents that fit into 1 of 3 categories for each character. For The Crown Prince, you can collect perks that enhance elemental damage, the Prince's stasis-inducing Orb ability, or the Prince's smoke grenades. Ao Bai's ascensions improve weapon damage and dual-wielding (Ao Bai's special ability), defense, or Ao Bao's explosive grenades. There are 6 Ascensions in each category, and each Ascensions has 3 levels. Choosing the same Ascension 3 times unlocks an additional perk for that category.
Ascensions are an awesome way to start thinking about the build you want to make as soon as you clear the first stage. It can help determine what type of weapons you're looking for so you can filter out the ones that don't fit your playstyle and move through the stages faster. The Crown Prince and Ao Bai are so different in playstyle that it suggests Gunfire Reborn may have a ton of longevity if they decide to add more characters later on. I hope there are cosmetic options for them on the way though, because Gunfire is best played with friends and I'd like to stand out, rather than all 3 of us playing the exact same cat.
Balance Issues And Readability
I've done several dozen runs and I'm finding I keep running into the same roadblocks no matter what build or strategy I use. For example, the first boss hits like an absolute truck and less-defensive cat players have a real problem with getting combo'd to death by him. You only have 1 dodge on cooldown and this boss is constantly attacking the same player repeatedly, making it nearly possible to escape. There is some counterplay with pillars in the arena, but once those towers come down, you better pray he doesn't lock onto you. It just feels like there's nothing you can do if you get unlucky with his attack patterns.
Similarly, there are sniper enemies in the second world that can melt you down from full health in less than a second. They seem to have infinite range and can nail you even if you're moving. The vast majority of my runs have ended thanks to a sniper with magic bullets, and the only counterplay is to carry a long-range weapon and focus them down before any other enemy. It's limiting to playstyles and a bit oppressive right now.
The biggest concern right now is the readability of scrolls and weapons. The passives on items are complex and really wordy. Comparing two similar guns can be a headache, especially when they both have 6 unique perks on them. The weapon stats list the damage per shot and the shoots per 100 seconds, but they don't just tell you the DPS. All the info is there, but when you're looking at a gun that fires 14 rounds that do 123 damage each at a rate of 60 per 100 seconds and another that fires 16 rounds that do 111 damage at a rate of 72 per 100 seconds you're going to need to bust out a calculator. The guns really should have a DPS number for easy comparing.
As a fan of roguelikes such as Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells, I'm totally addicted to Gunfire Reborn's FPS take on the genre. I will be checking in frequently for updates and to squeeze in a quick run, at least until I've unlocked everything in the game.