Gunpoint

[Patrick R]

Some of the most fun I've had playing a game in a long time. I was a little disappointed by the length (about 2 hours for me) and I think the upgrade tree was pretty perfunctory (the gadgets you need, you are told to buy right before the missions you need them, with the missions before always paying you exactly how much they cost) and I kind of wish that the ranking system were more strict. You don't get points, just letter grades, and I got several A+'s on levels I knew I could have done much better. Normally high score stuff in games like this (like Hotline Miami) I don't give two shits about, but since the story is so short, a robust way to replay and refine my approaches to levels would have added a lot of replay value to the game.

 

But these are minor quibbles. The game itself is so so so much fun. The twisting labyrinth of a plot, rife with double crosses and the tense feeling of the world slowly squeezing in on the protagonist, has the same appeal of great spy movies like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Spy Who Came In From The Cold while taking the piss out of them at the same time. The control is amazing, the puzzles and diverse variety of approaches to any given level are fantastic and the satisfaction that comes from leaping 80 feet through a glass window and onto a guard is almost immeasurable.

 

I hope with the mechanics firmly in place, a sequel is in the works. Or at the very least, I hope the level editor is robust enough to foster a community creating more maps. So much fun, I can't wait to replay it.

[Erkki]

I agree with everything you said.

 

One more thing bothered me a bit, though: I got "thoughtful" time rating on every level (and still A+ on most). Was it just my play style or is it really unlikely to do the levels faster in a first playthrough?

[DaveC]

Anyone else find themselves skipping over a lot of the dialog? Could be that I was enjoying the game so much I just wanted to get back to kicking doors in guards faces, but my eyes kinda glazed over during a lot of that stuff. I do plan on replaying the game and paying closer attention. 

 

I wasn't overly bothered by the length, but those last couple of maps were far too easy. 

 

I'd been following Tom Francis' writing for years and it was a huge pleasure to take in the finished game. Interesting to see the first blog post made about Gunpoint, then titled ''Private Dick'':

 

http://www.pentadact.com/2010-05-03-private-dick/

[Arthur]

Really enjoying it so far. As mentioned on the podcast this week, the control system is perfectly simple, making you feel really confident to approach the challenges set to you. I also really like the atmosphere created through the music, graphics and excellent writing. I hope Tom Francis is happy with how it came out, because it seems like something really special

[Patrick R]

I agree with everything you said.

 

One more thing bothered me a bit, though: I got "thoughtful" time rating on every level (and still A+ on most). Was it just my play style or is it really unlikely to do the levels faster in a first playthrough?

 

I got it a lot too. I think it's a bit tongue in cheek, but also perhaps Francis didn't want to penalize players for thinking their approaches carefully through, which is why the rating isn't something negative like "turtle" or something. 

 

I'm not sure how I feel about beating the game and going back to replay old levels, with all your stuff. On the one hand, it's hilarious to be able to blaze through levels just kicking a billion doors in guards faces (which somehow does not contribute to your violence rating?) but I'd like to be able to go back and actually challenge my past run-through on an equal playing field. It doesn't mean as much to turn a C ranked level into an A+ ranked level when the deck is so heavily stacked in my favor that second time.

[youmeyou]

This was a blast and a half.
 
In fact, I may have killed more people than I actually avenged here.

Maybe that doesn't matter. Maybe all that matters is that I now have the ability to kick down doors.

[youmeyou]

Thirty minutes of commentary from the developer in this video program:

 

 

They also talk about it in this week's PC Gamer UK podcast. (Tom is one of the guests and is an ex-editor at PC Gamer)

[thestalkinghead]

the ratings are based on the special requests by the client so the other ratings aren't really connected, like it, one thing i would like is the pouncing on guard thing to be stealthy if done from behind because if i pounce on someone they see my face so i felt compelled to kill them if they saw my face

[Joewintergreen]

Man this game was great. I bought the ~$20 limited edition version with the Prototype Pack, because I love that he did a Prototype Pack. I think every game should do this.

[Joewintergreen]

bwamp double post

[tronhound]

Where are all the user created levels at?

[thestalkinghead]

Where are all the user created levels at?

you would have thought there would be a forum for the game, but apparently he is going to update the engine of the game then eventually add in steamworks, i heard him talk about it in either a video (above) or on the PC Gamer podcast, but i can't remember where

[fondue]

I found this page with some user created levels if you want to get more of your Gunpoint fix:

http://gsngaming.com/topic/9891-gunpoint-level-share/

 

I too really enjoyed it, but would have liked more! Also, was a little surprised to see I'd played all the missions - I kind of assumed that depending on the answer I gave in the dialogue, it may branch the levels, but apparently not.

[Frenetic Pony]

I'm making my way through it. And to be honest it's a rather simple and linear puzzle game from my perspective. Oh sure, maybe there's a room you can go into for no logical reason, or the bonus objective you can get in each place, or maybe one other route to go through. But none of that or the setting hides, for me, the extreme simplicity and linearity of the game.

 

The graphics could be solid colored cubes for all I cared, though I do often chuckle at the dialogue. I know I'll get through it over time, and I'll enjoy it. Gunpoint is an above average, if always solid, game; to me anyway. I guess that's good enough $9 though. Overall :)   out of :blink: :blink:

[mikemariano]

Just found out I owned this game and beat it.  It was fun!  It was a lot lighter both in play style and narrative than I expected.

[manny_c44]

Oh I'm surprised I never commented in this thread, Gunpoint is great. Definitely one to look for during steam sales or humble bundles if you're not sure about it. The whole thing is two hours long which is just perfect for what it is.

[Kolzig]

Gunpoint is one of the rare games that I started playing immediately when it was released. Read a lot about it during development through RPS and I loved every second of playing Gunpoint. Really well done game and it was a really tight package. Even has that appeal that you want to play it more than one times to see the whole story get uncovered.

Tom Francis can be proud of what he created and I hope the game has sold enough well as he surely deserves it.

[manny_c44]

Tom Francis can be proud of what he created and I hope the game has sold enough well as he surely deserves it.

 

Yeah I agree, even if Gunpoint proves to be his only success I would say his development career was worthwhile for gamers in general.

[osmosisch]

I hope the game has sold enough well as he surely deserves it.

He's on record as saying that Gunpoint's done so well for him that it's basically eliminated work for him as a concept for the foreseeable future.

e: found it

http://www.pentadact.com/2013-06-18-gunpoint-recoups-development-costs-in-64-seconds/

[Kolzig]

Now that is great news to read.