Gunnhildr

Gunnhildr is a rogue-like FPS with classic unlockables between runs, a small variety of weapons, and bonuses to collect during runs. The most memorable thing of the game is the eccentric and magnanimous announcer that chats with you as you go. There is a lot of writing put into the character with stories that provide a wealth of world-building and really sets itself apart. Gameplay itself I’m a bit torn on, I’m not the premiere reviewer when it comes to shooters, but the gun-play felt a little sloppy and the bullet spread felt a tad too unforgiving. Upgrades take an inexplicable amount of time to unlock from what I played. Visuals are decently varied, but sound design and other voice acting varies very widely from competent to laughable. I think there’s a lot of good to be found, but I’d call the experience still half-baked for the moment.

Whenever you load up a new game, you receive a random perk and are plunged into a room of baddies. Some of the initial level layouts can be pretty unrelenting considering how ineffective your starter gun is, at least without a few specific power-ups. Throughout the level are halite crystals that can be used to unlock items in the levels or to heal up after a room is cleared. You can jump and use a dash move to quickly move yourself around the room. Guns do not have ammo, but instead overheat after a while. You can use double jumps or dashes to relieve overheating and get back to combat more quickly. You can also drain your halite count by shooting while overloaded in the occasions where you don’t have time to stall out.

Throughout your run, the narrator will tell you stories about Norse gods and other world-building events, which I found pretty charming. As you enter levels, he will shut himself up and mention some quips about how you interrupted him. You will eventually find new guns that have randomized stats and passive effects associated with them. You can carry up to two guns at a time and may find yourself needing to fend off overheating as rooms start to flood with enemies. It’s hard to say much more, I don’t believe there is a formal end as far as I can tell. I found it very difficult to hold onto the resource that will help you get upgrades for further runs, since you frequently use them to heal up. So progression constantly felt halted unless I happened to get lucky with the first few runs.

Overall, I found Gunnhildr to have some redeeming qualities, but ultimately was too rough around the edges for me to keep at it. I constantly found myself as the mercy of lucky drops, and most enemies felt a little too bullet-spongy for my taste. I think after some updates I can recommend this, but as of now, the narrator is the best thing I can note about the game.

Gunnhildr is developed by RatDog Games

Available on Steam for $14.99

A review copy was provided by

Hellfirebam has not awarded Gunnhildr the Indie Gamer Seal of Approval