Upon the established lineage of top-down shooters – especially now as the genre has even flourished into dozens of subgenres that deliver impactful experiences and engaging gameplay – developer Kool2Play brings the same attention to detail in reinvigorating the core genre, but also keeping the gameplay fresh and diverse. The team achieved this with its first major project Uragun which already entered Early Access on Steam earlier this month.
While at PAX East over the weekend, Rectify Gaming was able to demo the current build of the game and get the rundown of the in-and-outs for Uragun. The plot for the game reads the following: “You play as a charming Mech unit that has awakened to discover a world overrun by corrupted AI. In order to survive, you must master your weapons and learn how to fight back against every enemy.
“The search for your missing pilot and friend will bring you to different spectacular locations where the impact of the AI upraise will be seen,” reads the description on Steam. “You’ll encounter increasingly challenging threats that will test all your combat skills. However, there will also be ways for you to upgrade and customize your arsenal.”
In the expected structure of the game, levels are broken up into small, yet eventful segments per each instance. Tied to the story for Uragun, players will have the ability to visit different continents on Earth and fight the adversary AI hordes stopping the protagonist Mech unit. But, what makes this game refreshing is the number of objectives available when exploring each setting. Initial missions for each region will start off light fighting off enemies.
But when delving deeper into the campaign, there are other missions that will ask for users to collect items necessary to progress, defend points of interest, or hack databases which in favor keeps the experience from being an endless loop. What makes Uragun truly shine is the tight gameplay controls available for a game still in Early Access.
Understandably for many games still in its development being showcased at events such as PAX East, Uragun’s control scheme has already been fine-tuned for avid players or those familiar with the top-down shooter genre. Although the title is currently available for Steam on PC, Kool2Play also adapted controller support for the title as well.
Not only that, but control mapping is even integrated into the build as well. When firing weapons such as the hand-mounted minigun or the unlockable rocket launcher, Uragun already mastered the surgical precision necessary to deliver a satisfying experience. For most of the demo, using the 360° plane at your disposal felt natural without any sluggish or awkward hitches illustrating the amount of thought and effort put into the gameplay.
However, while the game feels good, it is difficult to master. What the title does when implementing a responsive control scheme goes on to equal out the gameplay with raisingly tough interactions as you progress. Although my time started off smooth sailing at the start, later parts of the demo I was met with some rough waters with the number of enemies thrown my direction and the variants that reveal themselves too.
Despite that, progression in Uragun delivers a cohesive customization system which establishes opportunity for players to branch out with different Mech classes. When far enough into the game, you can find yourself equipped with a shotgun modification, heat attacks including melee & jump slamming, and even a plasma boomerang that returns dealing more damage. Based on the enemies per level, it is best to play strategically in what delivers the most efficient outcome for you. Uragun truly does bring a breath of fresh air for those looking to return to the top-down shooter genre.
Truly the only complaint I have is strictly for playing on controller: while the game throws enemies at you, you tend to disregard your health bar. Although controller support is present, there is no rumbling notifying when you are close to dying (and the showfloor was too loud to hear the chime for that element). Kool2Play did confirm native console support is on the way, so it is likely we will see this added then.
If you liked what Uragun has to offer, you can check out the Early Access version of the game on its Steam page by heading here.
Uragun is out for PC via Early Access; listed for most major consoles.
