REVIEW : GONNER2 (PS5)
One of the most prolific subgenres of this generation has been roguelite, roguelike, and other rogueloquesea. It’s strange that, deep down, it’s still a minor tweak on something that’s been around since the beginning of video games: the premise that if you die, you have to start over. Gonner, the title of Art in Heart’s sequel, extended this approach to platforms and action, and now takes his proposal a step farther.
Gonner 2 is a roguelike action and platform game for up to four players in which we must travel as far as possible without losing all of our lives. The situations in this section are created procedurally, although they all have a common concept. Each theme consists of a series of stages capped by a boss, and once all of them have been finished, we can enter an area where the final challenge awaits us. With each boss, a floating eye is added to us, complicating each phase by chasing us and providing an additional hurdle that confuses things even further.
Our character has a set of fundamental skills that we can purchase in a little shop located before each monster. Furthermore, if we progress far enough, we will receive new heads and weapons, which will grant us additional powers and types of bullets, albeit we can also acquire special ammunition for the guns we already have. If you read this, it may appear complicated and daunting, but in a couple of games, you’ll get the feel of it rather soon.
We will die a lot in Gonner 2, but to speed up the experience and avoid the levels from becoming too repetitive, we may always pick between two procedurally created levels. Yes, there is a significant amount of repetition, but we have the impression that the development team has gone to considerable pains to obscure that sensation. It, too, contains a few mysteries, an incentive that drives us to play beyond the simple difficulty of progressing.
One of the key innovations is multiplayer for up to four players, which allows us to enjoy the adventure in the company, if only locally, or even face each other in a player vs player format. On the one hand, we adore the concept. We find it entertaining to join in on the fun with our friends, and the experience wins them over. On the other hand, the action can become extremely chaotic at times, making it difficult to understand what is going on the screen. And believe us, there are occasions when having a clear perspective of the issue is critical since it is a title that does not forgive.
At the service of surrealism
Control and staging are two important aspects of the Gonner 2 experience. It is a game that responds well, provides for fine control, and allows us to do everything we want at all times. It takes some time to get used to all of its capabilities, especially the modifiers, but once we do, it controls like a dream. All of this is complemented, of course, by a frame rate of 60 pictures per second, which is present in Switch, where we examined it.
The staging embraces the strangeness that its predecessor possessed and that we adored. We believe that the amazing design of some monsters may have been used more effectively, while the basic foes are a little… generic. Nonetheless, we understand what they were attempting to do by prioritising the visibility of the playable aspects, and this appears to be the correct decision. As previously said, this visibility can be troublesome during multiplayer games, although there are exceptions.
All of this is wrapped in fairly understated music that serves to set the setting and accompany the true protagonists, the sound effects.
The circle repeats
If you enjoyed the original, Gonner 2 is a more full version of the same vice. Those who play with friends will undoubtedly like this second instalment the best (though it is a shame that there is no multiplayer over the internet), but that does not mean that it is not entertaining alone, and that, in fact, at times it is even appreciated to have less pandemonium on the screen. It’s challenging, extremely difficult, and progress demands patience and skill, but it’s also a lot of fun and fulfilling.
REVIEW : The Innsmouth Case (PC)
