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MOTHERGUNSHIP (PS4)
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Publisher: Grip Digital.
Developer: Grip Digital; Terrible Posture Games. Released: July 2018. Genre: FPS. Other versions: XONE; PC. Posted 16th February 2022. By Shane Battams © 2022 |
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A loose follow-up to Tower of Guns, Mothergunship seems promising at first glance. Mixing bullet-hell action with first-person shooting, the game allows you to craft armaments, an interesting concept that could have fallen on either side of the coin. Luckily, the one-man developer pulls it off thanks to some smooth shooting, energetic action and ludicrously enjoyable gun crafting. While some elements don’t fully pan out, if you’re looking for a different breed of FPS, this budget title should fit the bill quite nicely. Just be prepared to grit your teeth: it’s a tough challenge.
As Earth is enslaved by a robot army, you play a recruit thrown straight in at the deep end. Guided by a cigar-chomping colonel, a feisty engineer and a sassy AI, your main goal is to reach the Mothergunship by smashing through smaller ships and snagging their cores. The story is clearly tongue-in-cheek, with characters parodying sci-fi tropes and some ludicrous twists towards the end. It’s all told through static scenes and voiceovers, which is probably unsurprising considering the small development team, but it still comes off as a bit distant.
Big bosses and hazardous scenery make for a challenging roguelike shooter
Mothergunship blends shooting with bullet-hell stylings and as a result, it’s a tough cookie to crack. As rooms are procedurally generated, hordes of robotic foes swarm your position, forcing you to dodge and keep on the move. Drops, be it health or energy to power your guns, aren’t especially plentiful and it can be tiring when you die close to the finish. Levels are sometimes devilish, with one floor mixing spiked traps with lava circles making dodging enemy fire extremely tough. Luckily, the shooting feels very smooth and bar some intense sequences that cause the frame rate to drop, it runs really well. The twitchy aiming fits perfectly, allowing you to pop clean shots with ease. The procedural generation can certainly leave you stuffed at points, but the tight nature of the gunplay goes some way to limiting the frustration. There’s also room for a bit of gambling, as domino rooms add unexpected boons to generated areas and combat arenas reward extra currency for finishing a task.
Its big selling point is the crafting. Gun parts can be bought with in-game currency and then added to your creations. There are three types: connectors link the parts together, barrels change the firing type and caps add buffs. As long as the barrel faces forward and the parts do not clash, you have a great deal of freedom, allowing you to create some monstrous armaments. This is where the energy system comes into play, as more firepower drains your energy quicker, meaning you can wield too much power. As you slot weapons into each slot, mission success allows you to keep the parts that can be used at the start of missions. But death does penalize you, as any parts chosen or earned throughout a mission will be lost. Luckily, side missions allow you to build your arsenal again if a particular mission blocks you.
Its big selling point is the crafting. Gun parts can be bought with in-game currency and then added to your creations. There are three types: connectors link the parts together, barrels change the firing type and caps add buffs. As long as the barrel faces forward and the parts do not clash, you have a great deal of freedom, allowing you to create some monstrous armaments. This is where the energy system comes into play, as more firepower drains your energy quicker, meaning you can wield too much power. As you slot weapons into each slot, mission success allows you to keep the parts that can be used at the start of missions. But death does penalize you, as any parts chosen or earned throughout a mission will be lost. Luckily, side missions allow you to build your arsenal again if a particular mission blocks you.
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Mothergunship does offer a fairly meaty experience, especially at its cheaper price point. The main campaign lasts around 10 missions and there are 7 bonus chapters available too. Along with these, side missions are always available to partake in and while they don’t differ much from main missions, they offer rewards as incentive. There’s also quite an extensive endgame, where you can not only freely replay campaigns at your desire, but also partake in a special quest after the credits roll, letting you continue your shooting. There’s also a bonus that social players will lap up: co-op. You can play through almost the entire game with a buddy and it offers some nice perks such as turning into a turret upon death, allowing you to keep the run alive a little longer. Naturally, Mothergunship’s strengths are only heightened by a second shooter.
While it wouldn’t win any awards for artistic design or variety, there is some technical merit here. The performance is really sturdy, keeping the action moving fast, and the explosive weaponry looks and sounds great. The environments lack variety, consisting of the same handful of templates, and the music is generic heavy-metal fodder. But the game does earn some personality points through goofy dialogue, cheesy voice acting and a generally light tone that fits the over-the-top action well enough. Just don’t expect it to push your senses to the limit.
While it wouldn’t win any awards for artistic design or variety, there is some technical merit here. The performance is really sturdy, keeping the action moving fast, and the explosive weaponry looks and sounds great. The environments lack variety, consisting of the same handful of templates, and the music is generic heavy-metal fodder. But the game does earn some personality points through goofy dialogue, cheesy voice acting and a generally light tone that fits the over-the-top action well enough. Just don’t expect it to push your senses to the limit.
It's all about the guns!
Mothergunship is a solid experience, meshing disparate elements into a cohesive whole. The tough gameplay is certainly not for everyone, and the procedurally generated design can trip you up with less than satisfying results. But the frantically exciting gunplay, endless hordes of robots to blast and insane gun customisation keep things going, and the smooth engine is a cut above some competing FPSs on the PS4. When you factor in a good deal of content and fun co-operative, Mothergunship proves a surprising budget success.
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VERDICT
"Mothergunship’s tough gameplay won’t suit everyone, but its frantic, smooth shooting and insane gun customisation keep things going, making for a surprising success." OVERALL: 7/10 |