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A Fistful of Gun

A Fistful of Gun is a surprisingly air-tight title. I encountered only a single bug, which probably only applies to few to none of you. A Fistful of Gun is the perfect game if you want to experience a retro title with modern perks and quality.
A Fistful of Gun Game Cover
66%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, optimization
63% User Score Based on 333 reviews
Critic Score 75%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

PCSteam DeckWindows
A Fistful of Gun Game Cover

About A Fistful of Gun

A Fistful of Gun is a single player and multiplayer arcade shooter game. It was developed by FarmerGnome and was released on September 23, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

When the evil railroad baron Clayton Boon decided to build a track to Hell, he didn’t reckon on a crazed shaman raising a posse of embittered psychopaths from the dead to stop him. Now they’ll pursue him across the whole Wild West, fighting their way through hordes of bandits, bears, braves and boogeymen just to find Boon and repay their debt with… A FISTFUL OF GUN!Select one of eleven unique play…

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Looking for games like A Fistful of Gun? Here are top arcade shooter recommendations, selected from player-similarity data — start with Assault Android Cactus, Nex Machina or Colt Canyon.

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Reviews

63%Audience ScoreBased on 333 reviews
story20 positive mentions
stability8 negative mentions

  • Unique and diverse character roster with distinct control schemes and playstyles, providing deep tactical variety and replayability.
  • Engaging multiplayer experience including local and online co-op for up to nine players, enhancing the chaotic fun.
  • Strong retro pixel art style and thematic Western soundtrack that effectively capture the wild west atmosphere.
  • Game suffers from steep difficulty spikes and one-hit deaths, leading to frustration and repetitive gameplay, especially in single-player.
  • Unbalanced character mechanics and awkward controls for certain characters, making some practically unusable or requiring specific hardware.
  • Technical and design issues including poor onboarding, confusing UI and menus, occasional bugs, long loading screens, and sparse online player base.
  • story

    138 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    14% positive mentions, 84% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions

    The story mode in this game centers on a Western revenge plot involving a railroad baron who sold his soul to the devil, featuring a mix of roguelike elements and procedurally generated levels. While some players appreciate its variety, comical touches, and character-specific controls, many find the narrative thin, repetitive, and lacking depth or meaningful progression, making the story mode less engaging compared to the arcade mode. Overall, the story serves more as a framework for gameplay rather than a compelling or immersive experience.

    • “At its heart, the game tells the story of Clayton Boon, a ruthless railroad magnate who has struck a sinister pact with the devil.”
    • “Story mode (single only) - the structure of this mode uses the arcade action gameplay and has a dialog system over it with branching options based on choices. Most interactions in story mode are encountering traders, different gangs, assisting with quests, bartering for goods and perks, having tense shootouts, doing some bank robberies, assassinations, pushing wagons full of money through Indian territory, stealth missions and getting really smashed on peyote.”
    • “Story mode also has an entertaining system where once you've cleared a screen, you can choose which direction you'd like to go to next, which determines what next battlefield you will fight on, or could give you an extra life.”
    • “There isn't much reason to play story mode after you beat it once, as it won't change based on which character you play as.”
    • “Story mode isn't really strong on the story and feels more like a number of random levels tacked together.”
    • “Unfortunately the story can only be played alone or in local co-op and there is no support for playing it online.”
  • gameplay

    116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    23% positive mentions, 68% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions

    The gameplay features a fast-paced, bullet-hell twin-stick shooter style with 11 unique characters, each offering distinct control schemes, weapons, and mechanics that add replayability. While the variety and frantic action are praised, many players find the controls clunky, the difficulty punishing, and some mechanics unintuitive or unbalanced, leading to frustration and repetitiveness over time. Overall, gameplay is enjoyable for fans of the genre who invest time to master characters, but it may alienate those seeking a more polished or cohesive experience.

    • “One of the most compelling aspects of A Fistful of Gun is its diverse cast of characters, each with a unique weapon and control mechanics that significantly alter gameplay.”
    • “This, of course, is to an extent how it should be, as one of the key interesting factors of this top-down 8 bit bullet hell shooter is that each of the 11 characters you can play with actually uses a completely different set of controls for aiming, firing and reloading, and as a result each character adds a new dynamic to the gameplay.”
    • “Each character offers a unique twist on gameplay with their own arsenal of firepower at their disposal which not only offers you a level of replayability within the single player campaign, but also extends that replayability to arcade and multiplayer.”
    • “The gameplay can feel repetitive over time, with waves of enemies becoming predictable despite the randomized level design.”
    • “The controls are crappy and gameplay in general just makes me regret ever getting this game.”
    • “I like a lot of what I see here but I just can't enjoy any part of it because I control this floaty, terrible character who dies in one hit and resets my progress, has one of many clunky and unreliable or dull and tedious reload mechanics, and is trying to dodge bright yellow projectiles on light orange background that move faster than I do and often don't have reliable cues in the middle of an artificial seizure engine.”
  • graphics

    95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    46% positive mentions, 51% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions

    The game features charming and uniquely stylized pixel art that effectively captures a gritty, old west atmosphere with a retro yet modernized aesthetic. While the sepia-toned, muted color palette suits the western theme well, it can sometimes hinder visibility during fast-paced action, making enemy differentiation difficult. Overall, the graphics are widely praised for their distinct artistic direction and faithful evocation of spaghetti westerns, though the pixel size and palette may not appeal to everyone.

    • “The art style in this game is fantastic, pixel graphics have been done to death at this point but the visuals of this game manage to capture the aesthetic of spaghetti westerns very well, and considering how rare western games are, even in the realm of indie games, I think the style really holds its own.”
    • “Since its release in 2015, the game has stood out for its unique approach to the shooter genre, combining pixel-art aesthetics with a roster of diverse characters, each offering distinct weapons and playstyles.”
    • “Visually, the game adopts a retro pixel art style with a sepia-toned palette that effectively captures the gritty, dusty atmosphere of the old west.”
    • “While the aesthetic is charming and fitting, the muted color scheme can sometimes make it difficult to distinguish enemies from the environment, especially during fast-paced firefights where clarity is crucial.”
    • “The game does have a decent art style (apart from being too small), ran fairly well (didn't encounter any major bugs or issues), and my brother and I did find ourselves having some fun occasionally (although a lot of it came from laughing at how bad the game was).”
    • “Hideous retro pixel graphics, but stylized, so they don't even look like games in the 1990s... so the developers weren't opting for recreation, they instead just wanted to take the worst of the 1990s and make their game look worse than that.”
  • music

    80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    51% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The music in this game is widely praised for its energetic, thematic, and fitting western-inspired soundtrack, often compared to Ennio Morricone's iconic style and retro influences. While some players find the soundtrack catchy and immersive, enhancing the fast-paced action, others note that limited variety and repetitive loops can detract during longer sessions. Overall, the music is considered one of the game's strong points, complementing its setting and mood effectively.

    • “The soundtrack, composed by surasshu, features energetic and thematic tracks that heighten the tension of gun battles and keep players engaged.”
    • “The music is definitely top notch and it has a great western inspired score, that is also heavily inspired by Sunset Riders.”
    • “The musical score is amazing, it will transfer you to that crazy time.”
    • “However, the music loops fairly quickly, and the limited variety can lead to repetition over longer play sessions, which some players might find detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “Unresponsive controls, terrible flow and animation, annoying music, and my gamepad is not supported.”
    • “Music: weird like a standard RPG game (but this is a Wild West game; shouldn't it be wild west music??) 1 out of 5”
  • replayability

    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    42% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 12% negative mentions

    The game offers high replayability primarily through randomized battles, unique character playstyles, and multiple modes including arcade and multiplayer. While the story mode is short and somewhat repetitive, the varied gameplay, unlockable characters, rogue-lite elements, and competitive leaderboards provide lasting engagement, especially when playing with friends. However, solo players seeking a deep narrative might find replay value more limited.

    • “The randomized nature of each battle ensures that no two encounters are the same, adding a significant layer of replayability.”
    • “Each character offers a unique twist on gameplay with their own arsenal of firepower at their disposal which not only offers you a level of replayability within the single player campaign, but also extends that replayability to arcade and multiplayer.”
    • “The fun and the replayability with friends in this game is enormous!”
    • “Replayable, ...not too much :)”
    • “The selection characters gives a replayability it might not have otherwise.”
    • “Replayability.”
  • humor

    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game is widely praised for its clever and charming humor, featuring funny characters, witty dialogs, and amusing power-ups that perfectly fit its wild west theme. Many reviewers highlight that the humor shines especially when playing with friends, creating a chaotic and hilarious multiplayer experience. Overall, the humor adds significantly to the game's fun and replayability, making it a lighthearted and entertaining shooter.

    • “Pick it up, grab some friends and controllers, and you'll be laughing for days about just how silly fun the game is.”
    • “This is a nice wild west arcade shooter with charming pixel graphics, entertaining music and humorous dialogs.”
    • “Simple terms however do this game no justice, A Fistful of Gun is one of the most frenetic, hilarious, addictive and complete video games I have ever had the pleasure to play.”
  • stability

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game exhibits several bugs and glitches, including visual artifacts and control issues, which affect its overall stability. However, despite these technical problems, many users find it promising and enjoyable, hoping for future optimizations to improve performance.

    • “It's even worse in some regards, it's a buggy, glitchy, can't even do 1080p right, hot mess of a game.”
    • “The game is very buggy.”
    • “There's a couple bugs and glitches, and there seems to be an issue with throwing the bombs.”
  • atmosphere

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game effectively creates a distinct atmosphere by combining retro pixel art with a sepia-toned palette that captures the gritty Old West, while its cartoonish style adds a fun and comical tone, especially appreciated in the story mode.

    • “Visually, the game adopts a retro pixel art style with a sepia-toned palette that effectively captures the gritty, dusty atmosphere of the old west.”
    • “I just enjoy the wild west and I think 'A Fistful of Gun' does a great job in terms of creating the right atmosphere.”
    • “The cartoon nature of the game is welcomed and it certainly has a fun and unique atmosphere.”
  • optimization

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The game's optimization is generally decent but marred by occasional bugs and performance hiccups reported by users, indicating room for improvement in stability and smoothness.

    • “Additionally, some technical issues, including occasional bugs and performance hiccups, have been reported by the community.”
  • grinding

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect frustrating due to a combination of clunky controls, frequent one-hit deaths, and tedious mechanics that disrupt progress, resulting in an overall grind-heavy experience with limited engaging content outside multiplayer.

    • “Limited gameplay outside of the multiplayer functionality leaves the game feeling grindy.”
  • monetization

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's monetization heavily relies on frequent ads that disrupt gameplay, making it difficult for players to stay focused during key moments. This intrusive advertising detracts from the overall experience.

    • “I can't focus on the boss for more than a couple seconds without having to redirect my attention to the horde of ads shooting at me.”
  • character development

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The character development is enhanced by detailed backgrounds and designs that enrich the game's immersive world, although the focus appears more on environmental dynamics than deep individual character growth.

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Play Times

13h Median play time
13h Average play time
13-13h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

A Fistful of Gun is a arcade shooter game. Common tags for A Fistful of Gun include indie, trading, 2d, pixel graphics, bullet hell and others.

A Fistful of Gun is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

On average players spend around 13 hours playing A Fistful of Gun.

A Fistful of Gun was released on September 23, 2015.

A Fistful of Gun was developed by FarmerGnome.

A Fistful of Gun has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked A Fistful of Gun for its story but disliked it for its stability.

A Fistful of Gun is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Assault Android Cactus, Nex Machina, Colt Canyon, Kill to Collect, Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo and others.