Gunborg: Dark Matters

About

"Gunborg: Dark Matters" is a action-packed run-and-gun game with hand-drawn pixel art. As the powerful cybernetic warrior Gunborg, players fight their way through hordes of enemies in a variety of missions and environments. With fast-paced combat, challenging boss battles, and unlockable upgrades, Gunborg offers a rewarding and thrilling experience for fans of the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+13

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

The game features a unique shield mechanic that enhances gameplay by allowing players to reflect shots and bounce on spikes, making it both fun and challenging.
Smooth controls and engaging combat mechanics provide a satisfying experience, especially for fans of hardcore platformers.
The level design is well-balanced, offering a mix of difficulty that keeps players engaged and encourages mastering the game's mechanics.

The game suffers from frustrating controls, with characters getting stuck on surfaces and a lack of precision in jumping mechanics, leading to a challenging but often annoying experience.
Many players find the game too short, with a runtime of less than 90 minutes, leaving them wanting more content and story development.
The audiovisual feedback and graphics are underwhelming, feeling more like a student project than a polished indie game, which detracts from the overall experience.

story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The story in "Gunborg: Dark Matters" is criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, primarily serving as context for the gameplay rather than a fully developed narrative. Players express a desire for more main story missions and a deeper exploration of the protagonist's origin, which is only briefly addressed at the end of the game. While the level design is praised, the overall storytelling is seen as underwhelming, leaving some players wanting more engagement with the plot.
- “Great level design, fun story, worth the like $10 price, possibly $15 if they added like a boss rush in the survival mode or something.”
- “I really want to keep playing to find out more of the storyline.”
- “There's also extra collectibles placed in platforming sections which unlock hardcore difficulty and extra maps, though I wished for one more main story mission since Gunborg: Dark Matters only has story for the sake of context about why the player is in that ship. All other story aspects, like the player character's origin, are only touched upon at the very end of the game, and I wished that side could be explored a little bit more.”
- “Outside of shield, Gunborg: Dark Matters doesn't deliver anything that hasn't been seen before, and it underperforms in my opinion on the story aspect.”
- “If the lack of focus on story doesn't bother you and you're up for a challenging yet short 2D action/platforming game, grab Gunborg: Dark Matters on sale.”
- “There's also extra collectibles placed in platforming sections which unlock hardcore difficulty and extra maps, though I wish there was one more main story mission since Gunborg: Dark Matters only has story for the sake of context about why the player is in that ship. All other story aspects, like the player character's origin, are only touched upon at the very end of the game, and I wish that side could be explored a little bit more.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The gameplay is praised for its engaging mechanics, such as the limited shield for jumping on spikes and the combination of wall-jumps and double jumps, creating an "easy to learn, hard to master" experience. However, some players find the tight level design frustrating, as it doesn't accommodate the character's size well, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Despite this, the sword and shield gameplay style and weapon evolution are highlighted as standout features.
- “The gameplay is brilliant.”
- “In particular, shielding to reflect bullets, pogo on spikes, and max combo evolving your weapons stood out as cool mechanics.”
- “Weapons were fun to use, but you can tell the game was built around the sword and shield gameplay style.”
- “Adding a limited shield that you can use to jump on spikes does wonders to its gameplay loop - combining it with wall-jumps and double jumps is insanely fun in an 'easy to learn, hard to master' way.”
- “Mechanics feel intuitive to me personally.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the screenshots present an appealing visual style, the actual graphics effects and animations fall short, resembling those of a student project and lacking polish.
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised, complementing the overall concept and enhancing the visual experience with a well-matched color palette.
- “The music is great, the color palette goes very well with the game concept, and the overall idea of the game works.”