Mighty Gunvolt
- September 29, 2015
- INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
- 6h median play time
Mighty Gunvolt is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with fabulous gameplay, ingenious visuals, and good music. The game features three playable characters: Gunvolt, Ekoro, and Beck, each with unique skills, and offers simple controls, cute graphics, and complex challenges reminiscent of retro side-scrollers of the late '80s. The Steam version and Japanese only PlayStation Network port include the Nintendo 3DS DLC levels for added content .
Reviews
- Charming 8-bit graphics and solid pixel art that evoke nostalgia for classic Mega Man games.
- Three playable characters with unique abilities provide some variety and replayability.
- Fun and straightforward gameplay that is easy to pick up, making it accessible for newcomers to the genre.
- Extremely short game length, with most players able to complete it in under two hours.
- Lack of challenge in levels and bosses, making it feel unengaging for experienced players.
- Poor level design and repetitive enemy encounters that fail to offer meaningful gameplay depth.
- gameplay43 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is reminiscent of classic Mega Man titles, featuring smooth controls and a solid platforming experience, though it lacks the depth and intricacies of its inspirations. Players can choose from three characters, each with unique abilities that slightly alter gameplay, but the overall mechanics are considered average and repetitive. While the game offers nostalgic visuals and a fun challenge, it suffers from limited replayability and a lack of tactical options due to the absence of alternate weapons.
“The gameplay is smooth, simple, and responsive.”
“With nostalgic visuals, a wonderful soundtrack, and solid gameplay, you'll never go wrong with Mighty Gunvolt!”
“Each character has a unique ability and a different maneuvering mechanic that helps them get around the levels.”
“The shooting mechanics are terrible; the angled shots require a long charge and are unusable in boss battles, while the regular shot is pathetically weak.”
“And while it's interesting to play as the three different characters, the dullness of the stages will really show when you replay them as all the characters with their barely varying mechanics.”
“A boringly average Mega Man tribute with nothing special in its mechanics, sound, and presentation.”
- music38 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring quality chiptune tracks that evoke nostalgia for classic NES titles, though opinions vary on its originality and memorability. While some tracks are catchy and reminiscent of beloved games like Mega Man, others feel uninspired or generic. Overall, the soundtrack complements the gameplay effectively, enhancing the overall experience despite some criticisms regarding its repetitiveness and lack of standout moments.
“The music is solid, quality chiptune work, resembling the best of NES offerings.”
“The music is great, and the levels are pretty decent.”
“With nostalgic visuals, a wonderful soundtrack and solid gameplay, you'll never go wrong with Mighty Gunvolt!”
“The level design is mediocre, the music is okay, the enemies are basic, the bosses are unfair, and the pay-off is non-existent.”
“The music does feel uninspired at times, but is always thematically fitting.”
“Characters, hazards, stages, and music are all very forgettable and generic.”
- story27 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal, confusing, and poorly written, often described as an afterthought to the gameplay. Players report that the narrative is brief, with only a few levels dedicated to it, and features awkward translations that detract from the experience. Overall, the story serves primarily to set up the gameplay rather than provide a compelling narrative.
“Backstory in all this mess is pretty crazy. The Sumeragi group used a powerful entity called Muse to eliminate all the love, and in effect, no more couples were created. A bunch of heroes: Gunvolt, Beck, and Ekoro decide to stop it.”
“The story involves a crossover with the characters Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt, Beck from Mighty No. 9, and Ekoro from Gal Gun teaming up to save... love, I think. It doesn't really matter.”
“I wish the story was more developed, but the difficulty of the stages makes the game very engaging.”
“There's no storyline here whatsoever; it's just a small little game to get you accustomed to the controls of a different, much better title.”
“The story itself is nothing special; I didn't even understand what was going on, and there's no reason to follow it since you won't even notice that there's a story.”
“My only complaint is about the story text... literally the whole game story must be around 4 short paragraphs long, and I couldn't make a lick of sense of them (with grammar errors and everything). I don't know if they were actual errors and poor writing or an homage to poorly translated NES games, but it bugs the heck out of me.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by charming and crisp 8-bit visuals that evoke nostalgia for classic titles like Mega Man, with well-defined pixel art and a colorful aesthetic. While some players appreciate the retro style, others express a desire for more advanced graphics, such as 16 or 32-bit. Overall, the graphics are generally well-received, complementing the gameplay and music effectively.
“It's got the aesthetics of the original Mega Man, but it retains many of the sensibilities of modern Mega Man design.”
“I like the colorful yet basic 8-bit aesthetic.”
“Great 8-bit graphics and music that perfectly simulate the NES feel, 3 unique characters to choose from, easy to master controls and nice enemies and boss patterns makes this game the best 8-bit you'll get this cheap on Steam, hands down.”
“Price of this game is 4.99 US dollars with 8-bit graphics and 4 short stages, and very short 1 stage. This price is too high for the quality of this game. If you yearn to buy this game because you love Mighty No. 9 or Azure Striker Gunvolt, you should wait for a discount event.”
“They do look nice, but to be honest, I would have preferred some 16-bit or 32-bit graphics.”
“Graphics are generic.”
- replayability17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The game offers moderate replayability primarily through its three distinct playable characters, each with unique abilities and exclusive stage paths that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, many reviewers note that the overall experience is short and lacks depth, limiting the long-term engagement despite the character variety. While some players find replay value in achieving higher scores and exploring different character strengths, others feel it falls short compared to similar titles.
“Achievements are very easy to get, and it's a game with replay value since there are 3 playable characters.”
“It's short but challenging, and it has some replayability with its 3 playable characters, who are fairly different in their gameplay.”
“The fact that each character plays differently and brings different strengths and weaknesses also adds a great amount of replayability as well.”
“Mighty Gunvolt nailed the presentation and the tight, super-responsive gameplay that makes a game like this engaging, but it lacks replayability and the versatility that Mega Man offered.”
“The game doesn't have replay value (unless you count playing the other characters as replay value).”
“Even then, it's a poor attempt to add replay value to an otherwise short and lackluster game.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized, as it is perceived more as an advertisement for three other franchises rather than a standalone experience. Reviewers describe it as a poorly designed cash grab that lacks originality and fun, with elements that feel out of place and serve primarily to promote other titles.
“This game is actually more of a piece of advertisement for three other game franchises more so than anything else.”
“The game is unfun, the bosses are terribly designed, the story makes no sense; this is a straight-up cash grab.”
“This is an 8-bit advertisement for 3 other games.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its instability, with frequent freezes and crashes reported by users. Many recommend playing in windowed mode to mitigate these issues, but overall, the experience is described as semi-buggy and frustrating.
“Warning: this game is semi-buggy.”
“One other recommendation is to play it only in windowed mode in case it freezes up.”
“A bit too buggy for my taste.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted as very funny, with players appreciating the intentionally poor translations and finding amusement in the contrast between the game's quality and its Kickstarter bonuses. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted charm to the experience.
“Very funny little game.”
“Funny to see that the bonus from kickstarting Mighty No. 9 is better than the game itself.”
“Hilariously bad translations, though this seems to be intentional.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users generally feel that the game requires further optimization, indicating that performance improvements could enhance the overall experience.
“I believe this game could benefit from better optimization.”
“The game's performance issues indicate a significant need for optimization.”
“There are numerous areas where optimization could greatly enhance the gameplay experience.”