Run n Gun games are a staple of gaming. From Contra to Metal Slug to Blazing Chrome, they have been a massive part of gaming history. Now we have a new entry into the genre, but how well does it contribute?
Gunpowder on The Teeth: Arcade is definitely a different experience to be sure. It prides itself on its difficulty for good and for bad. The good first, as the game definitely has great action. It eases you into things and gradually increases the difficulty to keep the challenge consistent. The levels are mostly well designed and the controls, while taking a bit of time to learn, are decent.
The bad comes with the visual choices that make some enemies and obstacles blend too well into the environment. I get that this is supposed to be a challenging game, but sometimes I was thrown off and it is clear this was not the best use of the game design, This happened more than once and really felt cheap when it did.
Back to the good parts though, as the action does feel right, and when not being cheap in those few instances, you understand that this is not a traditional run n gun game. You will get hit and die over and over again, but you will also understand more of the game. In some ways this is like the classic game Another World, in that you need to learn the patterns. You need to get hit before you know what to do.
This may seem contradictory to my complaints about the cheap design before but my complaint is about how the difficulty felt overdone in those areas. Sometimes less can be more, and when the game is restrained it is actually fun. There are secrets to find, and bosses to find and you will want to discover everything. It is a decent game overall and I cautiously recommend it, but do not go in expecting Metal Slug.