Guns of Mercy – Rangers Edition

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Title: Guns of Mercy – Rangers Edition
Developer: Storybird
Publisher: Storybird
Website: storybird.fr
Genre: Action, Shooter
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Audience: E for Everyone
Release Date: Switch: 10/1/2019
Price: £7.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

What the Developers say

Guns of Mercy is a game combining shoot and arcade in retro 16bits spirit.

20XX, the Earth is a vast and hostile wasteland. The surface has been rendered uninhabitable since the great war against the alien invasion.
To find peace, humanity has been reduced to living underground, but the the enemy is getting there !

Introduction

Guns of Mercy, from developer Storybird, is a retro delight that I had not given much thought to play on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Fortunately, I was able to experience this Contra/Gunstar Heroes-like shooter and needless to say it became somewhat of an addiction. It originally released as a free-to-play mobile title, but now comes to the Switch as the Rangers Edition, adding modes, features, and powerups that were stonewalled behind a pay gate on the mobile version.

Guns of Mercy is a retro-pixelated infused single-screen shooter that is authentically like a game from the past but also feels new at the same time. The story starts in the year 20XX, and the surface has been rendered uninhabitable since “The Great War” against the alien invasion. To find peace, humanity has been living underground, but the enemy is getting close to reaching them. Your job as a Ranger is to head for the earth’s core to try and destroy them and protect the future of the human race.

Gameplay and Replayability

You will be fending off endless waves of enemies one level at a time, using a gun that you can aim in a 180-degree circle. One hit kills you, but shields, power-ups, and a giant mech suit can help you out along the way, as you fight ever more dangerous enemies and giant bosses. You collect coins, and these all go toward upgrades that can make fending off the endless hordes much easier. Your goal is to kill a certain number of enemies without dying per stage. There are also boss battles every five levels and the enemies and rewards will continue to increase.

Gold and gems fall from the enemies you defeat, and you use these as the primary source of currency. This is important because after you die, you’ll have to start over at level one again. After every death, though you’ll have the chance to upgrade a variety of stats, skills and guns, meaning that you will get a little farther, eventually die, upgrade, start again and continue to progress. It might sound a little redundant or even repetitive at first, but it never really gets old and keeps that “just one more time” mentality.

Looks and Sounds

I’d have to say what makes Guns of Mercy so appealing is how great it is as being a mindless time-waster. It’s a shining example of the kind of game you just can’t put down even though you know it’s repetitive. You know it’s not perfect, but you might wind up playing it a lot more than many other AAA experiences just because you know you’ll have a good time. Everything is presented simply, and you have to sit back and enjoy mindlessly blasting copious amounts of enemies.

What appealed to me with Guns of Mercy was the excessive amount of colours flooding the screen. It is an explosion of colour, and the various backgrounds and enemy battles take this to an almost insane degree with so much going on. At least Guns of Mercy is still visually-pleasing, and the pixel art keeps the old-school looking jagged effect, while still having just enough detail to look great in high-resolution. The music has an equally impressive retro flare and is just as hectic as the action-packed on-screen gameplay.

Conclusion

Overall, Guns of Mercy harkens back to the retro love all of us share and is just an immensely fun experience. Sure, there is a repetition that can set in, but you’ll always be progressing with an excellent gameplay loop and plenty of reasons to keep coming back. Add the fantastic pixel art animations and soundtrack, and you have yourself a winner with Guns of Mercy, that I can easily recommend to any action gaming fan.

Rapid Reviews UK Rating

You can purchase Guns of Mercy – Rangers Edition on the Nintendo Switch eShop at the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Guns-of-Mercy-Rangers-Edition-1492520.html