Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof VR

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Title: Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof VR
Developer: MiroWin
Publisher: MiroWin
Website: www.mirowin.com
Genre: Action & Shooter
Platform: PS4 (PS VR), PC
Audience: T for Teen
Release Date: 7/12/2018
Price: £15.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

What the Developers say

Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof is a dynamic VR-western shooter that fully immerses players into weird Wild West. Visit beautiful locations with Oldman Bill and try many weapons under the rhythm of the dynamic music, jokes, and cynical humor.

Introduction

Wave shooters are a dime-a-dozen on PlayStation VR with some being more memorable than others. They start off sounding, and we lament the fact that it’s an overpopulated genre for the peripheral. Developers seem to be not able to come up with a better implementation for the two PlayStation MOVE controllers (or wands if that’s what you prefer to call them) to function as guns for shooting wave after wave of enemies, zombies, aliens, deranged fruit, etc.

Developers seem to have a hard time finding the hook for what makes certain types of wave shooters unique or stand out from the crowd. Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof VR, from developer MiroWin, doesn’t stray too far from the tried-and-true formula and does have a few hooks to help it stand out. However, for a game that’s called Guns’n’Stories, I have to say that while the guns are decidedly pretty neat to use, the stories are decidedly hit-or-miss.

Looks and Sounds

First off, I have to give credit to the developers for taking some elements from a variety of movies where a story is told through past events. Guns’n’Stories is delivered through the motif of a grandfather telling his grandsons stories about his experiences in the Old West. It’s an interesting experiment that almost nearly succeeds, but neither the humour nor the delivery of the dialogue felt authentic, and by the end of the short campaign I was already skipping every cutscene that popped up. Every scene is wonderfully hand-drawn, but with minimal animation, presented in flat non-VR vignettes, they did not add to the experience.

Where the storytelling does work, however, is when it’s told in-game. Sometimes the grandson corrects the old man’s faltering memory which changes what’s happening mid-firefight. From the weapons you’re holding, to the enemies that are on-screen – even the environments – it’s a mechanic that’s relatively funny and mixes things up when you least expect it. For something that works so well though, it’s tremendously underutilised.

Other than the story components, the wave-based shooting is your standard fare here. The music and sound effects get the job done, although lacking some punch with the gun sounds, and the graphics are colourful, but with some rough edges. Like most games in the genre, every stage has you standing in one place. Dodging the slow-motion bullets or ricocheting them off your weapon is fun for a while, invoking for me Blasters of the Universe or Superhot, but the levels don’t have the same staying power of either of those two titles.

Gameplay and Replayability

Each level starts in a Wild West-like setting which is fine but then goes on far too long and without much variety, making the roughly two-hour campaign feel longer than it should. Like most wave shooters, the point is to replay it over and over to try and get a higher score on every difficulty with every stage. However, without online leaderboards, Guns’n’Stories makes that experience too solitary to enjoy truly.

Once you’re finished with the campaign, there is still plenty to do with six mindless mini-games and the option to replay each stage in arcade mode which allows you to forego the story and play with any weapon you choose. I have to say that the gun selection is excellent, and like everything else in Guns’n’Stories, doesn’t take itself too seriously. With everything from pistols and Tommy guns, to imaginative, inspired laser cannons, this was a highlight of the gameplay and kept things fresh.

PS VR is already saturated with a numerous amount of wave shooters, and some are absolute must-haves while others, like Guns’n’Stories, feel like a filler. That does not take away from the fun and enjoyment I had while playing Guns’n’Stories with its entertaining premise and gun assortment, but it’s just not all that memorable. It was missing something special that makes you strive for a better score or the allure that pulls you back after every wave for just one more try.

Conclusion

Overall, Guns’n’Stories features plenty of fun gunplay all set in the Wild West. Unfortunately, while the gameplay and premise were enjoyable, the fun wore off much too soon and boiled down to being just another wave shooter. If you can’t get enough of the genre, Guns’n’Stories is a fine shooter, just be prepared for a rather shallow experience.

Rapid Reviews UK Rating

You can purchase Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof VR on the PlayStation Network at the following link, https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP5013-CUSA12620_00-BULLETPROOFVRXXX