Gungrave is a series that burned bright in the early 2000s. There were two PS2 games that also got an anime adaptation. This was not surprising as Yasuhiro Nightow, who helped with the basic story and character design of this series, also wrote Trigun.
That was a popular anime when it was airing on Adult Swim at the time, which is presumably why some fans may have checked out the first Gungrave. Years later, Gungrave G.O.R.E is here and it doesn’t feel like the franchise evolved past its PS2 origins. With the scores averaging in the 60s across most platforms, it’s clear that this game needs a lot of work done to it and these patch ideas can help.
6 Needs More Music
Hope players like the two songs that are in the game because that is all they’re going to get. That’s an exaggeration on the highest level but it isn’t far off. Exploring most levels will have a slow melody playing in the background while things heat up with rock and metal during gameplay. This is sort of the pattern in the Devil May Cry series as well, which Gungrave must have borrowed heavily from in other ways too.
The music isn’t bad so much as it gets old fast thanks to the low amount on the soundtrack. It makes the music feel like an afterthought, which is never a good sign. This might be hard to do for a patch, but getting more music patched into Gungrave G.O.R.E could help the overall score. Also, the more things enemies could say as they attack Grave, the better. It might not be a stretch to say there are only about twelve things they shout, which isn’t uncommon for an action game.
5 Add Co-Op
Multiplayer could do wonders for this game. Gungrave G.O.R.E deserves applause already for having some replay value. Players can go back into any mission and replay them to get better grades. It’s a common trait for an action game like Bayonetta 3, which allows players to go through missions again as well.
There are two multiplayer routes that Gungrave G.O.R.E could take. One, adding in co-op would make levels less of a slog. There are often way too many enemies and getting an extra pair of guns via a friend online would be cool. If co-op for the campaign would be too hard to program now, then the developers could add a horde mode instead akin to Gears of War. Put two or more Graves into an arena and then throw waves of enemies at them. It couldn’t hurt to try either of these ideas down the road.
4 Add A Run Button
Grave has to be one of the slowest-moving characters in an action game. There is an understandable reason for this as he is seemingly weighed down by the giant coffin on his back. There is a way to run in the game but “run” should be in quotes.
If players keep going straight, Grave will burst into a sprint but even this increase in speed is barely noticeable. The developers should patch in a dedicated run button, or increase how fast Grave can go in this sprint. This is like a barebones request for a video game that seems more doable than the co-op idea.
3 Slow Motion Dodging
Bayonetta 3 needs to get brought up again because of its dodge button. Perfectly timing a dodge will slow down time, making defense the best offense for the titular gun-toting witch. That is a pro tip that does not extend to Gungrave G.O.R.E, unfortunately.
The best way to finish the game is to blast everything in sight as quickly as possible. Gungrave G.O.R.E is more like a light gun, or on-rails game in this way rather than a straight-up third-person shooter. There is a dodge mechanic but it does not slow down time. Because enemy numbers can get overwhelming fast, without a co-op partner, the ability to slow down time would make some skirmishes less daunting. This is another mechanic that seems too difficult to put into a patch, but it could happen.
2 Add A New Graphical Mode
One of the coolest things about the first two games on PS2 was the graphics. They were cel-shaded which helped them stick out then and they still look good today. There are certainly better-looking cel-shaded games that hold up better from that era than those two games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Still, the Gungrave games deserve some recognition. It’s a shame that Gungrave G.O.R.E doesn’t feature as striking of an aesthetic but it could. The developers could add new viewing options such as cel-shaded, or black and white modes.
1 Voice The Series Recap
Since this series began in 2002, two decades ago, on the PS2, fans may be a little lost on the plot. That’s why the developers probably thought it was a good idea to add a recap that goes through everything leading up to Gungrave G.O.R.E This is a great addition to any game, but there is an issue.
It’s told as a motion comic with cheap art and subtitles. There are no voices in it, which comes across as cheap. An animated recap with voices would be more engaging, but at the very least there need to be some voices added to this intro.
Gungrave G.O.R.E was released on November 22, 2022 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.