You know when you stumble across a game you’ve never played before and it turns out to be an absolute gem? Well, I’ve found one and it turns out to be Gunfire Reborn which is now available on the Xbox family of consoles. For you lucky Xbox Game Pass subscribers, it is part of the catalogue of games currently available at the time of writing. I am always on the lookout for decent co-op games to play with my mates and there doesn’t seem to be too many knocking about lately, so this one is well worth at least a glance.

Introduction

Gunfire Reborn is a solo or co-op-based first-person shooter with well-blended roguelite and RPG elements thrown into the mix. The game will set you on a run through procedurally generated areas with waves of enemies with a final boss on each level. What makes the game so great is how much content is available outside of the gameplay loop. There is a huge arsenal of weaponry to play around with and plenty to unlock between runs. Whether it’s new characters or strengthening your abilities in the in-depth skill tree, there is always something to work towards. 

Gameplay

Gunfire Reborn plays out like your traditional first-person shooter and you’ll need to work alone or with your teammates in an attempt to smash through all the levels and bosses. If you have experienced roguelite titles before, then you’ll know they can be rewarding yet punishing at the same time. The game takes a similar stance here, if all players die then it is game over for that run. Whilst you’ll only be able to start your time with the game as a cat who can freeze enemies temporarily, you’ll soon be able to unlock new characters for different play styles.

Leave No Enemy Alive!

The gameplay loop will expect you to clear an area before you can progress to the next and I initially underestimated how difficult the game can be. It wasn’t until I ended up facing the first boss that I realised I wasn’t quite strong enough. Obviously, your personal playstyle and weaponry can play a part in your success, but often it is about using experience gained to tick off your skill tree and come back stronger. I especially liked how there are health bars indicating how much life an enemy has before they bite the dust, this allows you to adapt and prioritise which enemy to attack. Often the game will chuck out stronger opponents with much more life and shield to try and overcome and you’ll need to combat them as a collective effort or it will be a real challenge.

Check Out Every Vault

Throughout the levels, you will uncover hidden areas through cracks in the walls known as vaults. These are essentially mini-missions and by clearing these you will access bonus chests which will give you additional power as you progress. Luckily, if you’re finding things a little too difficult and heated, there is a way of jumping straight back out of the crack in the wall and back into the main areas.

Visit The Peddler & Craftsman

At certain opportunities throughout the game, you’ll have the chance to buy new gear or upgrade your weapons. As you plough through enemies there will be coins dropped and littered everywhere, accumulate enough and you will be able to go shopping. The peddler resembles a video game version of Kermit the Frog and by visiting him you’ll be able to purchase a health top-up, extra ammunition and weapons if you don’t like what you’re currently holding. The craftsman will be able to give you buffs to weaponry for a fee and give them more firepower.

Prepare For The Boss

The boss fights can be absolutely brutally hard if you don’t go in prepared. You’ll want to communicate and stick close to your friends as you may need to pounce on them whilst downed to revive. If someone dies then they will not return until the next phase in the game and without the extra hands on deck, you may struggle. The beauty of this is learning how the bosses move and function and choosing when to attach as a collective for maximum damage.

Loot Treasure Chests & Grab Scrolls

Along the way, you’ll come across several treasure chests and the majority will grant you a scroll to select. Each one will give you a little lift in power in specific areas such as additional damage, and the ability to move faster or for a longer duration on your special attacks. There are many more and too many to list, but it is fun to discover them. Very occasionally you’ll open one that gives you some cryptic choices in return for something, you may need to gamble some currency away in the hope of something nice in return.

Solid Control System But Fiddly In Parts

The gunplay for the most play is satisfying and the controls are fantastic, there are some bugbears though and that is when opening chests. I found it really hard to select scrolls at times and it’s almost like this wasn’t ported well from the PC version of the game. It felt frustratingly fiddly and you had to be so precise with hovering your crosshair over each scroll to see the information.

Matchmaking & Connectivity Issues

There are some glaring matchmaking and connectivity issues on the Xbox Series X version of the game. Whilst it doesn’t happen too often, when it does it can be infuriating. At its worst, I was disconnected from a run that was ninety minutes long and lost all my progression from that playthrough and I had no way to rejoin. There is a ping indicator by each player in the lobby before starting a match and they were alarmingly high almost always. Mine would hover around 100 whilst others were more, yet on games such as FIFA for instance, my ping is extremely low. There are some bugs across the game menus and issues with some of them glitching completely in the main menus. These problems are often rectified with a reboot of the game which shouldn’t have to happen, but unfortunately, the support for the console version appears to be non-existent.

Graphics & Audio

Visually Gunfire Reborn gives me Borderlands vibes in its aesthetics. It has a simplistic yet pretty art style throughout its constant and consistent stream of levels. Whilst the graphics aren’t as detailed as some of the triple-A experiences we all know and love, there is a fantastic variance across the board. With a plethora of different weapons, abilities and a large range of enemy types and bosses, there is plenty going on. Whilst each run is accommodated by the same level progression, every playthrough feels spontaneous. 

When I say spontaneous, what I mean by this is that the cascade of gunfire and enemy placement always gives every crack of the whip a different appearance. Boss fights occur at the end of each level and are extremely well-animated. You really gain a sense of power from these brawls and each boss is well-designed. From an audio perspective, everything does well enough to tick the boxes.

In Conclusion

Gunfire Reborn is one of those games I’d now recommend immediately if you’re looking for a co-op title to play with your friends. Its deep levelling and skill tree system with several options of difficulty keeps me returning for more. Replayability and longevity is a key point here and I’m talking about a potential of hundreds of hours. If you can grin and bear the occasional matchmaking issues and the odd disconnect then it’s an absolute blast almost all of the time.