The Switch has become home to an absolute smorgasbord of retro-inspired games. Whilst a lot of these may rarely be worth a second glance, a select few – such as Dead Cells and Undertale – might very well become some of your all-time favourites.
Gunlord X likely won't be on your radar at all, but it really should be. Its very existence is a bit of an anomaly in itself: initially releasing simply as Gunlord back in 2012 for the SNK Neo-Geo, it's arguably not technically old enough to be considered truly retro, despite clearly gunning for that particular aesthetic. It's also entirely possible, if not outright guaranteed, that very few Switch owners have ever experienced it before, despite it getting a little-known Dreamcast release. But by masterfully combining exploration gameplay with fluid, engaging combat (and a few surprises), this is a game that you won't want to pass up.
If you happen to be familiar with the classic 'Eurostyle' action series Turrican, you'll have a good idea of what to expect with Gunlord X. For everyone else, it's a 2D run 'n' gun action adventure elevated by a dollop of 'Metroidvania' sauce and a sprinkling of R-Type seasoning. Across nine sprawling stages you'll traverse a range of gorgeous locales, from moonlit castles complete with hulking gargoyles to dark dystopian facilities littered with deadly lasers. You'll spend your time seeking out secret pathways and collectables whilst gunning down everything in your path before finding your way to the spectacular end-of-stage boss.
Developer NG:DEV.TEAM has done a remarkable job in making the stages incredibly vast and expansive whilst ensuring you never stray too far from the intended path. This is partly thanks to some handily-placed markers that point you in the right direction, but these aren't generally required. Chances are that if you can navigate down a particular pathway, you can be sure that it will eventually lead you to the end of the stage. Along the way, you’ll come across dozens of enemies big and small, all of which are fully capable of taking you down. Make no mistake, Gunlord X isn’t easy, but we found that it always felt fair, providing you with ample opportunity to recover health where needed.
By default, you start off each level with a basic automatic spread shot. This is more than adequate for dealing with most enemies, but if you find yourself in want of something a bit meatier, the game generously doles out new weapons via boxes throughout the stages. These can be shot at to unveil several options to select from, including everything from powerful missiles to a bounce shot that ricochets around the walls in spectacular fashion. In addition to the basic weaponry, you’ll also have command of the ‘dragon whip’, a powerful beam that you can control with the right analogue stick, giving you full 360-degree range to vanquish enemies and even deflect hostile projectiles. Keep in mind, however, that it will easily deplete with use and only refill over time, so be sure to use it sparingly.
Alongside the standard run ‘n’ gun stages, NG:DEV.TEAM throws a delightful spanner in the works with the game’s second stage. Here, you’ll take to the skies in a straight up side-scrolling shooter, complete with a monstrous boss that fans of R-Type will absolutely adore. We’d have liked this stage to be a little bit longer, as it’s a bit short in comparison to the regular stages, but nevertheless, its a very welcome change of pace.
As is so often the case with games that imitate '80s and '90s design, Gunlord X can be beaten in just over an hour if you're a skilled player and know exactly what you're doing. Getting to the stage where you're so familiar with the game that you can achieve this kind of completion time is obviously not easy, and will take several days of committed repeat play. Still, once the end credits roll there's little reason to return, and that certainly counts against the game. While it lasts it's engaging and thrilling, though, which does raise a valid argument: is it best to have a game which artificially stretches its challenge over many hours or one which offers tightly-focused entertainment in a shorter space of time? If you're already a fan of this genre, then we suspect the answer is obvious.
Gunlord X looks absolutely stunning whether you play it docked or in handheld mode. Colours pop from the screen and it runs at a rock solid 60FPS with no noticeable dips. Should you choose to, you can also alter the display settings to suit your own preferences. Scanlines can be added for a more authentic CRT look, and you can stretch out the action to fit the entirety of the Switch’s screen, if you so wish. This doesn’t look quite as bad as you might expect, but rest assured you’ll have a decent selection of frames (or no frame at all) to choose from if you wish to keep the game at its intended display.
We’d be remiss not to mention the game’s soundtrack, which is – in a word – astonishing. Composed by Rafael Dyll, it’s the kind of soundtrack you’ll want to download immediately after playing the game – it’s that good. Each track is fully suited to its respective stage, and manages to make the action feel even more epic and frantic. We've had the music stuck in our heads hours after putting the game down.
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of classic run ‘n’ gun action games, then Gunlord X is an absolute pleasure to play from start to finish. It joins the ranks of must-own retro-inspired titles for the Switch, delivering blistering action, stunning visuals and an absolutely stellar soundtrack. It could be argued that there’s little originality on offer and the longevity of the game is also questionable thanks to the fact that it's 'built' like an old-school coin-op release, but honestly, when the experience is this good, it seems churlish to grumble.
Comments 48
It has been a long road to finally be able to play this in such a convenient (and affordable!) form. 10/10 from me because this is Turrican 4 in everything but name. Now just sit back and enjoy this tune from the soundtrack while reading the review.
@Shiryu This was one of my favourite tracks. Stunning.
Excellent game thought it may have got a 9 but I’m not bothered about the score the review tells you everything you need to know I was happy when I paid £38 for the Dreamcast release and this has improvements over the original release so it’s a bargain at the price
Certainly a stunning game I have this on Dreamcast. The review mentions this game could be beaten in an hour, obviously the switch version has been balanced and given decent save points. The Dreamcast version is tough with not many continues and no saves, good luck beating that in an hour. Getting the switch version for sure though.
@Stryker89 It's 100% Chris Huelsbeck... but also different at the same time. A composition masterpiece!
@Shiryu Oh my lord! I have no words for that music! I was sold at 8/10 lol, but I'm starting to think this game was robbed!
Review reads like a 9. Omg said it first.
Check out Sturmwind for the Dreamcast absolutely amazing in every way:)
@Shiryu I burned a copy of this for my dreamcast and never got into it, this might be a good chance to buy it because it looks amazing.
@Axelay71 you’re right it almost looks like an Xbox 360 game it’s that good
It's really great, i hope we'll see more NG Dev Team games on the Switch soon.
It also made me feel a lot of nostalgia, Turrican in Amiga is a great childhood memory .
The graphics kinda look like a mess of colors but not exactly in a bad way. It's definitely a proper Turrican style game.
I think it is okay, 7/10 for me.
$10, great graphics, and a killer soundtrack? I don't buy much, but that was an easy click. Hope it lives up to its promise.
Got THE collectors edition for the Dreamcast but of course I bought this one too. I hope for a physical release later 👍
I can only speak about the Dreamcast version at this time. Gunlord was a really great experience when I played it and I definitely plan to return to it in the future as I really loved it. I didn't find the DC version to be excessively hard. The key was to spend as much time in the early stages to find the many 1-ups so that you're well stocked late in the game. There are many of those to find. Doing that, I found it was more of a two-hour game, after figuring many things out the hard way in prior sessions. For a game like this, I think the length works better. It sounds like this new version is very good as well. I'm glad to see Gunlord return in this way. Perhaps it will see life on other platforms as well.
Personally waiting on that sweet physical release. Hope it comes sooner than later!
This looks so Turricany. Will buy for sure.
I will be downloading this, though I would like a physical release and I can't help but think this title would look amazing on the 3DS games like this look spectacular in stereoscopic 3D.
@Gs69 @Gs69
It really is stunning for an indie developer, the visuals, the gameplay, the sound are top tier stuff. Unfortunately I doubt many will get to experience it, well worth buying a Dreamcast for though:)
trust me you need to be a pro to even dream of doing this in a hour. I completed all the turrican games back in the day (well 1,2 + 3 so that's not really all). And i have been at it for many hours. Also I would say that new players to shoot em ups should avoid this as it will ruin them. If you have some experience though its a day one 9/10 for me at least.
Didn't even noticed this was released. Skipped right over the icon the eshop. Will definitely buy it now.
This is a horrible wanna be super turrican rip off lol
@Shiryu yes! That’s what I loved about their approach. It doesn’t feel like a Turrican ripoff, it feels like an actual sequel that Factor 5 might have put out. I loved the DC one, and I’m hoping the tweaks improve on an already great game (for example, that stage 3 midboss was a bit of a difficulty spike)
Honestly, I'd rather get Ultracore when that comes out.
@Sgt-Jack-V strictlylimitedgames are taking pre orders for physical copies of Ultracore as we speak.
Never heard of this until now. Bought and love it. I've enjoyed the Turrican games on Wii virtual console, and this really is like a sequel. I am dying a lot, so I'm not sure how far I'll make it into the game...
I've little experience with non-fighters on Neo-Geo, but this looks neat.
As soon as I saw this on the eshop I thought Turrican, which for me, is an AMAZING game and extremely nostalgic. So I knew I had to get this. Then I came here and get reminded that I need to pony up those digital credits and get this. Probably buying tonight - thanks for the review!
@Solomon18 Yeah, but the thing is, I don't do preorders.
"Still, once the end credits roll there's little reason to return, and that certainly counts against the game."
Totally disagree with this sentiment. I hate the idea that games need to keep you hooked and coming back. It's the underlying principle of the worst elements in modern gaming.
I have a busy life and a lot of games to play in my very limited spare time. I want more games to be done when I finish them. Especially when they're cheap and brilliant.
Gunlord is fantastic!
Snapped this up as I loved the Turrican games on the Amiga. It did not disappoint, great game! I prefer the more action and linear style over metroids exploration. 9/10 from me.
YOU CANT ESCAPE YOU HAVE NO GUN!!!
Masterpiece!!! this game is a spiritual succesor to the Turrican series, anyone who played those games knows what to expect : amazing soundtrack, colorful graphics and effects, great variety of weapons to suit any playstyle, fair challenge, exciting fast paced action, im glad we can finally play this game on the switch !!
Praise the Gunlord!!!
One question: so can one really disable these annoying scanlines?
@opeter scanlines are optional.
@sdelfin: thanks for the information
"and a sprinkling of R-Type seasoning"
That's an interesting way of saying 'Thunder Force', given that the boss in the provided screenshot for the second stage of Gunlord is practically a copy/paste of the first stage boss in TFIV.
I keep running out of lives on level 5. I think the game could do with an easy mode or something so you can experiment and learn the game before upping the difficulty to normal.
@BulkSlash How many continues have you unlocked? Do you use the save/load feature?
@NGDEV Ignore my whining, I just managed to beat the game! 😅 I think I had about 4 continues by the end, I sometimes bypassed the big gems because I’d end up dying too many times trying to reach them.
It’s a really awesome game, I think I’ll have to see if I can get the Dreamcast version too as I love the DC.
BTW I love that you give a special thanks to Factor 5 in the credits!
@BulkSlash nice to hear you broke through. A game like Gunlord is all about stockpiling continues and 1-ups early. I think I had a few dozen lives by the end when I played the DC version. I thought it was cool that one of the late stages was called Factory 5(another acknowledgement of Factor 5), at least on DC. That was a nice touch.
@sdelfin I just beat the game again, interestingly this time I had about 15 lives by the time I reached level 7, but then I proceeded to lose most of them over the next two levels!
Thankfully I had 3 continues so I was able to finish the game. I need to get better at sweeping the areas above me as I often jump up into enemy fire!
@__ZetaBladeX13
Turrican 2 had 3 (very awesome) shmup levels. So it's still very much Turrican inspired, it seems.
@Skegg I would agree, those were quite good in Turrican 2/3. However, Turrican's SHMUP levels didn't have bosses copy/pasted from Thunder Force IV.
A nod to the same boss was featured in the recently released 'Devil Engine' as well.
https://www.handheldplayers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/sega-ages-nintendo-switch-20180416-001-800x445.jpg
https://gametimes.cc/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/zen8juex4u5wh7zurcf3k-y-qoxeaalr.445x245.jpg
@Shiryu the game is amazing, bought on sale for 5 bucks and couldn't stop playing. . I haven't played turrican before. Is the collection on switch worth buying?
@Retrogamindaddy Absolutely, even more so if you're going freash into the franchise. It is sadly missing a few key titles, most of all Super Turrican II and the Director's cut for the SNES and Mega Drive that includes come missing content from the original releases. The upcoming Turrican Anthology will be a better option... assuming it ever ends up on the eshop, that is (it was a limited run physical edition thingy from last year and should start shipping any day now).
Ty very much sir! Will be buying the collection next payday. And playing with my fight stick.
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