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Developer(s) – Grip Digital Games & Terrible Posture Games

Publisher(s) – Grip Digital Games

PEGI – 7

Jointly developed and released by Terrible Posture Games and Grip Digital and released at the midpoint of 2018, Mothergunship is a spiritual successor to the indie shooter Tower of Guns. Featuring much of the same gameplay elements but offering a great deal more than the latter with an improved number of gameplay features whilst also boasting better graphics on a technical level. And a slightly more immersing story complete with all the humor of Joe Mirabello’s previous game. When I first played and reviewed Tower of Guns, I was immediately taken aback by just how unexpectedly fantastic a game it is.

But I also pointed out a number of flaws that, although marred the game down to a small extent, didn’t stop it from being the best indie game of the eighth generation that I had played up to that point. However, Mothergunship not only addresses these flaws but offers players all the immersion that can be had with Tower of Guns and then some. I was again taken further aback by how this game hadn’t equaled the quality of its spiritual predecessor but surpassed it to a monumental extent. 

Graphics – 9/10

The first thing I noticed whilst playing this game was the significant improvements made to the game’s visuals on a technical level. Abandoning the cel-shaded style synonymous with Tower of Guns, the developers went for a much more realistic-looking sci-fi setting with more varied environmental features. As well as a wider range of enemy types. A vast majority of the enemies (as well as a few of the boss fights) were largely recycled from Tower of Guns. But to counteract that, more enemy types were added to not only make the game more diverse on the conceptual level but to add new types of challenges for players to contend with. Among the most notable are the robotic dogs that run toward players in certain phases of the game. 

I was extremely impressed with the visuals from the get-go. Most impressive were the very realistic-looking vistas of open space towards the start of the game. And those that can be seen during the sequences whereby players must jump between gravity pads to reach another ship. But as well as that, although each room is randomly generated. And as such, the scenery can become very repetitive very quickly. It’s not as much of a problem in Mothergunship as it is in Tower of Guns. As each room feels much more unique from the last. The dice rooms in particular offer more diversity in scenery design. As they present different challenges found in typical rooms. 

Gameplay – 10/10

Mothergunship keeps to the same basic premise as Tower of Guns for the most part. A first-person shooting Roguelike with randomly generated content. But as alluded to before, new gameplay features have been implemented with this title. Such as an RPG aspect in that players can level up their character to gain new perks. Such as increased health, an increased number of jumps, increased melee power, etc. It also has a much less linear progression than the latter. With players being able to undertake sidequests for better loot.

But speaking of the loot, that’s where the game’s most impressive feature comes in. Players also have the facility to make weapons from the ground up. Using various parts that are collected throughout the game. A player can modify a single gun to have multiple barrels and multiple modifications for perks. Such as increased fire rate, attack power, and abilities such as ricocheting bullets and stunning enemies. The level of customization the players can indulge in is actually ridiculous. To the extent that the guns can look like they couldn’t possibly be handled by a human being in the real world. 

But regardless, it makes for one of the most enjoyable features I’ve seen in any FPS game. It feels incredibly satisfying to step into a room with an unreasonably big gun (or two for that matter. Since dual-wielding is also an option) and blast through everything in sight. It’s equally satisfying to try and get by on a minimal amount of equipment throughout the beginning of each mission. And then rely on your ability to strategize in accordance with what loadout a player starts with and then subsequently buys in each shop.

Controls – 10/10

Although the game in terms of its controls functions like most other first-person shooter games, most fans of the genre will be able to pick up the controller and play through it fluently, success also relies on a certain extent of strategy. It’s just as important to move as it is to shoot with so many potential enemies on-screen at any one given moment. People who may have played Tower of Guns can go from that game to this without skipping a beat. Especially if, like me, they’ve had the practice of playing the latter game to death. But for other fans of the genre who may not have played Tower of Guns before, they will be forced to modify their tactics somewhat to stand any chance of success. 

Lifespan – 10/10

To complete one playthrough to 100% with most likely take there around 20 hours. But the thing with this game is that like Tower of Guns before it because everything is randomly generated from the rooms to the loot, each playthrough presents a completely different challenge every time. Giving it a virtually infinite amount of replay value. It has a linear progression ultimately. But the possibilities for each playthrough are endless and will only last as long as the player’s interest. Which given the number of things to do in this game, is a potentially long time. 

Storyline – 7/10

The basic premise of the game is simple; the player is a new recruit of Earth’s governing body tasked with repelling an impending invasion carried out by a robotic race known as the Archivists. The player character must stop this invasion by taking out the Archivist fleet. And along with it, its flagship spacecraft, the Mothergunship. Though the game’s story is pretty basic and overall bears next to no thinking about it for the most part, it’s kept somewhat fresh throughout with a steady supply of humor. The element of comedy with rife in Tower of Guns as well. But because there’s full voice acting in Mothergunship, it’s much easier to indulge in. In particular, Dave Pettitt puts in a hilarious performance as the Colonel. It’s quite reminiscent of Jim Ward’s performances as Captain Qwark in the Ratchet & Clank games. 

Originality – 9/10

In my review of Tower of Guns, I commented on how hard it must be for developers to make a unique first-person shooter experience. Given how saturated the industry has become the genre taking precedence throughout recent gaming generations. Despite that, Tower of Guns felt like a fairly unique game. However, with the sheer amount of new and exciting gameplay features implemented in Mothergunship, this game works even better to stand out in an over-saturated gaming genre. Making it, to me, not only one of the most memorable FPS games in recent years, but also one of the most unique gaming experiences of the eighth generation. 

Overall, Mothergunship is one of the best first-person shooter games I have ever played. It’s an immersing gameplay experience offering pretty much endless replay value with exceptional graphics. And an obscene level of customization that will have players indulging in it for hours upon hours. I loved Tower of Guns. But for lack of a better term, this game quite literally blows its spiritual predecessor out of the water. 

Score

53/60

8.5/10 (Great)