Gun Crazy review for PS4

Platform: PS4
Also on: Switch, PC, Xbox One
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Developer: Ritual Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+

I can kind of see what Gun Crazy?s developer was thinking when they made the game. It?s very clearly meant to be an homage to early ?90s run & gun platformers with its retro graphics and gameplay that?s all about racking up high scores by shooting everything in your path. Basically, think of a more frenetic version of Mega Man, and you?ve got a good idea of what?s in store for you here.

Or, at least, that was probably the idea. In practice, Gun Crazy is a game where I was able to get a Platinum in about fifteen minutes by constantly firing my gun and running to the right.

Admittedly, part of the reason the Platinum is so easy is that this is a Ratalaika game, which means the Platinum pops about halfway through the actual runtime (though I will highlight that this is still a very short game regardless).

The bigger part of why I finished this game so quickly, however, is that it?s absurdly easy. Now, keep in mind that I?m not someone who values insane difficulty in my games. I didn?t like tough-as-nails platformers the first time around in the ?80s, and I hate that ?retro? today is often code for ?game that tries to kill you as much as possible.? So it?s not like I?m bragging here. I mean it: Gun Crazy might be one of the easiest games I?ve ever played. After dying in my first playthrough because I stopped to shoot everything, I decided to see what would happen if I just kept on moving forward and never took my finger off the shoulder button. The end result was, as I said, a very quick Platinum, since enemies practically run into your bullets.

This is great news, I guess, if you just want a quick Platinum. But if you want a game that?s interesting, or engaging, or that expects anything of you, forget it, because you?re not getting it in Gun Crazy. It?s probably for the best that you can clean up all the trophies here in about 10-15 minutes, because anything more than that and you quickly realize that this game has nothing more to offer.

Ratalaika Games provided us with a Gun Crazy PS4 code for review purposes.

Grade: C-