Rolling Gunner + Over Power review

Rolling Gunner might not be the prettiest horizontally-scrolling shooter. But the game counterbalances its utilitarian looks with engrossing playability. The bundled DLC adds additional longevity.

Sadly, it’s been over a decade since danmaku masters Cave released their last arcade effort, DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou. While the Meguro city-based studio still publishes the occasional remaster, the era of new experiences might have passed.

Fortunately, a bit of consolation can be found in the handiwork of former Cave staff. Having served as a programmer for titles such as Deathsmiles II: Makai no Merry Christmas and Akai Katana, Daisuke Koizumi understands what it takes to make a successful STG. The recent PlayStation 4 release of Rolling Gunner isn’t quite as impressive as Cave’s efforts. However, it is a worthwhile effort that will be appreciated by players who find pleasure in evading hundreds of enemy projectiles.

Plotline: Thanos Meets Terminator

Set in 2061, Rolling Gunner envisions a computer system called BAC turning against humanity and killing half of the world’s population. The lingering populace doesn’t seem to appreciate any ecological dividend from the massacre. As such, they build a trio of fighters designed to permanently power-down BAC.

Gunner’s two game modes provide access to the STORK, SUPER STORK, and ATTACK STORK fighters. Each has a slightly different spread of forward-facing fire as well as movement speed. Additionally, ships have a pod that rotates around the ship, that resemble the Force units found in Irem’s R-Type series. But playing with the “Over Power” DLC fundamentally changes the control scheme.

Roll Your Gun, Not Your Eyes

In Original Mode, your ‘Rolling Gun’ aims in the opposite direction of directional- or analog pad movement. Holding down the fire button locks the drone in place, which is beneficial since opponents arrive on all side of the screen. When foes are in front, you can swivel the weapon in front of you for extra firepower. Larger ships often take multiple hits to defeat, so you’ll appreciate the advantage of an additional stream of laser fire.

When the game warns that a procession of enemies approaching from the back, you can reposition your drone to quickly eliminate them. If you dislike when STGs launch enemy ships at your prone side, Rolling Gunner can feel like sweet revenge. More than many genre entries, the game encourages you to prioritize adversaries.

Eliminating the most munition-emitting foes is a solid strategy for success. Typically, your ship stays in one area of the screen in most shooters. But Rolling Gunner feels far more dynamic, as you thread the needle through intersecting fields of bullets. And when you’re on the verge on faltering on that hair-thin escape route, you can always deploy one of your stock bombs.

Enemies emit gold metals when eliminated, and if you’re close enough to the explosion, your STORK will magnetically pull in gold metals. Like Deathsmiles, these fuel fever mode. Pull on your controller’s L2 trigger and you’ll intensify your offense abilities and cancel some enemy bullets, while energy is siphoned away from your medal supply. When this occurs, your also see a red-colored meter. Once this gauge has reached a certain level, you can amplify your offensive output even more, truly sticking it to the sentient BAC army. Unlike Deathsmiles, Rolling Gunner’s fever mode powers up faster, providing additional avenues for scoring across its six-stage run.

Revolution or Evolution

The bundled “Over Power” DLC transforms Rolling Gunner’s control scheme, effectively turning the game into a scrolling twin-stick shooter. Additionally, you’ll enjoy benefits like a powerful, bullet-canceling plasma gun and energy shielding. In our recent review of Cotton Fantasy, we chided the game for level design that didn’t exploit the abilities of each of the playable characters. But “Over Power” balances its increased responsiveness and precision of your Rolling Gun with a re-tuned challenge level. The result is a faster, more intense game that just might outshine the base game.

When it comes to gameplay, Rolling Gunner shines, with several risk/reward systems that will hold you attention over time. But when it comes to visuals, the game is a bit of an eyesore. One backdrop suspiciously resembles a Google Map rendered in an isometric perspective, while the punctuating cinematic at the end of each level descends into a slideshow. The original PC version allowed players to choose if they wanted slowdown to help when the on-screen action got really chaotic. On PlayStation, the option is mandatory.

Conclusion

Peer past Rolling Gunner no-frills visuals and you’ll find an intense danmaku than can cater to a range of skill levels. Normally, the presence of DLC fragments a STG (see R-Type Final 2’s season passes). But here, the inclusion of Over Power mode augments an already great game with an additional control scheme. Factor in online leaderboards and support for replays, and this is package that genre fans will certainly appreciate.

Rolling Gunner + Over Power was played on
PlayStation 4 with review code provided by the publisher.