I’m left somewhat lost for words by Gungrave U.N.. It’s a standalone ‘sequel’ to Gungrave VR which I just called maybe the worst VR game to release this year. That game comes and goes in 50 minutes without making any hint of an impression on you. U.N. does that all over again, this time in about half an hour.
I couldn’t work out what twisted reality I’d stumbled into when I booted up U.N. to discover it recycling the same main menu. Oddly enough, the third-person gameplay that forms the bulk of Gungrave VR is given slightly more polish here; your attacks seem a little faster and more lethal and levels are actually linear environments you have to shoot your way through. It’s still largely pointless, stiff and pretty much without merit, but it is just an inch better than the main game.
Just when I thought this expansion might come out on top over the original, though, U.N. introduces its side-scrolling sections.
Yup, the game’s mainly comprised of a barebones side-scrolling shooter in which you use your headset as a cursor to aim. The controls remain exactly the same and you just fight the same type of enemies over and over again for another 30 minutes, aside from three more forgettable boss encounters.
I really don’t know what to say at this point other than there is literally no reason to put yourself through playing these levels; they find even less purpose for being in VR that the traditional sections do. You slog through one side to the other, your brain wondering off elsewhere for the duration.
Gungrave U.N. is a leaner version of an already short game with utterly vapid side-scrolling sections and the same dated design as its predecessor. Don’t do it to yourself.
