REVIEW: Shoot, Loot, and Wear Cool Boots in WIZARD WITH A GUN
I enjoy roguelites. I’ve reviewed a whole lot of them in the last few years and it is usually fun to see the new spins on the endless loop motif. Wizard with a Gun not only boasts fun gameplay and an array of customization in both weapons and character design, but it cleverly disguises a roguelite game as a survival action game by using the best of both genres.
Everything about Wizard with a Gun will feel familiar to some degree. It may be the endless loop of delving deeper and deeper into a world to gain loot and story progression. Maybe it's the 2D cute cartoon models running around a 3D space looking straight out of Don’t Starve or Cult of the Lamb. Or maybe it is the wide variety of and bullet customizations and witty humor that feels siphoned off games like Loadout or even Borderlands. Either way, we have seen most, if not all, of these ideas in one form or another in other games. However, Wizard with a Gun does a fantastic job of bringing these survival mechanics and incorporating them well into this action game that consistently, and purposefully repeats itself.
So let’s break down these three sections. The actual roguelite mechanics, the core of the game, are well weaved into the gameplay loop. Wizard with a Gun forces a five minute timer (with caveats, extensions, and other things) on each run which can slowly progress players abilities and the world exploration. This timer on each run won’t stop people immediately, but more creatures start to spawn and dangers drop the sky to encourage people to run back to the portal back to their home base. While this timer might bother some people, I found it to be charming and keep each run feeling frantic, fun, and fast.
The moment to moment gameplay of Wizard with a Gun boils down to a twin stick shooter with lots of customization. The actual weapons don’t change that much, but the bullets players can craft and use on their runs is what can lead to wild builds (which does basically the same thing as customizing the weapons). Want to burn the world down with loads of fiery bullets? You can do that. Want to freeze anything that comes close to you? You can do that. Want to shoot your friends to heal them? You can do that too. The gameplay is pretty slick and smooth with virtually no framerate drops in my playthrough. Speaking of friends, online co-op works just fine and can make the runs a lot more fun. Does it make the experience a lot better? Not particular. But nothing is inhibited by a friend’s presence there.
Lastly, let's talk about the style of the game. It clearly looks like Don’t Starve and Cult of the Lamb. However, with unique charm and creature design, it looks fine and cute enough to stand out. I do wish there was a bit more vibrancy in the color of the world and sometimes it can be difficult to see what is going on because of visual noise and chaos. But overall, the game looks great and is a treat to explore.
Wizard with a Gun is not the most inventive game, but it does combine a variety of things in a cute and easily digestible package. It won’t blow away anyone familiar with roguelites, but there is more to offer and greater depth than I expected, making this a very pleasant and enjoyable, challenging experience. It won’t be for everyone because of its world timer, but those who like the game could easily fall in love and pour dozens and dozens of hours into it.
