If you have been paying attention to the roguelike sphere in 2017, you'll have at least heard of Cryptark. It's a side-scrolling twin stick shooter set in space with tight gameplay and a sweet synth soundtrack. It's the kind of game that would have stood out a lot more in any other year, at least for me, but 2017 was a monster. Still, the team at Alientrap (Nexuiz, Apotheon) are forging a path forward with the game's sequel, and I won't be making the mistake of missing this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy6iAEi7Ym0
Gunhead is a procedural open world FPS "where you take the role of a pirate mech with a gun for a head". Jetpack up and down alien ships and collect over fifty weapons and items as you try to survive the events of the previous game. The art style brings a little Borderlands into the mix while the floaty gunplay reminds me of Tower of Guns more than anything. The soundtrack and voice acting that made Cryptark pop are all here, so we really just have to wait and see how it plays.
2017 has been surprisingly light on quality first-person roguelikes outside of a few gems, but games like this and Mothergunship have me excited to see what's coming soon. We won't have to wait too long to see if that happens, as Gunhead is currently slated for a 2018 release.
Quick Take
Gunhead is another fine winner of the Bulletstorm memorial naming award for games names that we really should have used by now. The fact that the name actually describes a character in the game with a gun for a head just makes me all the more excited.Even apart from the ridiculousness, another FPS from the minds behind ahead of its time arena FPS revival Nexuiz could really be something special, and you can count on me to be following this one very closely.