Aussie developer Halfbrick has long been a giant in the mobile gaming space. Releases like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride have solidified Halfbrick as one of the biggest and best devs there is, in mobile gaming.
Now, Halfbrick is making a move into PC gaming and Steam with new roguelike Guncrypt. A free demo of Guncrypt is live on Steam now as part of Steam Next Fest and will be available through to 22 June.
The core mechanic in Guncrypt is a ‘bullet stacking system’. Players discover magical ammo, and once arranged in your gun’s magazine fire in sequence, creating combinations and unique results.
Guncrypt
Halfbrick describes Guncrypt as “a rogue-like dungeon crawler set in a haunted Western frontier town. You play as the newly appointed deputy, tasked with venturing into the ghoulish underworld beneath Guncrypt to rescue missing townsfolk, recover lost treasures, and hopefully put an end to the wizard Skulldarkula’s terrible curse.”
The bullet stacking system sounds really interesting, and Halfbrick has confirmed that players will find bullets that spread poison, pierce armour, shoot lightning, ricochet between enemies, and even summon dragons. The way players arrange their bullets will change their run and no two runs will look or play alike.
Halfbrick has also confirmed there are special themed bullet pools. “Some of the active pools in Guncrypt are: Lightning (chain and shock effects), Poison (slow, creeping damage over time), Vulnerable (armour shredding that makes everything hit harder), Root (crowd control for those who like their enemies standing still), and Ricochet (bouncing rounds that punish enemies for grouping up). Finding multiple bullets from the same pool is where the real magic happens.”
On death, players will return to the Town hub where they can chat with NPCs, take on quests, unlock upgrades and more. The Guncrypt demo includes two ‘floors’ and the Town hub, while the full game will include four floors. The two floors available in the demo are The Crypt and The Haunted Mines. Halbrick has also suggested that players keep their eyes peeled for secrets and unique challenges.
One very cool feature in Guncrypt is the ability to save and share your run with friends. At the game over screen, players can copy a link, send it to their friends and share with them the exact build, how it looked in-game, the damage curve and more.
The Guncrypt demo is available now on Steam. For more information, head to the official website. Guncrypt will be released on PC.