Several years ago the big thing was adding RPG elements to FPS games. A number of notable titles released, such as Borderlands, with it quickly becoming an expected feature. Given the recent rise of roguelike/rogue-lite elements, a number of developers have pushed towards implementing these ideas. Among them is Duoyi Games who released Gunfire Reborn on Steam, followed by Xbox, and now PlayStation. Given the success thus far, does Gunfire Reborn prove to be a sleeper summer hit, or is it an underwhelming adventure with a cute coat of paint?
Since there is no story, the whole experience comes down to gameplay. The core loop is very satisfying for the genre. You play as one of a handful of heroes, each with their own gimmick, and then attempt to create a viable build based off what RNG gives you.
Maybe the first couple of items push elemental damage, encouraging players to invest everything in this play style. One of the main downsides is the importance of a cohesive build. Earlier runs I would build out skills I thought would aid me later on, but this resulted in woefully poor damage on later stages. This can make online frustrating, as there is no guarantee whomever matches with you has any understanding of the core mechanics.
Someone is Playing Sub-Optimally
That aside, gunplay is satisfying enough. Similar to perks, Gunfire Reborn encourages different weapons based off your current build. Sometimes I’ll get things that make a melee build viable, other times elemental damage, which can make things exciting. In addition to bland weapons, there are unique things like Justice, a lizard that shoots explosive flame balls, or the submachine gun chameleon Dual Fang.
Despite the player side being diverse, stages are very bland. Between a small number of enemies and set pieces, it doesn’t take long to see everything. This is worse than a number of other offenders we’ve reviewed. It’s unfortunate to see, though it’s far from the biggest problem in Gunfire Reborn.
Everyone’s Connection Sucks
First and foremost, the online experience is abysmal. It’s hard to say how much of this actually falls on Gunfire Reborn, but the outcome is one of the biggest selling points being moot. Having played a lot of games online, along with having a wired connection, I constantly faced issues connecting with others. Unfortunately, this is a fairly widespread problem as well.
Multiple players have expressed frustration on this matter, plus I can confirm only one person I played online with had a green connection. What makes this a big issue is how Gunfire Reborn works. Not only does it make it harder to deal damage, I would frequently dodge, have my character jump back to a previous point, lose my dodge, followed by taking damage. This is especially frustrating with snipers, since they can almost one shot you, or challenge stages where it’s incredibly difficult to avoid taking some damage.
If bad pings weren’t enough, online is not very active. Trophy tracking site PSNProfiles lists a mere 25 owners on PlayStation 5 and three on PlayStation 4 at the time of this review. These numbers were also reflected in matchmaking. Either I would instantly find the same handful of players, or I would strike out for 10 to 20 minutes. It’s so bad I wouldn’t anticipate this feature being available unless your buddies also plan to play.
One is the Loneliest Number
Gunfire Reborn also has a somewhat unique issue in regards to updates. Since it launched on PC a total of two DLC packs containing four additional characters were released. Free updates added an optional boss, new modes, plus a number of other things are not present in the PlayStation version. Normally this wouldn’t be a cause for alarm, but a number of players report these things have yet to come to Xbox. As a result, it’s hard to say if connection issues will improve, more content will be added, or anything change in the foreseeable future.
Gunfire Reborn (PS5) Review Verdict
Gunfire Reborn (PS5): Gunfire Reborn is a fun game that suffers from some fairly substantial problems. Online is simply a mess and regardless of where the fault lies it results in a negative experience for all. Add in a lack of updates, and questionable history on Xbox, and it's hard sell for Gunfire Reborn. Sure, it has good gunplay, charming weapons, and a lot of build potential, it's just unfortunate these issues exist. Perhaps things will improve now that more resources can be poured into the console side of things, but for now I would stick to PC, or Xbox via Game Pass. – Grant
[Editor’s Note: Gunfire Reborn was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]
