The Unity engine has worked wonders for the indie community. So well, in fact, that the engine is now free for independent developers to toy around with. Those, however, who work tirelessly and avoid simply toying around have more in mind for the utilization of the engine. In comes Guns of Icarus, the debut of Muse Games, to the gaming world! The steampunk themed title allows players to work alone or in a team of 4 in order to ensure that cargo is delivered safely from place to place. Muse Games works the 3D engine to a high potential and allows players to engage six turrets/cannons on an airship with fantastic graphics! While shooting down enemies is excruciatingly fun, you must make note of the repairs that your airship needs from constantly being under fire. If at any point one area is damaged and the balance of the airship is broken, your entire crew just may come down crashing.

Considering it is only $8 for the full game, the satisfactory sensation of shooting down annoying planes is extremely appealing. Are you doubting you are going to enjoy this game? Well, try it out beforehand. Quick review and a link to the game after the break!

Gameplay

While I can’t speak for the full game (I only played through the lite version), the campaign’s growing difficulty from episode to episode is apparent. In fact, playing alone and having to take care of everything ultimately feels like hell. That’s not to say the game isn’t fun, because it is, but more so that this type of game benefits from online play. I played very late in the night so there was only one other person online, but when playing with them the experience was enhanced. I didn’t feel as overwhelmed, I didn’t have to be everywhere on the ship at once, and with the chat available for us to communicate, there are no complaints so far about online play. And that’s just in the lite version!

Basically, you control 6 turrets/cannons/launchers on the ship, and are supposed to shoot down planes that are trying to destroy your ship and steal your cargo. Despite your greatest efforts, the ship will get hit one way or another. When this happens, you must repair that certain part of the ship. The HUD is helpful in showing you exactly where the damages are and the overall sensation of repairing and shooting down planes is reminiscent of the early Nazi Zombies map from Call of Duty: World At War (i.e. kill, rebuild barriers, kill, rebuild barriers). I had a ton of fun with the game, and the campaigns seemed lengthy and challenging.  Of course, the game also had some problems, because I felt confused from time to time when ships would be in the clouds, my radar would show them, yet I would see nothing in front of me. Additionally and understandably so, some guns were much harder to control than others.

Style

Guns of Icarus has an awesome steampunk look. The Unity engine is no joke, so everything is visually appealing for the most part. Maybe there aren’t the sleekest of textures or the greatest variety of characters and ships, but what’s more important is the gameplay. I was amazed by the fluidity of the graphics and the ability of my computer, mediocre for the more high-end games, to run them.

Story

The story is basic and I don’t have much of an opinion since I only scratched the surface. It was believable and it worked.

Everything Else

Like I said, I was ecstatic that the game looked so incredible even though my computer is fairly mediocre in terms of a graphics card. Anybody who likes action and shooting will love this game. Additionally, if you’re into the steampunk look and are in the least bit interested, chances are you’re going to love it too. So hey, that’s my take on this but here’s a link to the free lite version so you can see for yourself.

Congratulations to Muse Games on their debut release! For 8 bucks, that’s a steal!