Prepare for a Beat Down.
Rhythm-based shooters are nothing new. Metal Hellsinger and BPM: Bullets Per Minute certainly lead the pack, but other genres have also stepped into the rhythmic-centric space with the likes of Hi-Fi Rush, Double Kick Heroes, and Crypt of the NecroDancer. The latest game to kill on the beat is Gun Jam, a rhythmically-centric shooter by Jaw Drop Games. While its aesthetic and music certainly excel, the gameplay itself is a bit too laser-focused on matching the beat, keeping your attention almost exclusively on the notes than the action itself.
Now, you might be confused as Gun Jam was released on the Meta Quest a short while ago, but this experience is a different beast altogether. Where the Meta Quest version was something more akin to an arcade shooter like Virtua Cop or House of the Dead, as you physically dodge incoming fire through a series of VR shooting galleries, this PC version is a run-and-gun arena-based shooter featuring a cast of three characters roaming around four distinct environments, each with their own difficulties and Overdrive skill.
Right from the start, Gun Jam doesn't really offer much in the way of content for its asking price. Just shy of $30 CAD, the four levels and three characters offer little variety and replay. While each location is visually striking, fueled with a fantastic selection of 10 songs, including the ability to import your own MP3s, the shallowness on display is extremely noticeable. It's a shame that the Meta Quest content wasn't somehow repurposed here, offering a bit more content for the price. If you can find this game at a steep discount, then you might find some value then, but your mileage will certainly vary on that.
Gameplay across each stage ranges based on the design of the environment and its difficulty, which is locked to its respective locale. Each arena is fairly small in some cases as you dash around incoming fire or leap into the air with one of the many available jump pads. The tone and aesthetic of the game is certainly retro-inspired, pulling off a lot of Doom and Quake vibes, albeit in a very colorful and neon atmosphere. Gun Jam is certainly a visually pleasing experience, but it was one that lost my attention very quickly.
The problem with most rhythm games is the focus on the notes you are trying to match, often blinding you to the action taking place all around you. This was the reason I stopped playing Double Kick Heroes. While the focus on getting perfect hits on the beat can be satisfying, you often miss out on what is happening around you, causing you to balance far too many things for the sake of being able to do anything. This is further compounded due to some tracks having long stretches of only a few notes, which can zap the energy out of the experience as you cannot shoot, dodge, or perform an action off the beat.
Metal Hellsinger solved this by having an extremely consistent rhythm, making it almost as if you could shoot whenever you wanted but made you feel far stronger when you actually shot to the beat, boosting your multiplier and making you feel like a total badass, all while allowing you to grasp your surroundings and embrace the carnage. I don’t feel that here with Gun Jam, whatsoever.
As notes flow in from the bottom of the screen to match your reticle, you’ll have to shoot on the beat. This also affects your dash, so you’ll have to decide if you should choose mobility over action. It’s a shame that there isn’t any sort of radar of the foes around you to aid in judging what would be the best option at any given moment. But, as focusing on the notes is taxing enough with what is occurring all around you, having something else to focus on might be a bridge too far.
Everything to do toward the beat increases your score, which aids in completing the level. You’ll have four weapons to take into battle with you, each used depending on the type of note that is next up on the beat. This means that you won’t have access to swap weapons on your own as they are used only when needed, which does limit certain aspects of the fun and the replay of each stage.
Your selection of weapons range from a close-range shotgun, a railgun you’ll use on the half beat, as well as a plasma rifle that is present during multiple consecutive beats, with the rocket launcher bringing up the rear, dealing significant splash damage to large groups of enemies. Each weapon can deal damage when their note appears, but they lack any sort of impact, denied of any sort of visual or tactile response that your weapon is actually doing anything. Games like Doom, Gears of War, or even Metal Hellsinger have very satisfying shooting because the game allows your arsenal to feel and look as deadly as possible. It also doesn’t help that most of your weapon sounds are drowned out by the music; seriously, watch any trailer.
Running and gunning and keeping to the beat will build up Overdrive, a bonus reward for playing to the rhythm. Overdrive offers you a special buff for a limited time depending on which character you are playing as. Aero has a bullet time mode that certainly comes in handy, whereas Tap multiplies their outgoing damage by four. Picking up the rear is Ballard, who can perform several instakill attacks with their melee ability.
The selection of characters and stages are set with difficulties for each option, which causes your health to range from three hearts to five. Tap can be used in the Gun Jam arena as well as the checkpoint-focused arena, Noise Maze, which offers up easy and normal difficulty options respectively. City Streets can only be played with Ballard on normal, with Aero being available for the Sonic Prison on hard. It’s bizarre that the game has these restrictions, limiting both Aero and Ballard to a single level with Tap having two. If there is an update to allow free play or additional stages then sure, but as it stands now, the limited options here are baffling.
Gun Jam feels like a game that is a content drop or two away from being a solid rhythm-based shooter. It has the rhythm elements on focus but currently doesn’t favor its FPS nature. The music and aesthetic shine, but the limitations on characters and levels is a bizarre one, cutting off almost any sort of replay as beating a level simply takes you back to the main menu leaving you with no active sense of progression. Gun Jam is by no means a bad experience, it simply lacks any sort of impact and feels like a title that is still deep in early access.
Developer - Jaw Drop Games. Publisher - Raw Fury. Released - April 19th, 2023. Available On - Windows. Rated - (N/A) No ESRB Data. Platform Reviewed - Steam Deck / Steam. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.