Guntech Review – The new Atari VCS – Mockduck Plays Games

Guntech
Developed by Jani Penttinen
 
Published by Utopos Games
VCS Launch Title (12/11/20)
 
Also Available on: PC or Mac (as 
URG), iOS (as Guntech Adventures)
 
Guntech is being made by one person named Jani 
who was an active early developer for the VCS;  
he was one of the first to announce 
that his game would be on it,  
and he’s been showing VCS fans the making 
of the game on YouTube and elsewhere for  
a while now. The game itself debuted as a 
launch title called Guntech, but since launch  
the game has been rebranded and launched on PC 
Steam as URG, or Utopos Rocketship Game.
 
That said, this game is currently 
a bit of a mess. From the start,  
the game has had quite a few control bugs, and 
even a progression blocking bug that prevented  
players from getting past the 8th stage 
in the 2nd level. That’s now been fixed,  
but the game continues to have some 
significant control and other issues,  
including some kind of slowdown over time 
that caused the game to crash on my VCS.
 
The core concept is cool: You fly around 
collecting coins and blasting enemies  
while rescuing people and finding 
items that help the world overcome  
some kind of alien attack. This is standard fare 
for space shooters, and Guntech is one of many,  
but the graphics are particularly good. There 
are also two minor but fun levels themed for  
Halloween and Christmas, which should be a good 
time next time those holidays come around.
 
What hasn’t unfortunately

been fun for me is
actually steering and controlling the ship or
getting through the levels. The levels tend
to push and pull you around using gravity,
but even without that I’ve been really struggling
to steer the ship. Switching from the Classic
Controller to a Dualshock helped a bit, but even
so, thrust is set to up and steer is left and
right, and the number of times I tried to thrust
forward only to begin turning sharply has been so
frequent and caused so many deaths that at this
point I’d have to recommend playing it with a
keyboard or something. I think one possible
fix is to implement the same kind of twist
functionality for the Classic as does the game
Thrustlander, which works fantastic on the VCS,
and is also a space shooter of sorts. The use
of up to thrust also has got to be removed.

The other thing that I’ve done more times than
finish levels is get lost in them. I frequently
found myself outside of the level itself flying
around the perimeter trying to figure out how
to get back into it, and after doing the things
in the level I needed to do I often found myself
wandering around for several minutes or longer
trying to find the exit. Eventually I picked
up a radar, which helps a bit, but also
adds additional clutter to the screen.

The sound is also in need of some remixing; in the
intro, the voice over is drowned out by the music,
and in each level the music is drowning out the
game sound itself. You can adjust the sound,
but it isn’t saved between game
sessions, and eventually I got
sick of adjusting it every time I played.
Guntech is also currently the most expensive
game in the VCS Store at 25-dollars, which
seems a bit high for what is ultimately a space
shooter with a lot of competition in its genre.
I think there is still a very good core game here,
though. The combat is fine and the graphics are
great, the story seems all right, and the ability
to upgrade your ship is very appealing. Also,
the game does support local two player co-op.
If the steering issues, sound issues, gameplay
bugs, and the overall feel of flying your ship
around can get improved there could be
a really fun game here for VCS owners.
For now, though, it is really hard to
recommend the game in its current state.

I hate being negative about indie games
in general, and I try to be as generous
as I can be when looking at these games. I
know they are a labor of love and passion,
but I also have to be honest both with myself and
you. I’ve tried several times to get into Guntech
since I got the VCS, and I have to admit the game
is just not working for me. Between getting lost,
struggling to turn, finding myself wandering
around aimlessly without a guide and a general
lack of feedback about what is going on and why
this game has unfortunately not been very fun.

Thanks for watching! I will be doing
more VCS game reviews and other videos
about the console in the coming weeks, and I
really appreciate you watching. Have fun!