GunBlocks is a ‘round-based-platform-adventure game’ and the first game of German developer ‘Cookie Engine’. It combines turn based combat with Tetris along with a cute writing style. The gameplay works by giving you a place to get to, enemies along the way to shoot, and blocks to place to manipulate the landscape in your favor. But something almost as standout as the gameplay was the game’s sense of humor. For example, the demo is a mission to help your captain retrieve his favorite snack from an alien planet, under the slightly too watchful eye of a floating computer.
The demo establishes the tone of the game well. The unique and obscure characters that populate the game build a sense of fun and silliness. This compliments the gameplay very well and prevents it from becoming stale or repetitive. However, the demo only gave a short snippet of gameplay. Although I enjoyed what I played, I cannot be certain whether it will hold up for however long the finished product is. The small amount of puzzling available seemed fairly simplistic, limited to bridge building or making cover. The combat is also somewhat limited, with not too much thought needed to outwit the AI. However, this is a very early demo, and there is still much time for improvement. I expect there to be many more levels to it’s design and I am looking forward to playing the finished product.
You can play the demo here, and keep up to date with the development blog here. Cookie Engine say that they are looking for a release on PC and Mac in early 2015 (‘maybe’).