More than just an umbrella

Gunbrella, in free translation, means "bulletproof umbrella". In fact, it's a pun that serves to indicate that our main weapon will be an umbrella and that, as time goes by, we'll discover that it has several other uses.

With yet another extraordinary action game, Devolver Digital has brought us an unusual title in which we have to face ourselves in a city totally unknown to us. You have to search for information while getting rid of somewhat annoying enemies.

What the games published by Devolver Digital have in common is that they have very specific narratives that match the game's visuals, and Gunbrella is no different. Right from the start, we already get numerous references and snippets of the story to understand what it's about. We know that the game is set in a well-characterized world with a very strong theme, helping to ensure that, along with the narrative, the game has a style all of its own.



With this, the drama revolves around the main, controllable character, for whom we must take the initiative and go ahead with the plan, even without knowing exactly why. Wandering around the city, we have to find out more and more about where we're going and what our real purpose is.

Into the rain, to attack

At the start of the game, we go through various puzzles that serve as a tutorial to show us all the moves we can make and even to test and practice the controls. With this, I could already see that the commands are very easy and simple to execute, while at the same time they are different because they are done with the use of an umbrella.

In this sense, the game presents us with various mechanics, which at first are difficult to remember in practice. You can use your umbrella to attack enemies and objects, using the aim (which is controlled by the mouse) and the bullets, which at first are infinite, allowing you to practice and make mistakes until you learn how to do it for real.

So, using the mouse buttons, you shoot and kill (some) enemies in one hit, as well as objects you find along the way that, when destroyed, drop money that can be used to spend in the city markets to buy items that restore life and give you survival.



However, you can also use your powerful umbrella to move around, with very fast sideways rolls capable of confusing creatures and generating a combat advantage. You can glide, glide, dive, and attack using just one weapon; just think of the best strategy and use the powers to your advantage.

The narrative begins with a huge mystery involving several cities in which we need to start looking for information. But what information? Even though I didn't know what to focus on, I started the game by dodging and fighting small creatures while talking to locals to find out more.

With that, by pressing a key, we were able to access our diary, which serves as a notepad. In it, we can see open and completed missions and notes on our journey. I particularly like having this control because then I can't get lost and I'll always have something to do.

In order to complete your objectives, you must always look at what has been observed and recorded, retracing your steps to get to new places and collecting more data.



As such, something that is clear but very important is the NPCs. It's essential to have dialogue with them in order to understand the whole context of the exploration and to be able to move forward with the proposed objectives. Therefore, some characters are quite hostile at first, even discouraging you from continuing, but you have to be persistent and kind so that you don't lose out in the end.

Gunbrella proved to be a very complete game with cool mechanics, a mission system that drives the narrative, diverse combat, and, within all this, fun and abundant gameplay.

And of course, just like in games of this genre, over time your skills will become sharper and the challenges more and more difficult. You'll use the umbrella at all costs, taking advantage of all its uses, but you'll have to be more agile to face your worst enemies.



A bit melancholic, but cozy

Gunbrella is perfectly localized into Brazilian Portuguese, with the use of slang and abbreviations in the subtitles, giving a very strong characterization of regionalism. It also has ten other language options, making it very accessible to various audiences.

With 2D graphics and beautiful pixel art, the game features incredible, nostalgic drawings as well as the gameplay style of well-known games in the genre. In particular, this type of graphic is my favorite; I find the style very beautiful and well-crafted. What's more, pixelated games often have a lot of emphasis on the narrative, which is something that ends up immersing me.

Something that really caught my attention in a positive way was the sound graphics. The game takes place in a rainy climate that never stops, with dense rain all the time. The sound of water falling on the ground and on objects was a detail that I really liked, since technically it was supposed to be an annoying sound that sounds all the time, but here it was very pleasant to listen to.

I liked it so much that I couldn't wait to play it again and feel like I was on a rainy day, playing a good game, and enjoying the experience. It reminded me of my favorite game, Stardew Valley, where you have the four seasons to explore and, in the summer, heavy rains with thunder take over the scene.



These little details really captivate me because, as well as being very neat, they show that the developers have a project in hand and are thinking about the little things, not just delivering a good narrative.

In this sense, the soundtrack is also exceptional. The songs seem to have been hand-picked and placed perfectly at the right moments.

Bearing in mind that the game requires a minimum of 8 GB of RAM, an Intel Core i3-4160 processor, and a GeForce GT 640 graphics card, I played on a PC with 16 GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5-9400F processor, and a GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. I didn't experience any bugs or glitches; the game ran perfectly.