You can tell a video game is brimming with style from the first few seconds of its trailer. Gunboat God certainly has that hook, as one glance at its vibrant colors, flashy visuals, and compelling gameplay loop, and it’s quick to turn heads and get potential players to the wishlist button on the store page. It might be hard to tell exactly what kind of game Gunboat God is from that trailer, but once you dive deep into this frenetic action game, it becomes evident in its first few levels. Is it worth the price of admission?

Gunboat God has you take the reins of a nautical vehicle of disaster, designed by a genius gator named Yeti. You’ll be tasked with taking on several different level types in a branching-path layout that ranges from running laps back and forth to defending Yeti and even blasting a bunch of baddies. There’s ample variety and player agency as you travel your way to the bosses at the end of each world. Focusing on platforming in one level, shooting in the next, and a mix here and there, it ensures the game never feels too repetitive at any given time.

At the forefront of Gunboat God is the fluidity in how the boat moves. You’ll need to generate your meter to be able to dive farther and jump higher, both of which are necessary for avoiding the damaging spikes within the majority of levels. In addition, building up this meter increases your fire rate, but the level will be sure to throw multitudes of enemies to account for this, demanding the best out of you if you want to achieve the maximum amount of stars for that level. Thankfully, levels are replayable, and you can experiment with different playstyles to try to reach that coveted six-star performance.

More than just jumping and diving, though, unlocking new weapons and quick-swapping them for situational circumstances feels solid. That, and late-game abilities that completely switch up how you perceive your learned traversal, make progressing through Gunboat God worthwhile. I do wish that there was some streamlining early in the game, as that’s where it felt the most monotonous, but even so, I spent that time mastering the controls and first few weapons, so it was still well-spent.

It’s shocking to see Gunboat God not get a ton of buzz for how visually striking and polished it is. I clocked in about a dozen hours in just a few sessions, as I found it hard to put down once I unlocked something new and got to play around with it for a bit. For action gamers who thrive on the “thrill-ride” sensation that tight gameplay can deliver, this is a strong choice and one that’s surprisingly flying under the radar for the moment being. It’s also an ideal Steam Deck experience by design, and is verified for the platform, should you be so compelled.

A PC review copy of Gunboat God was provided courtesy of Fireshine Games for this review.

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