There aren’t many situations in media in which we see a sensical marriage between a gun and anti-rain tool. The Penguin from Batman fame comes to mind. He would waddle about with an umbrella, occasionally aiming the pointy end and pulling a trigger in the handle. Because the umbrella was also a gun. It was clever. Devolver Digital and developer doinksoft (makers of Gato Raboto) seem to have taken that as a proof of concept. Today during the Nintendo Indie World showcase, the duo revealed Gunbrella, a game where you use a gun that’s also an umbrella.
It was a fun concept for The Penguin, and it looks equally great in the 2D shooter Gunbrella. The game takes on a Wild West motif, where your bearded, grizzled woodsman on a “quest for revenge.” As is the norm. He’s armed with a Gunbrella, a umbrella/gun hybrid that can fire and be used as a shield. You can also float through the air like Mary Poppins, and use it with zip lines.
But the Gunbrella is more than that in the game. Platforming sections are common, and the tool has the power to propel you up and over ledges. There’s a lot of acrobatics on display in the reveal trailer, and the shooting itself looks really good so far. More grounded enemies honestly can’t do much against a person who can zip around in the air, firing at all angles.
Where the bullets fall like rain
Gunbrella isn’t just a shooty-floaty affair. The side-scrolling game also has moments where you chat with characters, discover and trade scrap for upgrades, and battle the supernatural all the while investigating “corporate exploitation.” Like the tool itself, Gunbrella is a game that is more than it appears.
Check out the trailer above. The game will release for PC in 2023, so it may be a while until we see more.
