Ah, God’s Trigger. Returning to you is like returning to fondly remembered lover. You’re the Sandy to my Danny. The Ilsa to my Rick. The Molly Jensen to my Sam Wheat – without the pottery nonsense. But I digress.
The most loyal readers among you will recall that we here at GamEir have been following God’s Trigger with interest. You can read all about my initial impressions here, and Graham’s coverage of the brand spanking new post-launch content here. To say the least; we were favourable. On the 18th of April, we were treated to the full release of One More Level‘s top-down carnagefest. My initial impressions were based on around 60 minutes of preview (give or take), and the full release more than fulfills expectations. I would recommend to anyone interested in God’s Trigger to read my initial impressions, as very little has changed for me between then and now.
Reviewing the Preview: God’s Trigger in Full
The initial preview that One More Level sent to us here gave a thorough impression of what the final game would be. My opinions have changed little; they remain almost entirely positive At its core, God’s Trigger is simply fun. The pacing is lightning-quick, the gaining experience to level up is satisfying, combat is deadly.
In terms of gameplay, nothing seems to have changed since we previewed the game in March. The formula is much the same; navigate through levels chock full of baddies, slaughtering them indiscriminately as you go. Dying is momentary and passes almost without notice. Tactics are optional, but it’s deeply satisfying to pull off a clever game. In a way, that’s God’s Trigger in a nutshell; brutal, overwhelming, and momentarily clever, where and when it matters.
One thing in the full game that was largely lacking in the preview is puzzles. Occasional and never too challenging, some of the mid to late levels feature puzzles of timing or of switches and levers that space out the ultra-violence rather nicely.
Storytelling and Design
God’s Trigger is relatively light on story, but what is there is tight and well managed. In the midst of smashing and slicing and exploding thousands of hapless enemies to tiny bits, the narrative is easy to overlook – but that’s not necessarily a failing. The story is a little bit like if Good Omens was set in a biker bar.
The aesthetic is grungy, but the design is precise and well executed. Level designs are colourful, exciting and varied, while keeping true to the game’s vivid and distinct look. The top-down perspective makes some details pretty difficult to make out at times, however. Did I just fight a dog? Or a dude with a hunched back? We may never know. You may lose a few lives because you underestimate the quality of the enemies in the room ahead – simply because you can’t really see what they are.
Overall, God’s Trigger gets a big thumbs up from me. It’s fun, it’s engaging, and the multiplayer is a great, rare example of a modern couch co-op done well. For what you’re paying, you’re getting hours of fun with your friends and family. Not to mention the post-launch content!
If you’re a fan of fast paced shooters, couch co-op, or games that don’t take themselves so seriously – God’s Trigger is for you.
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