February 21, 2017, at 5:12 p.m

You ever have that moment where the sheer amount of pandemonium on the screen puts loud orchestral music on in your head? If you haven’t, then Guts and Glory by HakJak will make you feel the boom of a nice tuba right in your ass. In a good way. The tuba doesn’t go right in, it still makes sure that you’re nice and ready. Orchestral sodomy aside, Guts and Glory is a rocking time. The early access release build is addictive, clever, but frustrating at times.

Concept

Guts and Glory is a modern take on an internet classic. Happy Wheels, a 2-D predecessor to the game is wildly popular on YouTube, and among gamers. Guts and Glory takes the concept of zany characters and vehicles traversing dangerous, gory, and explosive lined maps and cranks it to 11. The pre-made maps provide a great tutorial to the game’s different characters and mechanics.

But the availability of custom maps will be the thing that keeps this bloody train rolling. Giving users the tools to place their creative talents in the game provide an endless amount of possibilities for players. But the key question is whether or not a strong enough community will rally around the game. My take is that there will always be a strong core community to the game. But the size of the community may not be there.

Gameplay

Gameplay is where Guts and Glory shines brightest while facing the most challenges. The game’s crazy levels and infinite possibilities are a ton of fun to play with. Even the premade levels are a ton of fun and kept me entertained for hours. Finishing a level with arms missing and the top of my son hanging off my bike is oddly satisfying.

Even when I screw up and die spectacularly, a quick reset gets me back to the beginning. Not to mention seeing the people explode, get sawed in half, or smashed into the ground is funny. However, not every death is as enjoyable. Some maps involve mechanics where your skill isn’t tested, but your luck on where the projectiles land. One round you might be in the clear, another you might get blown up the second you start.

The biggest issue this game has is in its controls though. The steering will go from exceedingly sensitive to locked on a moments notice. Some maps require a ton of precision and with controls that you can’t trust levels will grind on annoyingly. Most levels allow for plenty margin of error, but some will become nothing more than a rage festival. And not in the intentional Super Meat Boy way either.

Aesthetics

This game took a page out of the Goat Simulator book of looking shitty but still charming. There’s little detail to the models, levels look like they’re made out of stock textures, but it gets the job done. The audio in the game has a bare bones feeling, with sound mixing needing some work. Certain sounds seem like they are too loud while others are too soft. The music is pleasant, but uninspired.

Verdict

Overall Guts and Glory is a fun way to get a dosage of gruesome platforming. The silly characters and gory challenge provide plenty of fun times. But the game suffers from controlling issues, an uncertain workshop future, and a lack of polish. If these very fixable issues can be solved before the “full release” Guts and Glory has a great future ahead of itself. Before that however, Guts and Glory will have to settle with being good, but not great.

Score: 7/10

Good: Addicting gameplay, Satisfying platforming, gore-filled fun

Bad: Bad Controls, Unfair Gameplay, Lacking polish