Narrative shooter Visegunne makes me wonder why robots have legs if they’re just going to fly

Zanrai Interactive has announced Visegunne, which it describes as “a gripping narrative-driven, non-bullet-hell shoot ’em up where players pilot a soul-powered combat mech to thwart a massive pro-Earth conspiracy threatening the fragile peace of space.” That’s a good sentence.

Narrative scrolling shoot-’em-ups aren’t necessarily anything new. 1998’s Radiant Silvergun toyed around with cutscenes and dialogue between levels, and more recently, Sine Mora leaned heavily on storytelling. But while we’re on the topic of Treasure, this looks like something they would do. The trailer is just all explosions. It looks like a lost Sega Saturn title with its pixellated look and rotating sprites.

This press release is both informative and packed with marketing speak. Here’s something that isn’t, but gives a good description of the plot: “Players take the role of End Visegunne, a space-mercenary armed with an advanced “soul-capable” robotic armature, tasked with hunting down and dismantling a pro-Earth resistance group.” That’s the good stuff.

I’m serious; this is such a dramatic press release. “‘We wanted the game’s gunplay to feel visceral and impactful, so we hyper-focused on adding details to augment both the player’s actions and the game’s world,’ explains Jason Koohi, the game’s director, artist, writer, and musician.” Such grand words before casually adding that Jason Koohi is handling basically everything.

The game looks great. There’s apparently an overworld map, 20 weapons, and “a tale about war, power, and disinformation.” This press release has got me pumped. Who’s the press rep that wrote it? Jason Koohi!? Damn! I’m impressed.

Visegunne is set for release on PC. A release date is not included in this incredible press release.