Have you ever looked at video gaming genre
of dating sims and wished to yourself that it involved more shooting? If your
answer to that last question was yes then this is the game for you. In Galgun:
Double Peace you play a character with a rather strange dilemma. An angel
attempting to hit him with Cupid’s arrows hit him with an overdose (apparently
that is possible) and now every woman he comes across will throw themselves at
him. This would be bad enough but he also has a day to find his true love or no
one will show the slightest bit of interest in him for the rest of his life.
Most
of your time in this game will be spent with the rail gun gameplay. You will fend
off the many girls after your character by shooting them with pheromones, with extra
points gained for “ecstasy shots”, and yes it is just as silly as it
sounds. It is also very fast paced and
the game keeps it in short, fun bursts so that it stays entertaining throughout
the game. In between levels you will have the option to upgrade your stats, and
while it won’t make that much difference in the levels themselves doing so is
vital If you don’t want the boss battles to feel like they are dragging on and
becoming stale.
As
mentioned at the start of the review this is a dating sim, and that is most apparent
in the other chief aspect of the game play; the rubbing. At any point during
the levels you can chose to pacify your “admirers” by activating a
mini game in which you rub them, rather than shoot the pheromones at them. The
game also finds a way to include this mechanic in other aspects of the game,
for some reason rubbing is also the answer when one of your love interests is
stuck in a window. It feels a bit out of place after the fast paced nature of
the shooting and there is no denying that it will creep some people out (this
game is set in a high school), but it doesn’t come up relatively often and it
is possible to ignore it for the most part.
The
dating sim aspect is most prominent in the plot. Near the beginning of the game
you will have to make a choice about which love interest you will pursue. Which
option you will pick determines how the story will play out and what boss
fights you will encounter. Each playthrough is relatively short but you will
also unlock further storylines to try when you go back to the game. In our
playthroughs we experienced tales of financing a high school band, living up to the role of hunting demons, and
helping a demon pass her exams (apparently even demons need to pass some tests
to qualify). The different natures of the stories help keep the game interesting
despite the relatively short time of any particular through.
There
is no denying that Gal Gun: Double Peace is a bizarre game but that is the game’s
strength. If you are a fan of dating sims the rail gun game play could offer a
refreshing change of pace, and if you aren’t it might be different enough from
the rest of a genre to keep you engaged when you otherwise might not have been.
It is a Japanese soap opera with shooting, and if that thought appeals to you
give it a look.
GAL: DOUBLE PEACE / DEVELOPER: INTI CREATES / PUBLISHER: PQUBE PLATFORM: PS4, PS VITA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
