Gunvalkyrie sought to bring arcade action to the Xbox but instead only succeeded in bringing itself down. Coming from SEGA subsidiary Smilebit, the company behind SEGA GT and Jet Set Radio, they returned to their arcade roots again and produced something that they usually wouldn't: a bland, uninspired, and repetitive third person shooter. While the overall design might seem like a well-made mesh with an interesting story, characters, and action, it feels almost dead on arrival from the opening FMV.
The game falls apart the moment you start the first level. The movements of forward and backward as well as turning are done on the left stick, whereas aiming up and down are done on the right. This awkward control scheme takes a little getting used to but even then you'll make mistakes at times when you really need to turn around to face an enemy. The controls cannot be changed and the lack of strafing isn't the only downfall that the game has.
The story progresses in segments and gives the player a choice of area to playthrough, each one having objectives such as finding an item, clearing out enemies, or clearing out enemies within a time limit. There are also boss battles with creatures that perform in patterns. Once these patterns are understood they become easy to defeat. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Since the soul of the game is arcade-based, the end result of each level nets you a score which gives you money that is used for weapon, plasma hook, and shield upgrades, as well one-time-use emergency health and shield power-ups. There are no upgrades for the jetpack so platforming is entirely relied on the players skill and understanding.
The shooting mechanics are awful in whole. The reticle bounces back to the center of the screen when you let go of the right stick, making target lock a chore to perform. Even then the target lock can focus on another enemy when you intend to shoot for something else. A frustrating ballet of awkward hand motions and constant character movement leaves you tired after just a few levels. After 6 or 7 hours of playing, you reach the end only to be met with little fanfare.
Repetitive and linear level design, mindless enemies, and more focus on platform navigation makes the gameplay a mess. Climb, fall, climb again. Platforming is mainly done with use of a jetpack that allows the characters to fly, hover, and boost for a few seconds. Boosting takes a little practice but even then it never feels like something that's understood. Some hidden areas offer up a Halley core, which is only used to unlock a (singular) character skin for Kelly at the end of the game.
On the Xbox One, the graphics have received a boost and look better than they have in years, but that's not saying much. The levels are very repetitive in design with the valleys using the same textures, mushrooms, and distance background each time. The civilian bases and pits try to change things up but as you mow down the same bugs and robots again and again you may start to realize how little effort was put in to anything other than designing the two main characters and menus.
The faux-orchestral soundtrack is awfully quiet and doesn't do anything to hype up the action. Guns and explosions aren't powerful. Voiceacting is wooden and sounds phoned in. Wherese as the gameplay is frustrating, the sound design is simply weak.
Gunvalkyrie wasn't trying to tell an epic story, it wasn't trying to be a franchise, it wasn't trying to revive the arcade shooter days, in fact it wasn't trying anything at all. It isn't a hidden gem, it doesn't have a cult following, it doesn't do anything to set itself apart from the other third person shooter games of the era. Games like Oni, Full Spectrum Warrior, and Kill.Switch all have gimmicks that are used throughout each that keep the gameplay interesting and flowing. Gunvalkyrie only has a jetpack and insists on paying homage to arcade games so much that it forgets to attract anyone by doing something new. It lives in the past and at this point, twenty years later, it's better left there.