A Fistful of Gun

A Fistful of Gun demonstrates both the unrestricted and undisciplined extremes of indie development. Eleven different characters, each with their own control scheme? Nine-player co-op? Sleek presentation that blends Western tropes with pixel art? Sounds amazing! Too bad no one even tried to balance any of the characters, items, or upgrades. Too bad everything is a one-hit kill, and the screen is extremely cluttered even in single-player. Too bad the versus mode is poorly designed to the point of insignificance. There’s a healthy number of fun ideas here – the roguelike-style story mode includes playable peyote trips and a sheriff who punishes lawbreakers with explosive piñatas, for example. Without some semblance of conscious design, however, it’s all just a grab bag of mechanics rather than a cohesive experience.