When I saw the trailer for BIG SHOTS, with its vibrant Borderlands-style aesthetic, I was immediately sold on the game. Despite not having a clue about how the game played – other than you controlling a mech to shoot bugs – the visuals alone were enough to make me eager to give it a try.

And whilst I do have some issues with the currently available content, I’m still rather glad I did.

Let’s go into it.

Many thanks to the publisher for the review code.

I’M SOMETHING OF A BIG SHOT
After a science experiment goes wrong, the world ends up under attack by a relentless invasion of alien bugs. Humanity’s hope lies in the BIG SHOTS project, which sees brave pilots mount huge mechs in order to exterminate the incoming threat. Feeling like a cross between Half-Life and Starship Troopers, the premise works well considering the game’s wave-based format.

The plot doesn’t really extend beyond that premise of merciless extermination, but given the roguelite format it doesn’t really need to either. Instead of narrative, the game instead leans on its gorgeous cel-shaded artwork (complete with comic book style text to emphasise sound effects) and fast paced gameplay to keep players invested in the action.

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My biggest worry about the game going in was your character’s mech suit. I really like the concept, but usually when I play a mech game they’re just so damn slow and clunky that it feels rather frustrating to control; however, in BIG SHOTS they’ve managed to capture the essence of piloting a mech-suit without being cumbersome to use. With the grip buttons you take control of each flight stick, both of which essentially do the same thing. As default, you can use either stick to move and strafe, with the gyro movement controlling one of the mech’s arms. The face buttons can be used to swap weapons or allow you to rotate the mech.  Having the mech rotate like this can be a little awkward to use, but the game also offers a range of alternatives thus making it easy to switch to a more traditional turning method should you so wish.

The mech moves rather smoothly, and the controls complement it well; however, it’s the mech’s additional functions that help add to that sense of immersion. Should you wish to jump, you’re forced to release your grip on one of the controls in order to pull the lever that activates your mech’s thrusters. Additionally, should you want to activate your mech’s special ability, you need to manually grab the energy tank, place it in the chamber, and activate the button. These functions feel like a good compromise that forces you to sacrifice a degree of movement for extra abilities, and helps prevent the game from just feeling like a simple shooter.

And that’s because the main part of the game really is a typical wave-based roguelite shooter. Each of the relatively small maps has you fending off against a variety of critters from burrowers and flyers, to tanks and spitters. They share a similar look, but you’ll probably want to treat each one differently in order to remain healthy. Completing a wave will give you a choice of three upgrades to help buff your tank, and eventually you’ll fight a boss before moving onto the next map. These bosses are fierce as they’re bullet sponges that deal heavy damage, and unfortunately they’re all very similar until the final one. Still, they’ll keep you on your toes at least. Thankfully you do have a few revives available for each map should you lose all your health, and you’ll certainly need them when playing alone as some of the later maps get pretty challenging. Of course though, things get far easier when playing with others, and the game supports crossplay meaning that you can play with your friends regardless of their VR platform of choice.

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After each attempt, you’ll level up your mech and gain funds to spend on either cosmetic upgrades or new weapons for your vehicle. There are plenty of cockpit objects you can use to adorn your surroundings, and even ‘hats’ for your mech. It’s a subtle way to personalise your mech, even if the cosmetic purchases far outweigh the useful ones.

In fact, my main concern with the game is how lacking it is in certain areas compared with others. Even though the game features countless tweakable options to customise your experience to your liking, from a ‘floor is lava’ mode to enemy damage and health, as well as a load of purchasable cosmetics (with the in-game currency), there’s also a notable lack of weapons you can buy and upgrades to choose from. The former isn’t too much of a problem since the existing weapons all feel great, but a lot of the upgrades you select from after each wave don’t really seem to make any visible difference unless it’s an epic upgrade. The great thing about a roguelite game is just how overpowered you feel by the end of your run, but here you usually feel about the same as you did when you started. Upgrades seem far too subtle for their own good, and aren’t really all that rewarding as a result.

Even though the game is quite light on content in its present state, there’s also a very clear roadmap for what lies ahead. Whether it’s the curiously titled ‘Frontier’ mode, or just loads more weapons and upgrades, there’s certainly a lot of promise here for a greatly expanded game. BIG SHOTS does have a really great foundation at present to keep you interested, particularly when playing with friends, so a nice chunk of extra content will do the game wonders – especially if they end up adding some more interesting upgrades into the mix.

VERDICT
BIG SHOTS is a fun co-op roguelite wave-based shooter with a drop dead gorgeous aesthetic. It is a little light on content, with a notable lack of weapons and upgrades at present, but the fun gameplay loop still makes it a blast to play with friends.