Mothergunship: Forge [Quest 2] | REVIEW

Mothergunship was one of those games that was frantic, zany, and a whole lot of fun to play thanks to the absurd weaponry it let players harness. It was all about putting together ridiculous guns and blasting away at baddies… what more could you want from a shooter? It has now made its way to virtual reality platforms in the form of Mothergunship: Forge and I’m glad to say that it has kept all of the qualities that made it so damn enjoyable to begin with – even if the new stationary approach does lose some of the pizazz of the original game.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Mothergunship: Forge doesn’t bring with it a deep and intricate plot, but instead a showdown between aliens and you, humanity’s last hope. It’s up to you to penetrate their defences, destroy their minions, and bring down the titular Mothergunship, all whilst your allies lead you on along the way with little bits of narrative. It’s a fun little plotline that doesn’t really bring too much to the experience, but hey, at least there’s a justification for unloading so many bullets upon this alien scum.

The core gameplay loop sees you moving between rooms, blasting any enemies that inhabit them, and making improvements to your loadout, with countless foes coming your way that bring with them all sorts of deadly weapons to attack you with. Unlike the original game, Mothergunship: Forge is a stationary shooter, meaning you’ll be fixed to one small area as the mayhem unfolds. There is an option in place to move around a little, but you’ve only got a small area of movement that doesn’t really offer too much freedom – especially since most enemies will come at you from the 180-degree direction directly in front of you.

“Some bullets bounce off walls, some bullets will dish out elemental damage, some bullets will explode, some bullets will chain lightning, some bullets are exploding pizzas (yep, really)… there’s plenty on offer and it’s up to the player to finetune their weaponry to best suit them.”

It doesn’t mean it’s easy to avoid attacks though, with the player having to move their head around to dodge any incoming bullets. It’s easy to see enemy fire coming your way, but with the screen filling up with gunfire from across multiple directions fast, it’ll take some effort to weave through it whilst fighting them off. I REALLY liked it and it ensured the game was always chaotic, though the static positioning of the player could be a bit of a drag – especially after playing the original game and having the full freedom to explore my surroundings, move between enemies, and unleash attacks from all angles, all whilst dodging that aforementioned gunfire. It does ensure the experience is a comfortable one for virtual reality players, but it loses that extra spark of excitement the original game had.

Fortunately, whilst the stationary setup does feel a bit too static at times, Mothergunship: Forge delivers when it comes to the gunplay. Whilst your guns start off pretty simple at first, players will soon unlock parts that they can attach to them, bringing with them all sorts of absurdly powerful bullets that won’t only cause damage to enemies but also bring with them varying status effects. Some bullets bounce off walls, some bullets will dish out elemental damage, some bullets will explode, some bullets will chain lightning, some bullets are exploding pizzas (yep, really)… there’s plenty on offer and it’s up to the player to finetune their weaponry to best suit them. With such unique and destructive tools at your disposal though, you’ll have PLENTY of fun shooting foes (or even punching at them if they get a little bit too close). There’s nothing quite like unlocking that new power-up and seeing what it does…

The roguelite nature of the game and its random playthroughs do mean that there’s an element of luck as to what sort of weaponry you’ll be offered between rooms, but you’re guaranteed to grab something that packs some punch and that feels REALLY good to fire. By the end, you’ll have an insane looking weapon that’s stacked up with upgrades and ready to unleash some hell, with little tweaks done as you progress to keep changing it up based upon what you find. It’s always fun to shoot in virtual reality, but Mothergunship: Forge takes it to the next level with its outlandish weaponry.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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The shooting is super satisfying and with a decent variety of foes to conquer, it’s easy to stay invested in the action. Admittedly, it would have been nice if there was a little bit more environmental variety, but the chunky vibrant visuals still feel good to look at. The roguelite elements ensure each run is different, with players able to choose which room they move to after clearing an area. Some might have weapon parts whilst some might offer the currency required to unlock permanent upgrades – it’s up to you to get a good balance of them both to ensure that you’re strong enough to deal with what’s ahead.

It can take some practice to figure out what works best, especially with the manic boss battles of the game that’ll cause you plenty of deaths, but there’s a satisfying sense of progress and a fair learning curve that ensures Mothergunship: Forge remains rewarding to play. Add to that the multiple game modes as well as the co-op multiplayer component (which I admittedly haven’t tried yet) and players will find there’s plenty to stick their teeth into.

Developer: Terrible Posture Games
Publisher: Terrible Posture Games
Platform(s): Meta Quest 2 (Reviewed), PC VR
Website: https://www.terribleposture.com/mothergunship-forge/