The indi-developed and long-teased Squirrel With a Gun launched on Steam last Thursday, garnering an overall “Very Positive” response from the almost 900 downloads it’s received so far. Described by the publisher as a “nutty sandbox shooter and puzzle platformer”, the game puts players in control of the titular rodent, using human-sized munitions to both defeat enemies and navigate spatial traversal puzzles. Oh, and it’s on sale right now, if you want to try your hand at cracking nuts and taking names.
Who Even Made Squirrel With a Gun and Why?
Published by Swedish conglomerate Maximum Entertainment, Squirrel With a Gun was developed by Dee Dee Creations LLC. The three-person studio consists of Dan DeEntremont, Scott DeEntremont, and Kensika Moolnoy-DeEntremont. They began their work in 2022 after posting teasers of a “squirrel shooting people” that swept across Reddit. Inspired by Goat Simulator, what started as a solo dev project eventually gained significant attention on the web, propelling the ludicrous concept into a full-fledged game over the following two years.
Critical Reception
While IGN seems to have knocked a game about a squirrel shooting people for not being another 200+ hour open-world RPG, users are loving the ridiculous rodent-rampaging fare. Steam reviewers have labeled Squirrel With a Gun “hours of absurdist fun” and “2024 game of the year”, while others applauded the game’s “humor, graphics, and details.”
Some users complained about glitches, wily controls, and a lack of guidance on saving, but for the most part, players seem to be appreciating the experience. Word-of-mouth sales will likely be a strong indicator of the game’s staying power, and a strong social media presence on X and other platforms indicates that this may be entirely within reach for the nascent dev team.
What’s in The Box?
Honestly, Squirrel With a Gun doesn’t look half bad, with sleek lighting and global illumination effects, well-modeled characters and assets, and a dynamic vibrant setting. The animations are of variable quality. The squirrel’s running looks and feels solid, but its jumping animations feel flat and less dynamic than they should be for such an acrobatic animal, and the NPCs seem to have limited reactions. The takedown animations add an enjoyable dose of flair and serve as a healthy reward for getting into the game in the first place, though some reviewers have complained that there’s only one of these animations per weapon, which can quickly feel repetitive.
There’s also a variety of interactions for you to try, including miniature cars, boats, a football game, general object-hurling mayhem, and of course guns. Pistols, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, and more leave plenty to be explored over the game’s relatively short length. While Squirrel With a Gun has a variety of customizable content that players can unlock through achievements, there’s currently no multi-player or community mod support. The team has said they are open to considering such features down the line or for a potential sequel. Available on Steam and Epic Games, Xbox and Playstation versions are set to release on October 15th. A port to the Nintendo Switch is also being considered.
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