Gunpoint, as the achievements for this game cheekily point out, is a silly name for a stealth puzzler. In Gunpoint you play as Conway, a spy/hacker for hire that gets involved in a classic noir tale gone awry. Turns out on the same night you got a pair of gravity defying trousers that let you leap two stories high onto buildings, a woman calls you in distress. Her life is threatened, and she needs your help at a gun factory that no longer produces guns (it's an odd story). Before she can relay the type of trouble she's in, she is shot and killed by another spy. The unfortunate part is that the gun factory was right next door to where you got your special pants, and like an idiot you ran into the newly christened crime scene for all the security cameras to see. Luckily, you have a shady friend, one Rooke, the co-owner of said gun factory and friend of the woman who was just brutally murdered, and she wants your services in clearing the camera footage to prevent the cops from arresting the wrong man, knowing full well they'd rather put someone behind bars rather than actually solve the case. Wiping the footage - what turns out to be the tutorial - puts you in even more hot water, as now the chief of police, fearing corruption in his ranks, wants you to figure out who could have possibly destroyed all the evidence they had. So, yeah, to sum it all up, you are a spy investigating the crime you committed, while tussling between two rival gun companies, the chief of police, would-be scapegoats, and a marriage falling apart. In order to get through all the tangled wires of he-said she-said and fingers pointed at innocent parties, you'll need to sneak into a series of buildings, evade the guards and the security, hack into their computers and their networks to rewire doors, lights, alarms, and anything else you need to in order to get the information needed to further the case. But rarely does any of that have you holding a gun, unless you buy the upgrade for it, that is.
Gunpoint is a lovingly ridiculous romp, and a true testament to what a great narrative can bring to stellar gameplay. The game even offers multiple endings, depending on whose side you think is the lesser evil (or the funniest). The mechanics are relatively simple, usually giving you one main objective to hack into and a laptop with further story as a collectible for each level. You're given a vertical slice of the building, with the ability to look at the various wiring networks and hack their connections as you see fit. Most doors (until a rather pricey unlock is nabbed) require guards to open, but quickly you'll realize it's just as easy to wire a light switch or a camera to open the door. Taking out guards is optional, but generally necessary outside of difficult play, as is with nearly every stealth game. Multiple routes are possible for each level, depending on how you go about it. Even on the final level, which can feel restrictive in its place on the difficulty curve, has multiple possible routes to work through. You are scored by your sneakiness, your speed, and various other small modifiers and at the end of each level, these modifiers turn into cash you can spend on new gadgets that further the different types of play available to you.
With an added level designer in the mix, it is possible to play and replay and modify Gunpoint for a while, and the mechanics make this such a promising proposition you will probably do it. Gunpoint is a fine example of the sort of charm and focused fun the indie market made their name on. It's brisk, funny, and gives you the tools and the community to play as long as you like after the main narrative is over. It's hard to ask for anything more.
9.0
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