The time is upon us. Wizard with a Gun has been unleashed, and I had the pleasure of setting out into The Shatter a few months back during the preview. I was keen to get back out into the wilderness, and it happened a lot sooner than expected. Galvanic Games’ brand spanking new title, published by Devolver Digital, is about exactly what the name says; wizards… with guns. As a 2D Isometric rouge-lite action-adventure sandbox with shooter, survival, and crafting elements, it’s a supermassive fusion of genres and ideas; part Western, part fantasy, and sci-fi, all wrapped up in a semi-post-apocalyptic setting, and yet somehow, all these components fit perfectly together.

After a short, vibrant, animated, stylized cutscene, I fitted my little wizard, or Gunmancer with a spiffy red ensemble and set out on my quest, but more customisation and outfit options can be unlocked in-game. Upon arriving in The Shatter, my wizard without a gun was greeted by a robot-like apparition named the Cryptomancer, and after a short session punching enemies and trees, I was able to craft my first gun. We have some heroics to do to save the world from Chaos.

The Shatter is on the brink of destruction, overrun by Chaos, an entity threatening the very fabric of space-time. Nothing a wizard with a gun can’t handle. The only space safe from time is The Tower, a worn-down realm-between-realms filled with arcane gizmos to prepare to head right back on out. In this dimension, you’re able to craft ammo and weapons, construct apparatus for crafting with the Worldbuilder “gun”, upgrade items, and recuperate. It’s also home to the Chronomancer’s Wheel, the key to resetting The Shatter to a state before its collapse.

After a quick squiz of my new HQ, I jumped through a gateway, transporting my wizard to a fractured wilderness. I wasn’t alone though, my sci-fi ghost friend was back, another outlaw, local wildlife, and enemies, whom I would soon stand off against. The priority is collecting gears to keep the Chronomancer cogs turning while making return trips to find the bosses, which is easier said than done.

With a mere 5 minutes to explore, there is no time to waste. At the start, the pressure was real, and I was underequipped, carrying the bare minimum to protect myself. Luckily, crafting ammo on the fly and gathering blueprints and recipes is simple – collect resources and whip them right up. Surprisingly, the gun is the main equipment I’d use, rather than the traditional axes and hammers.

Guns are essential for survival. While there are magical elements, a huge focus is on guns, though magic is weaved in fairly seamlessly, with craftable arcane bullets that can have different elemental attributes, do AOE damage, and have ridiculous trajectories. There are plenty of weapons to make for any situation, which is necessary since I found myself facing off against otherworldly Chaos entities, bandits, and robots.

Combat is pretty straightforward but satisfying, with a focus on attack patterns and dodging, though taking damage can make quick work of the wizard, and can cost a decent chunk of your time out on the field. Because of this, I often avoided encounters if they didn’t have a cog in their possession, though it’s always worth taking on Chaos enemies. When running short on time, killing them graced me with another 30 or so seconds. A heavy focus on resource management comes down to using ammo tactically as it’s needed to craft and kill, and I didn’t want to waste precious gathered materials exclusively for combat purposes.

The isometric view of each biome, which can range from forest zones, deserts, swamps, and tundras, are well-populated with resources. Though the land is scattered with plenty of trees, rocks, and ruins to scavenge, they could also be a massive hindrance. Navigating through them could be a struggle, especially during combat if I got caught on something or my vision was obscured. Those precious seconds made a difference.

In some cases, I was able to use the environment to my advantage and hide from bullets meant for me. Progression can be repetitive and slow, requiring a decent chunk of trips back to base before any real ground is covered. To streamline my travels, I eventually made a gadget to create more terrain, perfect to cut a few seconds off the clock, literally rebuilding the world and giving me more room to scout. The overhead view and map mostly gave a great range of vision of the devastatingly beautiful world.

The visuals of Wizard with a Gun are beyond. While the areas are dark and gloomy, they are eerily stunning. The environments are mostly deep colours, but with just enough glowing illumination to make the depths more mystical than morbid. The Isometric landscape, where the ground is falling away seemingly into space, is a sight to behold. Characters feel distinct and edgy, enemies stand out and there are some pretty cute creatures too.

Wandering alongside atmospheric, music was strangely calming, sitting somewhere between part ambience, part Western, and the occasional sci-fi chords. Guitar riffs during exploration alleviated some of the stress of the clock, but there was just enough build-up into intense drums during combat before settling back down to a lull once the coast was clear. As a nice little top-off, The Last Bard can be found camping out in the wilds, strumming a guitar. I tended to stop and listen, which wasted a run, but it was worth it.

I enjoyed being a lone wanderer in relative solitude, save for the occasional enemy encounter. Combat can be challenging, but being well-stocked up made it mostly doable, and it’s more so using time wisely. Caution is necessary though, as a rogue-lite, an early death can result in the loss of any gathered resources, but thankfully, runs are so short that there isn’t much loss in time invested.

Controls are standard, using the mouse for directional aim, typical movement, and shooting controls with radials, a toolbar, and crafting menus. Keyboard and controller bindings were intuitive and responsive. Performance was mostly stable that is, until playing co-op where networking chugged, which could be the difference between life and death.

Cooperative play is a big lure for Wizard with a Gun, boasting up to 4 player online play. I played with one friend and we had the occasional network drop, most likely due to our connectivity issues and not the game itself. Multiplayer felt underwhelming, from the tutorial onwards, I found myself completing most of the tasks while my companion followed on. It felt like the other player wasn’t included as much as I would like. That said, I would love to try having a full gang to see the impact on combat, collection, crafting, and what utter chaos ensues.

Wizard with a Gun is a stunningly crafted adventure into a realm descending into destruction. While the gameplay momentum takes some time to build, I can see myself spending a decent chunk of my days returning to The Shatter as a wizard… with a gun.

Written by: Yasmin Noble