Since the days of the classic Doom on PC, the ability to create and share maps for others to play has become a bit of a trend that has been on the rise since then. The success of games like Minecraft and Super Mario Maker are proof that there’s a demand for user-created content and the latest game to follow this trend is none other than the recently released title on Xbox One, Gunscape, developed by Blowfish Studios. Gunscape offers the tools required for you to start creating your own FPS maps and campaigns, using simple tools to do it.
Gunscape uses a similar block placement system that is used in Minecraft in order to create maps that can be played in a single or co-op campaign, or in a variety of multiplayer modes. The mechanics used to build are almost the same used in Minecraft. The standard terrain blocks are used to create the majority of the maps, and although the majority are cubes, there are a few angled blocks that can be used to help you achieve a more detailed environment. Besides the blocks, you will also have access to various packs of themed props that can be used to decorate the levels. You can also place AI enemies that can be used either in the campaign maps or in the multiplayer modes to cause some additional mayhem. All of these AI characters already come with default behaviour sets which can’t be changed. Apart from all of that, you are also able to include elements like doors, lifts, jump pads and tele-transporters, which at first will be tricky to place due to the lack of a proper tutorial to explain how everything works, but after some trial and error, you will learn its basics and use them to give more character to your maps.
All of the elements used to create in Gunscape come in themed packs inspired by some of the famous old school FPS games like Doom, Wolfenstein, Turok, and some of the recent games like Bioshock and Minecraft. With the theme packs, you are able to recreate some of your favourite levels or you can create something completely different like, for example, a Doom map with Bioshock weapons and AI enemies from Turok. Gunscape allows you to create whatever you want the way you want it, without constraining you to use one themed set at a time.
Apart from the building features, Gunscape features two other playable modes. One is in the form of a campaign, and the other is the multiplayer mode in which the community maps can be played. The campaign is short and only composed of eight levels, and it goes by the name of The Shay Complex, where you infiltrate a top secret facility with the objective to destroy an AI weapon called DOLOS. This campaign story is told entirely by text and to access it you must interact with the various terminals that are present in the levels. Gunscape’s campaign kind of works more like a tutorial than an actual story related campaign, since it’s more used for you to see what kinds of levels you can create using the tools that the game offers, plus it’s a way for you to get used to the weapons and the AI enemies and how they behave in the game.
The multiplayer part of the game features many of the well known multiplayer modes presented in any FPS game, Free For All, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, plus Infection and Last Man Standing. Depending on the map you choose to play, there might be only one mode available to play or there might be more, it all depends on what the creator of the map decided to make available while designing the levels.
Because Gunscape is inspired by some of the classic old school FPS games as well as Minecraft, it is presented in a highly pixelated aesthetic, which tends to fit well into the game and helps give you a bit of a nostalgic feeling. The game’s soundtrack is by far the best feature in it. Using a mix of 8-bit retro and electro music, it works and fits perfectly with the game’s aesthetic.
Unfortunately, Gunscape has its own issues, most of them being related to the game’s stability. Depending on what part of the game that is being launched, it will sometimes freeze or even crash without any proper reason. This can be really annoying, especially if you spend hours constructing a map and suddenly see your work vanish due to a game crash that is completely random and unavoidable. Thankfully, the game displays the amount of time that has passed since you last saved your map, which after hours of building will come in handy for you to remind you to save it before the game crashes and you lose everything.
Another issue that can feel a bit awkward is, once again, related to the build mode, more specifically the size of the maps. The bigger your map is, the lower the framerate will drop, which can be even bigger in case you are building in split-screen co-op that also has the problem of the menus in the build mode becoming much smaller and sometimes overlaying over all the players’ views.
Summary
Gunscape offers a simple way for players to create and share their maps with the rest of the community using a level editor that is already familiar to gamers. The game’s main issues are the stability problems that some players may find frustrating and end up putting the game to the side, which, being a game deeply dependent on community-created maps, might end up with less and less new content to be played. As for the rest, Gunscape keeps everything on a good track, from the gameplay to the visuals and the sound, everything clearly evokes a retro and nostalgic feeling.
João is a games journalist, Senior Editor at XDA Developers. They contributed 156 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: previously reported for Neowin before joining XDA Developers in 2021, where he leads coverage of Windows, Microsoft, and hardware.