The meme game. Games like Untitled Goose Game and Goat Simulator have made a ton of success over the past years by simply being jokes disguised as interactive entertainment. They have become particularly successful with streamers in platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Sadly, most of them outstay their welcome quite quickly, as there’s just so much you can do with a foundation centered around a single joke. Today, I’m going to talk about a game that, at first glace, seems like yet another one-note joke with little substance. Unlike some of its peers, however, Squirrel with a Gun does offer a bit more than just a punchline. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s still more interesting than it initially looked.

There has never been a game more upfront and honest about what it is than Squirrel with a Gun. You play as a squirrel, and you can use a gun. Well, guns, as in different kinds of firearms, but the point stands. What you see is exactly what you’ll get. Thankfully, whilst the novelty of playing as a rodent wielding firearms wears off quickly, the game is more than just a pure boring sandbox where you’ll told to wreak havoc based on a dumb premise. This ain’t a Goat Simulator kind of game. Instead, this is more akin to a puzzle platformer with collectathon elements, believe it or not.

I was as shocked as you might be now when I realized Squirrel with a Gun, at times, felt like, say, Banjo-Kazooie. Upon completing a brief tutorial stage, you’re thrown into a large open area resembling your average American suburb. The objective is clear: you need to collect golden acorns, this game’s equivalent to Banjo‘s Jiggies or Super Mario 64‘s Power Stars, in order to unlock a car. Unlocking a car lets you explore new areas. You get the jist then: explore suburbia, solve puzzles, collect acorns.

These puzzles range from throwing an explosive inside a grill in order to turn it on (don’t ask me the logistics behind this thought process), to using the guns you’re wielding as the solution to some platforming puzzles. Before you tell me I’m getting insane, I’m not joking: guns, besides being used as a means to kill enemies in violent, albeit blood-free ways, are also useful as platforming mechanisms.

Remember: you’re a damn squirrel, a tiny rodent, but the guns at your disposal are actually meant for humans. Gun recoil is an important part of this game’s overall loop and physics. You want to use guns as a means to kill people, but you can also use them as a secondary jump, a boost, and so on. It all depends on the kind of weapon you’re using: a pistol acts as an additional jump, whilst the the SMG can be used to give you a momentary pseudo-hover. The shotgun, on the other hand, with its utterly brutal knockback, can be used as a borderline rocket-powered vertical thrust. Using these guns as a means to solve puzzles is when Squirrel with a Gun shines the brightest.

Sadly, the novelty does wear off after a while. I’d say it’s all due to the overall cheap aesthetic, and the fact there’s just so much you can do with such a premise. The game isn’t particularly long, nor is it filled with a lot of secrets. The occasional outfit may or may not grant you with a buff/perk, but rarely do they feel like actual gamechangers. The enemy AI is intentionally crappy, as combat isn’t exactly the game’s main appeal. Platforming can feel a bit wonky at times, and so does the camera controls. Don’t even get me started on trying to control the damn car with the mouse and keyboard.

One thing of note is that Squirrel with a Gun is a game running on Unreal Engine 5. This might actually be one of the first low-budgeted indies I’ve seen using the brand new engine. It has that undeniable and very cheap “crafted with assets” vibe, but the usage of the engine also allows for some impressive lighting and particle effects. There is even an option to crank the amount of fur detail on the titular squirrel, which felt unnecessary and excessively taxing, but hey, you can do so if you feel like it. I’d say that the takeaway here is that Squirrel with a Gun basically showcases how cheaper games will look like in this newer engine. Almost like a benchmark of sorts.

Squirrel with a Gun is a pretty simplistic but upfront game that offers exactly what its ridiculous name might suggest: it’s all about tackling puzzles and obstacles as a freaking squirrel wielding a big fat gun. Whilst it does ooze the the vibes of an overrated “meme game” like Goat Simulator, it does have more substance and care put into it. It might be janky, but its level design is solid, and some of its puzzles were quite ingenious. Its one-note joke wears off after a while, but it’s still somewhat fun while the novelty lasts.

 

Graphics: 6.5 It has that undeniable “crafted with assets” vibe, but the usage of Unreal Engine 5 also allows for some impressive lighting effects. I guess this showcases how cheaper games will look like in the brand new engine.	Gameplay: 7.0 The overall gameplay loop feels like a collectathon, but traversal mechanics are quite wonky. Platforming is quite poor, but shooting and using your gun to solve puzzles felt better than expected.
Sound: 6.0 Not a lot of tunes comprise the soundtrack, but some of them are actually quite good. Sound effects are pretty stock.	Fun Factor: 7.0 It’s a pretty simplistic game that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. It has the vibes of an overrated “meme game” like Goat Simulator, but it does have more substance and care put into it than those kinds of games. Sadly, the one-note joke wears off after a while.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Squirrel with a Gun is available now on PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Squirrel with a Gun was provided by the publisher.