I will admit that I never played the previous Gungrave games. Not because I didn’t hear about them, but it was one of those titles that just never came across my attention at the right time. Here at WayTooManyGames we did review Gungrave G.O.R.E and the Gungrave VR game, which were by two different people with different tastes, but such is life. One reviewer had some issues with Gungrave G.O.R.E and the other ended up finding quite a bit of fun in the VR spinoff. During my research of the games, I found that this is the general consensus as well. You either enjoy these games for what they are, or they just aren’t what you were looking for. Needless to say, it had me very intrigued to see where Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat landed for me after the Summer Game Fest demo.

Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat is a fully revamped version of Gungrave G.O.R.E from 2022, completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. Don’t worry though, it is far more than just a graphical overhaul. Gone is the 8-direction controls, replaced with full 360-degree movement and improved motion and animations. While I didn’t play the previous ones, I had no issues in how it controlled, and it felt smooth and fluid. IGGYMOB have gone back and touched up everything from the tempo and speed of the combat to a new combat system and special moves, as well as better enemy AI with a more diverse roster of enemies.

Summer Game Fest demo!

I feel like what I played actually reflects all of those changes and I really enjoyed my time with it. It made me want to go back and play the previous iteration just to see the differences. My first impressions of Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat is that it clearly still holds true to the essence of that crazy, over-the-top, fun PS2 action game. It’s not trying to impress you with fancy cutscenes, dialogue, or mocap. It puts you in the shoes of a tall, lanky, hunched over menace with dual pistols, a massive coffin gun chained to him, and a stone cold “fuck you” silence about him.

The demo took me through a warehouse level with multiple enemy types that would test the various moves and abilities. In short order, I experienced melee with the Death Hauler (coffin), shooting with the pistols, blocking and parrying attacks, finisher moves, special attacks, and roll dodging. There was a good variety of enemies that force you to use all of these in order to succeed. Some will have you change up tactics since they can dodge your parrying repulse of their projectiles. I was struggling a bit in one of the combat rooms, but Kay Kim from IGGYMOB leaned in and gave me a hint. The issue was I was trying to focus too much on a single attack style, but Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat really encourages mixing all of the attacks. Once I started using more guns (yes, even close up) and dodging around I was able to do much better.

Mixing up combat between your guns and your Death Hauler is key.

As I proceeded through the demo the enemies got more varied, and much tougher. Shield enemies that require precision parrying, large mechs with rapid fire machine guns, special soldiers with high powered rifles, and even some suited soldiers that looked a bit like Ironman. These were the ones where, if you parry their missile, they will dodge their own missile coming back at them. As you continue to fight you will unlock the use of special abilities. I had two attacks for the demo. One was a large missile attack, which was good against harder single enemies, but will hit bunched up enemies as well. The other was a missile salvo that would easily clear out a group of enemies in a room.

These were flashy attacks with huge explosions and it felt satisfying using them. The demo ended with a boss battle of a giant spider mech with multiple attack types. It had missiles, machine guns, a way to call in drones for help, and lasers beams. What was awesome is the various ways you can attack it. Locking on you will be able to toggle between each weapon of the mech and destroy them individually. Obviously this will stop the mech from using those weapons through the rest of the fight, but you can also plan to keep some for added damage. Blowing up the missile attachment will get rid of the ability to parry its own missiles back at it for big damage. So planning what to destroy first is the right move. Or if you aren’t good at parrying, maybe take out the missiles first: the choice is yours.

Finishing moves and special moves add to the style.

I really enjoyed my demo time with Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat. While I can’t dive deep into the specific differences from the previous one since I didn’t play it, all I know is this revamp felt polished with a solid combat system. I love that it stays true to that classic action game style, which is something missing from many games today. Definitely keeping my eye on this one!

Gungrave G.O.R.E: Blood Heat is still looking to release in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.