Gangs of Sherwood Review – Fun Playing Alone?
Robin Hood peaked when Men in Tights hit theatres in 1993, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t let anyone else have a go at the idea (Not you, 2018 Robin Hood movie no one watched).
I’ve spent a bit of time with Gangs of Sherwood to bring you my quick hands-on impressions, and I’ve got to say… it’s actually kind of cool – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few ups and downs worth mentioning.
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It’s meant to be played in 4 player co-op with friends – or online randoms, but AS is usually the case, the developers pinky promise that it can also be enjoyed if you play it alone.
Due to some weird pre-launch issue with my account, I got stuck playing solo, so I can tell you – but I’ll get back to that in a sec.
I Sure Would Like to go There
Gangs of Sherwood tells a version of Robin Hood’s story in a world where magic doubles as cool technology used for vehicles, weapons and gizmos. The creators of Gangs of Sherwood describe it as Warhammer Vermintide meets Devil May Cry and well, they’re not way off base.
Robin and Stealing
The combat and general gameplay is fairly loose and fast and varies depending on if you’re playing with the quick and small Robin and Marian or the beefier Little John and Friar Tuck. You can swap characters in the hub world between missions, you upgrade them individually and they have different abilities. I actually ended up really liking Friar Tuck who feels sort of like Reinhardt from Overwatch.
Like DMC, there’s a combo rating that builds up as you fight, with combos and cool moves netting you a higher rating. Maybe a bit unnecessary, but at least it feels fun.
It doesn’t come with graphics modes, and while the resolution and details are muddy, I didn’t experience anything other than a super smooth frame rate at all times. It still gets a pass in my book, but with a bit of extra love and time I’m almost certain that it could easily run at 4K/60 on current gen hardware.
Welcome to the Hood
So about solo play, other characters chime in as if they’re present but it’s just you on your own and I’m happy to report that it feels pretty fun this way and I never really felt like I was in a multiplayer game that I was attempting to play alone.
Now for something I want to highlight
It’s got a lower budget double-A feel to its graphics, animations and overall design with few bits of jank here and there, but I want to especially point out that it’s priced accordingly at the US price point of 50 bucks as opposed to the full $70 you usually get from bigger games, and I really like this and want to encourage more of it.
We need more games with interesting ideas that sit between the realm of indies and triple-A, modestly priced so that they’re a lower risk for both the creators and gamers buying them.
Should game creators be looking at releasing more shorter, smaller budget games at lower price points or does it just take away focus from creating bigger, better full priced games and leaving the small stuff to the indies? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments on YouTube.
