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The Expendables meets Contra in new pixel-art platformer Gunslugs

A blast from the past

The Expendables meets Contra in new pixel-art platformer Gunslugs
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| Gunslugs

When Dutch developer OrangePixel releases a new game, it can mean only one thing: there's a new pixel-art platformer in town.

Gunslugs, the latest iOS and Android game to emerge from the retro-headed studio responsible for Meganoid and Super Drill Panic, bears all the hallmarks of an OrangePixel game.

8-bit visuals? Check.

Chiptune soundtrack? Yo.

Minimal controls with a focus on shooting and jumping? You'd better believe it, bub.

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In Gunslugs, you play as a badass action hero (or heroine), who has been dropped behind enemy lines to blast a way through the unfortunately named Black Duck Army.

Armed with a massive gun, a blonde quiff, and presumably a sachet of hoisin sauce, you'll be taking out everything from soldiers and voodoo priests, to giant hellworms and sandworms.

One man against all the odds...

Apparently inspired by Hollywood crapfest The Expendables (we must have missed the scene where Stallone takes out a satanic worm with a rocket launcher), Gunslugs is mostly the work of one Pascal Bestebroer.

According to the OrangePixel team, in-house designer Bestebroer has been holed up at OrangePixel HQ bashing out Gunslugs code for the past eight months.

The good news is that he's used his time wisely. And by 'wisely', we mean he's filled the screen with tanks, jetpacks, weapons, and wizards.

What's more, Gunslugs supports two-player co-op, although, oddly, you will need to link an actual physical controller to your handset if you want to buddy up.

You can download Gunslugs for Android [free with ads, or £1.65 / $1.99 without] and iOS [£1.49 / $1.99] now.

James Gilmour
James Gilmour
James pivoted to video so hard that he permanently damaged his spine, which now doubles as a Cronenbergian mic stand. If the pictures are moving, he's the one to blame.