Gal*Gun 2 (English) · Test

Gal*Gun 2 now available as a Complete Bundle

Warning: Just like Gal*Gun: Double Peace, Gal*Gun 2 continues the tradition of NSFW camera angles and a lot of skin up to the underwear.

There’s a chance you’ve already heard of the Gal*Gun IP. The first game skipped and we only managed to get the spin-off Gal*Gun: Double Peace. For those who don’t know, it had the (in)famous Collectors Edition that came with a screen cleaner that looked like a panty.

Fast Forward to 2018, Gal*gun 2 gets released and is officially the true sequel. Unfortunately, there was some turbulence when it comes to releasing the game. Sweden outright didn’t allow the game to be released because of a certain event. Germany’s USK (Age Rating agency) refused classification though in 2019 PQube brought it in for another round and finally got the 18 USK and was able to release it on the German eShop and PSN Store.
Just recently, PQube released a few Complete Editions that came with nearly all DLC at a cheaper price than getting it individually: Gal*Gun: Double Peace (without the Pheromone Z DLC), White Day and lastly the game in spotlight Gal*Gun 2.

We’ll be taking a look at the game and it’s PC exclusive VR DLC.

One Sexy Headset for a 20-day Demon slaying adventure

There isn’t much known about the protagonist of the story except his hobby of collecting certain magazines and you’ll be donning his place as the silent hero outside of a few choices.

Right at the beginning, you’re getting introduced to a childhood friend and classmate Nanako. For some reason, you find an unknown app on your phone and you can’t even delete it! As if it wasn’t enough when you come back to the classroom you find a package on your desk. What’s in it?

A headset and a something that looks like a hairdryer. The obvious reaction is to put this thing on and see what it does. An Angel is revealing herself to you due to the headset and you’re finally given a reason for all these strange things happening to you. The Angel is called Risu and she’s an employee of the Angel Ring company. She’s here to deliver a prize for some contest: A 20-Day Demon Slaying duty.

The headset is a weapon to draw out demons and those who are possessed by them but there’s a catch… It gives the wearer an extreme amount of pheromone output that even influences normal people and therefore you’ll become a love target for all females within the school including the teachers.

And thus starts the exciting demon-slaying adventure full of pheromones.

Risu represents the main story but there’re more female protagonists you can vie for. One of them is Nanako and the other one is your neighbor and friend Chisu. An Otaku, Gadget geek, and Hikikomori, somebody who’s shutting herself in her room. Both of their rooms are facing and one step away from each other through the window (It’s dangerous, do not try this!). Both of the female protagonists have their troubles to solve. Nanako seems to be possessed by a demon and Chisu is trying to break free from her shut-in life.

Lastly, there’s the enemy, rival, and demon Kurona. Just like the demon’s before her, she’s just somebody spreading mischief to graduate from the demon school. Known for her huge amount of power reserves she sends out cute mini-Kuronas to possess people. Frankly speaking, she isn’t a villain but rather simply somebody who’s doing her job and has the cute habit of adding “HELL” to all of her sentences (localized). She can be shrewd but at the end of the day, it’s very unlikely for you to hate her after getting to know her.

The presentation is forfeiting the traditional VN style text system and goes for an all-or-nothing cutscene option where you can only watch it or skip it. Unfortunately, there’s no option to let you set your pacing.

It has a simple story but still much longer than your run-of-the-mill rail shooter. Rather than creating a big narrative, it’s made to be compact and focuses on the main cast and their current troubles. While most of the story is lighthearted fun, there are some slightly more dramatic scenes at crucial turning points.

Considering you’re being put right in the middle of it, you don’t much information about their relationship with the main character. Thus possibly making it hard to invest in them initially.

Gameplay & Controls

Gal*Gun 2 keeps the basics of its predecessors though with some big changes accompanying it. Your character is completely static and is no longer walking around. This also leads to a 360° type shooting gallery with warnings from Risu and arrows at the edge of the screen to show you, incoming assailants, to even the odds.

The controls are as simple as the gameplay. You aim with the Right stick, control the height with the Left Stick and both shoulder Buttons (L1/LB and R1/RB) are there for leaning to each side. To add some more assistance for controller players there’s also a Zoom Button and the Right Trigger slows down the movement of the crosshair.

The new tool and mechanic Demon Sweeper keeps the Left Trigger for itself.

Presents for Nanako and Chisa

This is a major change in how to progress in the story. You no longer have to worry too much about your answers to them. Instead, you’ll be able to gift them presents to improve your relationship. Several milestones activate their specific cutscenes or missions.

You’ll get plenty of presents for them so it should be impossible to miss their respective story.

Missions and Mission Types

Your main mission is to complete missions and collect points to go through Risu’s story while optionally picking up either main missions from Nanako and Chisu or going for sub-missions that grant you special access to sub-characters that appear in your adventures. Once you finish Risu’s missions you can skip to the 20. Day and go for the ending you’ve been aiming for.

Not all missions are the same. The main bulk is about you going through a predetermined path you will also find other mission types along the way.

One of them is to protect a target from incoming demons aka mini-Kuronas. They appear from everywhere and you have to take them out before they reach the target or they are going to lose some life.

Another one is a scavenger hunt with a time limit. It’s a single area where you can move around to try and find the sought after objects. You’ll be hindered by the appearance of enemies after finding one so make sure to not dilly-dally. Sometimes enemies are lurking around and will call for backup. A swift critical hit will make your life much easier.

In case you have some trouble finding the objectives, the game will aid you with arrows on the edge of the screen and lead you to the approximate position. You can’t wait for it to appear for every single one but it helps a lot when it gets tough.

After two missions your day ends and finds yourself, back at home in your room. Each time there’s a care package from the AR company awaiting you in the room on your desk with gifts or decorations for your room. This is also the only place where you can gift things to Chiru.

Pore-Deep Cleaning with Doki Doki

This mission type gets a special mentioning because it involves specific characters such as Nanako and Chisu. They are usually the final step to finish their storylines.

The demons have invaded their bodies and it’s now up to you to exorcise them. Find their hiding spots and shoot them out of their hiding spot. Do it often enough and a bonus spot will appear that even stops the timer. Clear it and activate a cleansing explosion that removes all clothing except the underwear.

Life, Shooting and the Demon Sweeper

Gal*Gun 2 sets its sight on putting removing all HUD elements as good as possible. While you don’t exactly how much life you have, you can see a pink frame when you’re at death's door. You can replenish it by either moving to the next spot or shoot the angel item that refills your Demon Sweeper as well.

There are no ammo restrictions and you can shoot as fast as you can mash the button but there are gameplay elements that reward precision over spraying.

The Zoom has another special mechanic to it. By zooming into the eyes of or opponent you activate a heart-shaped gauge. Fill it up and the attack will become an AoE attack that can clear up all close by enemies. It’s very powerful but there’s a lot of risks involved too as they will propose to you.

Another new element is the Demon Sweeper. It looks like a hairdryer but it’s more of a hand vacuum that can suck in attacks, demons, and clothing if you hold it on them long enough. It recovers up to 20% of energy by itself and you can rack up to 100% by defeating enemies. The minimum of 20% guarantees that the Demon Sweeper is a mainstay option at all times.

4 Hit Zones and Critical Hits

Precision is a big part of the gameplay because the enemies are split into 4 Hit Zones: Head, Chest, Hips, and Legs. Get the right spot and you bag them in one hit. You can find those by keeping your aim at one of the zones, if it’s one then you’ll see Japanese signs popping up. Fire away and get the combo count up.

Master this and you’ll down them with the greatest of ease.

The attacks of your frantic lovers

Though the attack isn’t the right word for it. They declare their love to you by giving you a letter or scream from afar. Get hit and you’ll lose some life. The ranged attacks are a little bit special as the screams materialize themselves as Japanese words. Hit the different colored one and the whole attack gets neutralized.

The close-up attackers on the other hand have a special attack that puts you down on the ground: It requires you to shoot them off you and continue blasting them as always.

Possessed Lovers

Not all of them are easy to down. Some have demons sticking to them and thus making it into a sadistic possession. They have a special barrier that protects them from your Pheromone Shots. Defeat the demons first and then go for the K.O. or you use your Demon Sweeper for a quick but costly wipe.

These opponents aren’t that much different from normal ones though the ranged attacks are rather particular because you can’t suck them in with the Demon Sweeper or it will be put out of commission for a short time.

Boss Kurona

Once you’ve done a good amount of Main Missions you’ll be pit against the Demon Kurona in a boss fight. These fights areas all about fending off the attacks and returning fire as fast as possible. Endure and whittle her down to claim victory.

Upgrades

In a few instances, you get upgrades for your Goggles or Demon Sweeper. They can make them stronger or even add something special. For example, a super mode for the Demon Sweeper that activates for keeping it active for a specific amount of time.

They aren’t necessary but can make things easier.

VR DLC (comes with the Complete Edition on PC, tested with Occulus Quest/Link)

Owners of the PC Version and a VR setup can look forward to playing the complete game in VR. All of the movement options are no longer tied to buttons but your movement like leaning. Be wary of your cables when moving around!

To make things more feasible for the 360° nature of the game you can use the left stick to swerve in 90° motion. Ergo, you can also play it seated without any problems.

The VR controls are leagues above the controller in precision but it seems there’s some balancing that doesn’t let you shoot fast. I couldn’t manage to shoot as fast as with the controller at least. All cutscenes are made for VR and you can take a look around if you’re in the mood for it.

There’s a huge chance that Gal*Gun 2 was made with VR in mind as a lot of the games design transfers easily to the VR Mode. Therefore, Gal*Gun 2 is nothing short of full game experience.

Gameplay Impression

There are a lot of changes when you compare Gal*Gun: Double Peace to Gal*Gun 2. While the basic shooting is still there, the changes make them completely different experiences.

Changing from moving Rail Shooter to static 360° fights and the introduction of Demon Sweeper are forcing you to rethink your strategies.

Mission variety is serviceable and should be enough to keep things entertaining until you get your first ending, despite the lack of different enemies.

Surprisingly, the controls are very well made for the controller with various mechanics to help out with the fine-tuning such as the slowdown button and zoom. Be it fast or slow and precise both are possible without too much frustration.

Mission and Story structure got a complete overhaul that splits them apart to make it easier to get the different endings. You no longer have to guess how to answer things, instead it’s straightforward using the gift relations ship system. Though some people can dislike it as it takes away the weight of your choices.

If there’s one thing to criticize it’s the lack of manual saves. This means you have to replay the full campaign to get your endings, which should count as massive padding.

Overall the gameplay manages to give you an entertaining Rail Shooter or even VR Shooter.

Graphics & Sound

The game is nowhere close to being a powerhouse. It looks rather modest. Most of the work lies in the details of the many characters with plenty of animations and expressions. The environment looks serviceable but has no lack of decorations to make it look lived-in.

There’s not much to say about the music as it’s mostly there to accompany the action with lighthearted tunes. The characters on the other hand are meticulously voiced. Not to forget that all of them have names and are individuals to emphasize the Gal*Gun microcosm.

All cutscenes are voiced in Japanese, except your mute character. Kurona sticks especially out with her cute dialect which is localized by adding HELL to all of her sentences in the translation.

Verdict

Ga*’Gun 2 isn’t necessarily worse or better than Gal*Gun: Double Peace and should be more seen as a new experience. The rework of the relationship system makes it much easier to pursue the different endings but comes at the cost of removing the weight of your decisions.

The gameplay was also changed by a lot and is at the same time optimized for VR which is unfortunate for PSVR owners.

Storywise, it offers something fun and relaxing with a few dramatic moments. It still is above most of its genre when it comes to length.

Putting all together with the modest price, Gal*Gun 2 offers a lighthearted and entertaining shooter with plenty of playtimes. It took me at least 7 hours for the first playthrough. Though there’s some needless padding of having to replay the whole scenario multiple times to get the other endings.

Fans of the Rail Shooter genre will certainly find at least a solid game with plenty of content, while Gal*Gun veterans can look forward to a fresh experience with all its kinks.

Unfortunately, the VR DLC is only available on the PC and is part of the Complete Edition Bundle but if you have a VR Headset and want some extra fun it's certainly worth it.

Wertung

8.0Gut

Kaufempfehlung

75% Kaufempfehlung

75%Empfehlenswert