Gunbrick: Reloaded - an ingenious platformer gets a new dimension Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Gunbrick: Reloaded - an ingenious platformer gets a new dimension Roll play. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 9 Apr 2020 2 comments Gunbrick: Reloaded, which is out today on PC and Switch, is a remaster and remix of a Nitrome game that I never originally played the first time around. Don't blame me, though: back in the day Nitrome dazzled not just because of the quality of its browser games but because of the startling rapidity with which they came out. Two minutes with Gunbrick is enough to confirm that this is the Nitrome I remember with such fondness. There's the intricate style and zip of the pixel art, of course, but there's also the sense of ingenious thrift, of a handful of clever ideas explored to the absolute fullest. Gunbrick is a little yellow square, with a shield on one side and a gun on another. You roll around 2D levels getting from the start to the finish line, and almost immediately the game starts to mix things up. You can use the shield side to roll over jets of flame, but you need to make sure that the right side is in the right place when you roll. Equally, you can use the gun not just to shoot enemies but to push your block backwards without rolling, so it's a positioning tool for nailing the shield-landing as much as anything else. Point the gun at the floor and it's also a rocket-jump, each squeeze of the trigger shunting you into the air and opening up a world of platforming possibilities. What else? Everything else! Lasers, switches that move blocks around, coloured walls that pop in and out of existence, bosses. Nitrome is wonderfully skilled at getting everything out of an idea. Watch on YouTube And a game like Gunbrick lends itself so beautifully to the kind of bonus stages that a Reloaded release demands. What's the big idea? Whisper it: three dimensions. Three dimensions! Suddenly I'm rolling the Gunbrick around neat little isometric stages, and the Gunbrick itself has become a cube! The positioning game just got more complicated, but the gunplay just got more satisfying too, because you can sort of roll and strafe if you have the cannon pointed in the right direction. I worried about Nitrome when the Flash gaming scene hit the skids, and I imagine it has been pretty tough. But this small outfit is nothing if not creative. Ingenuity is the watchword. Gunbrick is an absolute delight. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store