Squirrel With a Gun Review: Mass Rodent-Instigated Neighborhood Mayhem!

From the moment I saw the first trailer, I thought Squirrel With a Gun was a joke, a mere proof of concept to use as memes on social media, but then I realized that the game was actually real and that it was in development. After weathering the storm (and flood that came out of it) of undercooked and overhyped video games, I entered Squirrel With a Gun with modest expectations, and oh boy, did I have fun playing as a Squirrel With a Gun… Where do I start?

Resemblances between Squirrel With a Gun and other popular games

As time passes, it gets more difficult to come up with something 100% original in today’s entertainment world, be it video games, movies, TV shows, or music… And while the Squirrel With a Gun idea is indeed something I’ve never stumbled upon in my life (so far, and yes, the idea of a rodent shooting at evil “Matrix” agents around town is hilarious as you think it is), some parts of the game will remind you of other popular games.

Without a doubt, Goat Simulator is one of them because the game shares the “do questionable stuff and cause mayhem around the town” structure. There’s also a sprinkle of the platformer genre in there, so there will be some similarities with the 3D iterations of Super Mario. There are puzzles to be solved as well, in many shapes and forms, and you can also rob people like in GTA.

All in all, it’s a sandbox open-world game where you can play basketball, drive an RC car like you’re in Trackmania, crash a wedding, prepare some juicy burgers with a grenade, or even perform chiropractic massages. The game gets crazier and crazier the more you play it.

Graphics and Animations in Squirrel With a Gun

Our main character has an amazing and detailed design, which is quite impressive. It’s as if each strand of its fur coat has been individually designed, but the rest of the graphics don’t fall short either. I pushed the settings to the max, and my 4070 has really delivered.

Animations are absolutely ludicrous, and you will see many different kill animations, among other things. Similar to other games in this genre, some of Squirrel With a Gun’s animations can become repetitive after a while. However, you realistically can’t ask a small indie team to program dozens of different animations for every action in a game of this size.

Sound in Squirrel With a Gun

The sound is top-notch too, without a doubt, from gun sounds and explosions to a very fitting and upbeat soundtrack that will captivate most players. However, the relatively small number of different tracks in the game is noticeable after about one hour of gameplay.

Gameplay and Bugs in Squirrel With a Gun

Overall, the gameplay is pretty smooth. The movement is fluent, the gunplay is pretty good, and it is all engaging. If you are into grinding and collecting upgrades, you’ll constantly have something to strive for, whether it’s a powerful (and bigger!) gun or amazing clothing and similar cosmetics.

Bugs, unfortunately, did happen as I played. Not many of them are game-breaking or will ruin your experience completely, and I hope they will be patched soon. You can always save your game frequently to prevent huge progress losses if such a bug does happen to you.

All in all, if you love games like Goat Simulator, you’ll certainly have fun with Squirrel With a Gun, although the game does not surpass the legendary series.