Developer: Crazy Monkey Studios
Publisher: Crazy Monkey Studios
Category: Platformer, Arcade, Action, First Person
Release Date: 12.21.17

Life was tough enough in the 20’s, with mobs and gangs running amuk in the bigger cities. Could you imagine how much tougher it would be with zombie’s flooding the streets on top of it all? Well, thanks to Crazy Monkey Studios, you don’t need to imagine! Just fire up Guns, Gore, and Cannoli and you’ll get to live it. Well…play it, but still!

You play as Vinnie Cannoli (and Paulie if you go it with a friend), sent to a new place called Thugtown in search of an unknown gangster who’s gone missing. Thugtown itself has been overrun with zombies after an outbreak on St. Patrick’s Day. As Vinnie, you need to run, gun, kick and ‘nade your way through the city’s alleys and streets, uncovering details on the outbreak as you locate the man you were sent to find. You’ll also be weaving your way between two rival gangs, who are competing for turf so they can illegally sell their alcohol. It’s up to Vinnie to put things straight.

The first thing I absolutely loved about this game were the graphics. Everything in this is hand-drawn in HD, and it really does a lot to make it pop despite it being a 2D game. You’ll be side-scrolling your way through the streets, loaded up with a mini arsenal of guns, grenades and molotov cocktails. At first, you’ll only be equipped with a handgun, but it carries unlimited ammo. Unfortunately, the other guns you pick up will have a finite amount of ammo, but you’ll pick up extra rounds quite often as you go along. Same goes for the grenades and molotovs, they are finite but are stumbled across often enough that it won’t be an issue unless you’re solely relying on them.

Other than shooting and running left or right, Vinnie can crouch and jump. There are some minor platforming sections, and his jump will vary depending on how long you press the button for. Crouching is only useful against zombies who are crawling along the ground, otherwise it doesn’t serve much of a purpose (or if it does I wasn’t using it right).

Guns Gore and Cannoli Nintendo Switch — Cars and zombies explode in ways that would make Michael Bay proud

Most of the game is taken up by shooting everything in your path. Zombie in front of you? Shoot his head off. Door in front of you? Shoot it so it opens (aka splinters into a hundred pieces). Telephone booth in your path that’s barricading zombies away from you? Shoot it so they can break through and eat your face. That’s okay, logic didn’t come around until the ’30s.

All the mechanics are really simple. You can travel in one direction, you can only shoot in a single direction (no aiming your weapons). What little variation is present in this game is introduced via pressure pushing of buttons. I mentioned it for the jumping, and it works as well for the grenades. The length of your button press determines how far the grenade or molotov is thrown.

While I mentioned above that I really loved the hand-drawn graphics in Guns, Gore & Cannoli, to be more specific, it’s the middle of the title : the gore. It’s everywhere you go, whether it’s zombie’s heads being shot off (literally), some of the larger zombies exploding, body pieces left behind as evidence of a massacre. This game does not hold back at all.

You’re in for a wild time with this title, so grab your guns, eat your cannolis, and bring a few extra rags to wipe off the dirty bits that get splattered all over your outfit and face. So grab your copy in the eShop today so you can have plenty of time to blast everything before the sequel comes out!