

Your tool of choice for offense, defense, and exploration is the titular object itself. Gunbrella is a pixel art side scrolling platformer with a heavy noir aesthetic. The “ah-ha!” moments you’re looking for are definitely there so far, and I can’t wait to see how the puzzles evolve once other elements, such as turrets, get introduced. From the short 20 minute demo that’s currently available, I was constantly filled with that Portal-esque feeling of staring at a puzzle, working it out in my head, and then literally saying out loud, “Oh, got it”. For instance, if you pick up a cube from switch A and move it over to switch B, from a distance, you can make the cube rewind back to switch A. No, instead, it grabs an object and causes it to rewind in real time. The gun you’re holding can’t shoot a Portal, or anything rather. But where The Entropy Centre finds its own voice, however, is in how these puzzles are solved. Sure, there’s a sentient AI guiding you from chamber to chamber, and your main goal as a puzzle operative is to solve a series of challenge rooms using various switches, blocks, and moving platforms. On the surface, you can take one look at The Entropy Centre and immediately write it off as a Portal clone, but believe me when I tell you that it is much more than that. A firm release date is not yet set, but expect to see Vernal Edge relatively soon on Steam.

Okay, but really, the star of the show here is the combat, which not only leans into the style and creative freedom that the Devil May Cry games are known for, but also adds its own unique spin on the formula by giving certain enemies poise, which must be broken with either strong or counter attacks, in order to make them vulnerable to all of the cool juggles and stylish abilities your character is capable of. There’s a great feeling of speed to its platforming, with level design that certainly encourages you to move quickly through its environments you’re greatly rewarded for exploration with fun, challenging fights, and worthwhile rewards and the world feels deeply developed and is a joy to explore. But Vernal Edge is much more than just its combat, which for the record, is really really good. I’m a simple man: Tell me a game has a combat system with clear inspirations from Devil May Cry, and you’ve got my attention without even saying another word.
