Squirrel With a Gun Review – Platforming Gone Nuts!

Developed by New York-based indie team Dee Dee Creations, Squirrel With a Gun is a sandbox shoot ‘em up and 3D platformer following a mischievous squirrel on a quest to collect acorns, wreak havoc across a tranquil neighborhood, and defeat an organization of agents in hot pursuit, all while using a variety of different guns, vehicles, acrobatics, and outfits to traverse otherwise inaccessible areas or even help members of the neighborhood community rather than menacing them.

This game is every bit as enjoyable as it is straight-up crazy. There’s an unprecedented amount of variety in gameplay, the graphical quality is very impressive, and it also hearkens back to the golden age of 3D platforming in its structure and overall aesthetic, despite some minor flaws.

Squirrel with a Gun takes place in a sandbox neighborhood complete with houses to explore, roads and street obstacles to either run across or drive around or to even perform stunts for additional bonuses, underwater areas to explore, secret bases to escape, rivers to water ski on, and even bouncy castles in the sky to bounce through.

"The world it’s set in does an excellent job of delivering a great depth of diversity waiting to be experienced."

The watchword of this title is variety, and in terms of the game’s conceptual design, there’s certainly plenty of it, especially for a game that at first glance, arguably looks quite generic on the surface. However, this game is anything but generic in every aspect. The world it’s set in does an excellent job of delivering a great depth of diversity waiting to be experienced. Aside from that, however, Squirrel with a Gun is also graphically stunning, down to even the smallest details such as the squirrel’s fair follicles, the reflections in either the squirrel’s eyes or the agent’s sunglasses, the breathtaking water effects, and the superb use of lighting in the underground base sequences.

At its core, Squirrel With a Gun is a traditional 3D platformer, functioning fundamentally similarly to the likes of Banjo-Kazooie, and the original Jak & Daxter. The main objective is to collect two different types of acorns scattered throughout the neighborhood. These include the regular acorns found all over the streets, in houses, across obstacles, and even up power lines, but they can also be collected by either entertaining or menacing the locals, and by defeating enemies. There are also golden acorns that are obtained by completing specific tasks across each different section of the neighborhood.

These acorns are used to progress further throughout the game, as well as unlock different guns to wield, different vehicles to ride, and even different outfits to wear that can be used to traverse minefields and explore underwater; as well as them being used to unlock new skins for the player character. Locations of collectibles can be ascertained by climbing flagpoles relative to each area, and the player must then obtain them by undertaking precision platforming, defeating enemies, riding vehicles and solving wonderfully elaborate puzzles strewn across the neighborhood.

"Players save their progress by latching onto birdhouses scattered throughout the game as opposed to their being a simple save option in the pause menu for example."

Squirrel with a Gun has variety not only in its conceptual design but also in terms of gameplay. Puzzles are very cleverly designed, and there is also a great sense of challenge to be had when it comes to the platforming aspect. A good thing is that players are given the option to take their time when it comes to this. It provides a great gaming experience for both newcomers to the genre as well as seasoned veterans looking for an experience new to what they’re used to. Inevitably, comparisons can be drawn between this game and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, just without as much of the mature content as the former. There’s even an outfit that can be unlocked similar to Rareware’s squirrel.

But with all the other elements of this game sprinkled over the 3D platforming side of it, it makes for an extremely entertaining game. Guns are not just used to defeat enemies, but also to traverse obstacles and solve puzzles. There are ways besides using guns to subdue enemies such as climbing on them and performing cinematic takedown moves. There are also a fair few boss fights thrown in for good measure that again require a decent level of strategy to undertake.

However, players save their progress by latching onto birdhouses scattered throughout the game as opposed to their being a simple save option in the pause menu for example. While it is a nice little gimmick reminiscent of how saves would be handled in classic games, it can make it considerably easy to lose progress if players forget to do it. 

I reviewed the PC version, and full keyboard and controller support is offered. They have been implemented extremely well; especially given how much diversity there is in its gameplay and how many different commands there are to execute.

"To complete Squirrel with a Gun  to 100% can take a maximum of 8 hours, which is the game’s most prominent flaw."

When it comes to platforming, adjusting the camera sensitivity option would be advisable for anyone who may initially struggle in this regard, but once done, the controls do not come in the way to hinder the game’s sense of fun and enjoyment. There is also an auto-aim function that makes gun wielding welcomingly uncomplicated, even when riding vehicles at the same time.

To complete Squirrel with a Gun  to 100% can take a maximum of 8 hours, which is the game’s most prominent flaw. Compared to the aforementioned traditional platformers, it falls short of them in that respect, and will inevitably leave players wanting more.

The silver lining is that the variety in gameplay and the fundamental structure of the game both offer scope for expansion if a sequel and/or a spiritual successor is ever developed. This game does have the potential makings for a prominent gaming series if the developers decide to expand upon it, and of course, there is more than enough variety in gameplay to make this title extremely enjoyable for the small amount of time it can be made to last. But regardless, Squirrel with a Gun is much too short.

"The cinematic finishes players can execute while defeating enemies are also hilarious at times and only add to Squirrel with a Gun’s overall comedic aesthetic. "

The premise of Squirrel with a Gun is as simple as it is hysterical. A lone squirrel breaks into a top-secret base and steals a golden acorn. He is then pursued by an organization of agents in typical James Bond fashion to retrieve the acorn and terminate their furry fugitive target. After having escaped the facility, the squirrel resolves to collect more golden acorns, help and/or harass the inhabitants of a quiet peaceful neighborhood, and defeat the agency pursuing him.

While the plot is much more simple than thematically compelling, that’s not what players will play this game for. Players will be moved to laughter with almost every comical cutscene that takes place throughout the game and will be generally charmed by its very basic initial premise. The cinematic finishes players can execute while defeating enemies are also hilarious at times and only add to Squirrel with a Gun’s overall comedic aesthetic. 

In a market that is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out among the crowd with more indie titles released year after year, Squirrel with a Gun’s wonderfully hilarious and engaging experience does an excellent job of standing out among many other titles.

This game was reviewed on the PC.