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Gearshifters Is a Shmup Disguised as a Top-Down Vehicular Combat Shooter

Shump is a term that designates games that belong to the shoot-em-up genre, the older brother of the much more famous FPS (first-person shooter) type. The main difference is that the former happens in a 2-dimensional environment, and players get to shoot things endlessly, scrolling towards them from a top-down perspective.
Gearshifters key art 8 photos
Photo: Numskull Games
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That’s exactly what Gearshifters is, a shmup disguised as a top-down vehicular combat game. Technicality aside, this feels exactly like the type of game that you can pick up for short, intense 10-minute gameplay sessions and enjoy it fully during that time.

While I have not played the game yet, the developer Red Phantom Games claims the game does feature some roguelite elements, too, probably deriving from the fact that Gearshifters features procedurally generated roadways and enemy waves.

This high-intensity physics-based top-down vehicle combat game lets you customize your car with over 100 upgrades that are randomly unlocked, another trait of the roguelite genre. I’m not sure many of us will play Gearshifters for its story, but the game actually features a story arc across five acts.

Gearshifters has 27 stages that players must beat in order to finish the game, which are spread among nine different environmental zones, each with its own faction and complement of opponents. This means that you shouldn't encounter the same enemies over and over again and that you'll have to fine-tune your strategy accordingly.

The game includes three modes at launch: standard, casual and deadly. The latter is some sort of permadeath mode, which means once you die, you’ll have to start it all over again. Although it looks like it could be very fun, Gearshifters is unlikely to be an easy game. Typically, shumps reward skill and technique above all else, but they’re also a ton of fun.

If you’re looking for short, intense burst of pure gameplay, Gearshifters might be something right up your alley. The game’s now up for purchase on PC via Steam for less than $20, but if you’d rather play this on PlayStation 4/5 or Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, you'll have to come up with $30.

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