During the Playtesting Period (May 18, 2022 – Jun 14, 2022) I had a look at the demo for a game called GROSS by Hangry Owl Games, on behalf of G.Round. Below you’ll find the VOD of my Endless Run attempt, in addition to a review about my time playing it.
Update: If you miss out on playing the demo via G.Round, the GROSS demo is also available to check out on Steam.
GROSS is a refreshing experience centered on three things that are aplenty in the choice of videogames – FPS, Tower Defense, and Zombies – but blends all three in a fusion that works so well. My experience with similar style games would be Call of Duty: Zombies, World War Z, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, and Gears of War Horde mode, to name a few; all very different games, but to give an idea of my level of skill and familiarity with similar games with GROSS and my perspective while playing.
Unlike other games I mentioned above, something unique that I experienced while playing GROSS was failing a wave; although it ended that run, it didn’t give me a sense of failure, disappointment, needing a break, or rage-quitting – I felt determined to try again, and so I did. From what I could see, there was a decent amount of maze area in my RV surroundings to set up my defenses and traps, with the unknown of where the location of that next zombie wave would pop in.
Starting with a very concise Tutorial that guides the mechanics of how to play that is clear to understand but also vastly helps to succeed in fighting off the impending hordes of the undead and keep your Home RV well protected, and get paid for a job well done. It’s no surprise having so many zombies coming for you when you have to use your brains to put your defenses in the best places. GROSS incorporates the two guarantees in life – death, and taxes.
The gameplay is fast-paced yet doesn’t feel clunky while running around, which is always a win, in my opinion. The frantic multitasking requirement blasts the player with a sense of urgency and constant watching of your surroundings like a chicken with its head cut off – protect the RV, kill the zombies, pick up the cash and upgrade your defenses in between rounds. Most importantly, the game is so much FUN, and I didn’t feel the fatigue or tiredness between rounds – I just wanted MORE.
The sound design is spot on, and the soundtrack is excellent. Note: I did play this with ‘Streamer Mode’ on in the Audio Settings due to Live Streaming at the time of my playthrough and found the playlist appropriate to hear while protecting my precious RV. While GROSS plays extremely fast, and I didn’t do a lot of blinking in between rounds, I didn’t feel stressed out or under any extra pressure. It seemed like I had time to think about where I could place my defenses and survey the area without that rushed feeling. Another bonus is the availability of choices of defensive Objects, weaponry, attachments et al.; there is a lot of choice and flexibility for the player to set up their loadout to their unique playstyle.
Some suggestions I have – and I don’t have many overall because I think GROSS is already a well-polished game in its current build, however:
- Placing Objects – having an indicator where the trajectory/AoE intends to land, instead of focusing heavily on the direction of where the cannon/barrel is looking – especially while the Object is 100% highlighted. The Object’s detailed appearance hides until placed in its position. Having an Object highlighted made it challenging to see what the Object looked like, and once I had the Object placed, I could not rotate or move again, and my only option was to sell and rebuild.
- Defense Upgrades – having more options/configurations when upgrading them. For example, instead of having damage or range capped out on a turret, another option could be adding a second gun to the turret that points in a different direction or adding a specific Elemental effect to the bullets.
- Equipment Indicators – while setting keybinds is always a great option, having the actual keybind included with the corresponding icon at the bottom of the screen would be very helpful. With the default settings of C, Y, B, and V, I needed to pause the game occasionally and re-check the keyhbinds since I wasn’t sure which key correlated to ‘Equipment 1’ or how to distinguish what was ‘Equipment 1’ from ‘Equipment 4’.
- Soundtrack – Please have the OST available as downloadable content or DLC because it’s great to listen to – especially while streaming.
The game description is highly accurate for what to expect, and with no evident experiences in bugs during my gameplay, GROSS is everything it claims to be. I am very hopeful that we will have a full game release one day.
Disclaimer: While all care is taken to ensure that my reviews are as accurate and informative from my perspective as possible, I am usually playing while streaming and/or within a time restraint where I may miss or overlook a game function/cue/mechanic mentioned in the feedback I am providing at the time of writing. Any oversights may or may not be construed as feedback towards the ease of accessibility (or lack thereof) on a game currently in development.