If you’re talking about fresh ideas that involve roguelike play, you’ve almost always got my attention, and the promise of Footgun is absolutely present for that reason alone. Rather than using your favorite guns or melee weapons, in Footgun you’ll be trying your best to dispatch enemies with a ball that you’ll need to try your best to kick around with some precision. Of course, there’s some nuance to understand and get used to, and because of the somewhat unreliable nature of your attacks when compared to a straight-up twin-stick shooter or more traditional battler, your dodging game will also have to be on point in order to go on deep runs in this title.

While the game does a reasonably-good job of trying to get you started with your limited options for technique when kicking your ball around, it will likely take you a number of runs to really feel more comfortable with it. While kicking at ground-based enemies is simple enough, it’s the ones in the air which will take some time to really get your arms around. You do have some limited ability to roughly aim the ball, but since so much of the time you’ll be kicking it while in the air or on the run, accuracy will almost always be relative at best. This can be frustrating, for sure, but I’d imagine most seasoned roguelike fans will be used to the degree of challenge… novices should really consider looking at something less difficult overall though.

For a little while the variety will hold up pretty nicely, mostly when discovering new balls or power-ups for the first time and getting used to their quirks. As is true with most roguelikes you’ll really be challenged to simply make the most of whatever you’re given, so runs can sometimes vary wildly depending on how much the RNG gods are giving you their love, versus throwing you nothing but frustration. I do wish there was more in the way of meta progression that would open the door to better chances of consistency and choice, but that’s just how some of these titles roll.

The biggest problem Footgun has is that ultimately there’s just not all that much variety overall, so you’ll really need to dig the core concept and play, because it won’t likely take more than a few hours to see just about everything there is to offer. Perhaps the limitations of total ball types and enhancements wouldn’t feel so onerous if there were more variations in stage layouts and elements, but unfortunately most typical areas end up feeling like a grind in the end, lacking sufficient diversity to stay exciting over the long haul. I applaud its unique take on play, but it does come up a bit short on longevity compared to the majority of its peers.