From the creator of My Friend Pedro comes a fast-paced platformer where you use your guns to fight and travel. As you fight through waves of enemies, you also propel yourself over walls or move through spinning blades. Do your best to speedrun levels, defeat every enemy, and get through unscathed. With every level getting harder, it takes more practice to understand what you are up against. But even if you aren’t into speedrunning, you can leave that towards the end and go through each level again when you have more experience.
Shotgun Cop Man is a platformer developed by DeadToast Entertainment and published by Devolver Digital. You play a lawman armed with a pistol and a shotgun whose main goal is to arrest Satan. By diving into the many levels of Hell, the lawman will fight, shoot, and navigate his way until he reaches the devil himself. It’s full of action, precision, and speed that will challenge even the most experienced platformer veterans. Even if you don’t achieve your goal the first time, you can always replay a level to get the desired outcome.
What makes this platformer unique is that you use your pistol and shotgun instead of jumping or dashing. You can run and move around but you need your pistol/shotgun for jumping or dodging obstacles. Ammunition is infinite though you must wait for your guns to reload. The obstacles you must overcome become more creative and difficult as you progress, forcing you to think carefully. Fighting your way to Satan won’t be easy and several demons obstruct your path.
Your journey will provide you with different firearms that increase your fire rate or have more ammunition. Blindly speeding through levels is difficult because you never know what is around the corner. Taking your time and going through the level is more important before you attempt any speedrun. If you feel you are ready for a challenge, that’s when you attempt a speedrun or no-damage session. For particularly experienced players, you can combine both challenges together.
The real joy comes from using your guns creatively to travel and defeat enemies. Your pistol is great at picking off enemies from a distance or small jumps to avoid projectiles. The shotgun or boomstick is great for rapid directional shifts or blasting yourself in a straight line. It’s rewarding when you manage to get past an obstacle by literally shooting your way around it. If you can do it while destroying every demon in the room, you feel like nothing can stop you.
Shotgun Cop Man is a difficult game and your first attempt at a level will rarely be perfect. If you want the best results, you’ll need to revisit levels after you know what to expect. Plan each shot carefully not just to take out enemies, but also to ensure you don’t mistakenly land in a tough situation.
Shotgun Cop Man comes out later this year but you can access the demo on Steam that takes you through the first 17 levels (each with 3 unique challenges), a boss battle, 5 weapons, and bonus campaigns added each day during Steam Next Fest. Give them a try and see if the frantic chaos is right for you.
About the Author
Victor Tan
He/Him
Victor spends his time trying to help players out of tricky situations and give them the guidance they need to succeed. Outside of the video game world, you can find him training at the gym or doing simple improv activities.
