Author: Utopos Games

Covid: “…and I took it personally”

Guntech 2 is a retro-style twin-stick shooter inspired by classics such as Thrust, Oids, Geometry Wars, and Asteroids. The game was just launched on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and it has just been announced for Steam release as well. Guntech 2 will launch on Steam on February 9, 2022 with a 15% launch-week discount. The Steam version will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Wishlist is open now at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1885140/Guntech_2/.



The back story places you in the Asteroid Belt with a mission to eradicate a deadly virus that is spreading across the solar system. The viruses in this game are the size of a space ship, huge monsters and you need to shoot to destroy. Over the course of the game, you’ll collect pieces of a recipe to develop a virus against the virus and ultimately meet the terrible end boss – Dr. Virx!
 
We, at Utopos Games, thought this was a comical take on the Covid virus. Unfortunately, Covid didn’t agree. In fact, it tried to stop the game from being released and almost crushed the game’s developer. Mr. Penttinen was hospitalized and in grim condition, but he won the battle and finished the game. The battle was immortalized in an article by Wired magazine.
 
The return of retro shooters
 
Guntech 2 is a tribute to two classics from the history of gaming: Side-scrolling shooters and couch co-op multiplayer! Guntech can be played by up to four players on one PC, working together to achieve the goals. The game has been designed so that it suits even younger kids – a unique feature is that each player can set their difficulty level individually. Parents can live their youth again, blasting a good old retro game, while the younger kids can join the fun using the easy difficulty level with unlimited lives.


 
“Guntech 2 is an homage to the great cave-flyer shoot’em ups of the 90s”, says Jani Penttinen, lead developer, “It’s optimized for gaming PCs and latest generation consoles, so you can expect a dance of lights and shadows and tons of big explosions while staying true to the origins of the genre. The couch co-op multiplayer means the whole family can play together, which is what I have been doing with my young kids while developing the game”.

Guntech 2 is localized in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Finnish, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
 
The Steam page for Guntech 2 is up now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1885140/Guntech_2/

Guntech 2 is now available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Atari VCS. The Xbox version is available here: https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/guntech-2/9n90sbm11lk3
 
Guntech 2 is developed by Jani Penttinen, game industry veteran for 30 years, and published by Utopos Games. More information about Jani's long history as a game developer here: https://www.janipenttinen.com/post/who-is-jani-penttinen-the-game-developer