GunFleet PC

GunFleet is an arcade simulator introducing small marine units. The game is based on a free-to-play business model and features optional microtransactions. GunFleet represents a specific online simulator genre, in which the content is divided into the so-called “trees”, and the number of available vehicles depends on the time a player spends on developing his account. Other popular games of this genre are World of Tanks, War Thunder or games with themes similar to GunFleet – World of Warships and Steel Ocean. GunFleet builds on a specific type of marine battles – in the game one will not find huge battleships and aircraft carriers since the game was inspired by the so-called mosquito fleet battles involving small and maneuverable vessels.

GunFleet has been developed by an independent Russian studio – Areo Gaming. The game is available on PC through both Steam and the launcher on the official publisher’s website, however, there is also a browser version of the game available on the Russian social network – VKontakte (an Eastern version of Facebook).

Plot

The game does not feature a plot per se, rather a historical context. GunFleet gives at players’ disposal over 40 authentic marine units from both World Wars. Among the available vessels, there are American, German, Japanese and Russian ships. They are all divided in terms of their type – Light Attack Crafts, Medium Attack Crafts, Heavy Gunboats, and Submarines. The additional Premium content includes unique ships, available to purchase only for gold one can acquire for real money via a microtransaction system. At the beginning of the game, a player has to use more primitive units, such as the Japanese patrol boat Naikatei No.1, powered by the propeller attached to the deck. As his account develops, a player unlocks more advanced, faster, and better-armored machines with powerful weaponry.

Mechanics

GunFleet combines both simulation and arcade elements, which influence the realistic aspects of gameplay. Ships have “health bars”, which one has to bring down to 0 in order to destroy a given unit. When targeting a vessel, one has to execute caution, as the small caliber weapons cannot breach heavy armor.

Among the available types of munitions, one can find machine guns and cannons (highly effective against light and fast ships), heavy cannons (able to eliminate an enemy unit with several direct hits), and torpedoes (deadly, but difficult to aim well, especially with moving targets). Among special types of munitions, there are the depth bombs – the only way to combat submarines.

An interesting feature of GunFleet is the ability to indicate an enemy ship to the auto-aiming weapons onboard our units. This function allows a player to focus on maneuvering, and leave the aiming process to the AI. It is not very precise; moreover, the more seasoned players will score higher with the manual aiming option.

Game modes

GunFleet does not fail to deliver a rather typical game mode – team battle without the option to respawn. Battles are fought until one team is annihilated, or until one team takes control over the base of the other one. Teams do not have to comprise of ships of the same nationalities – all ships can fight hand in hand.

Technical aspects

GunFleet is based on the, popular among smaller developers, Unity engine. Visuals do not stand out in any particular way; however, the soundtrack deserves recognition.

Last updated on 17 February 2017