Free to play: New roguelike shooter with crazy setting takes #1 spot on the Steam charts
Gunbot Diplomacy: Blast Off serves as the prologue to Gunbot Diplomacy, set to launch on Steam on May 13. It's a top-down shooter with roguelike elements, featuring a wild setting and a 2D design inspired by classic arcade games.
Players are thrown into a shattered future where humanity has been wiped out by disastrous experiments with artificial intelligence. In the aftermath, the so-called Gunbots – heavily armed robots – have seized control. But instead of standard weapons, they battle with nuclear footballs and fire extinguishers that shoot electrified flames. This absurd yet oddly charming setting is brought to life by a world populated with mutated office workers, aggressive "Brawl Boys" and strange crab-cactus hybrids.
In the free-to-play prologue, players can start by choosing between two different Gunbots and eight unique weapons. The gameplay is straightforward: fight through ten maps, defeat waves of enemies and collect upgrades to make your Gunbot stronger. During battles, you can decide whether the Gunbot fires automatically or if you want to take control and aim manually. More than 50 modules are available in the prologue to customize and fine-tune your Gunbot.
Reviews look promising so far
According to Steam reviews, players praise Gunbot Diplomacy: Blast Off for its fast, fun gameplay, the wide range of weapon and module combinations, and its appealing graphics and music style. The game's smooth performance, precise controls and strong long-term motivation through new builds are also well received, especially since the free prologue offers a surprising amount of content.
One point of criticism is that some content is only unlocked if players add the main game to their Steam wishlist. Some also feel the weapon selection is too repetitive and view Gunbot Diplomacy as little more than a copy of well-known top-down shooters like Brotato.
So far, the game has received just 20 reviews on Steam, 80% of which are positive. According to SteamDB, the previous peak at the time of research was 613 concurrent players. Apparently, that was enough to push the top-down shooter to the number one spot in Steam’s "Trending Free" category.
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