Jets'n'Guns 2

I went in expecting a straightforward throwback shooter and came out three sessions later still tinkering with weapon loadouts at 1 a.m. Jets'n'Guns 2 is Czech studio Rake in Grass's long-awaited follow-up to their 2004 cult classic, and it carries that lineage proudly: a horizontal scrolling shooter rooted in the Amiga-era Euro shmup tradition, dressed up in glossy HD visuals and propelled by a brand new hard-rock soundtrack courtesy of Machinae Supremacy, whose guitar work gives the whole thing the kinetic energy of a live metal show. The core loop is simple on paper. Fly left to right, survive waves of enemies, mow down everything that moves, then land between levels and spend your earnings at the weapon shop. In practice, the shop is where the game quietly reveals its actual depth. Your ship slots carry front weapons, a rear weapon, a missile system, bombs, and a set of G.E.M. modifiers, and the combinations multiply fast. Flamethrowers, electro-balls, acid guns, homing missiles, and weird equipment items with bizarre synergy effects - you can save up to five distinct weapon profiles and swap them mid-run to adapt to whatever the next level throws at you. The heat management layer keeps you honest: high-damage cannons bleed heat quickly, and if the gauge runs red your ship locks up mid-firefight. Cooling upgrades become as important as raw firepower, which gives the loadout planning a satisfying push-and-pull that keeps the between-mission shop visits genuinely engaging rather than a chore. The campaign itself leans into comedy and spectacle. Environments range from pirate strongholds in asteroid fields to sprawling futuristic cities to, reportedly, an entire stage built around a beer theme. There is humour baked into the weapon shop posters, the enemy designs, and the general tone - this is not a game that takes its universe-ending premise too seriously, and that self-awareness is part of its charm. Local co-op is supported, the campaign is replayable through New Game Plus with escalating difficulty loops, and the lack of lives means you can grind levels for currency to upgrade toward the loadout you actually want. That said, the rough edges are real. Visual readability takes a hit as you level up - more powerful weapons fill the screen with overlapping effects until incoming bullets blur into the general chaos, which is a genuine problem during boss encounters. Boss design has drawn some fair criticism too: weak points placed in awkward positions, a rear weapon mechanic that matters far more in boss rooms than in normal levels (so neglecting it early can cost you badly later), and difficulty that can spike unevenly if your shop choices don't happen to match what a particular fight demands. Mission replay for grinding feels necessary at times, and whether that reads as satisfying progression or mild backtracking fatigue will depend entirely on how much you enjoy the combat loop itself. If you do, you will happily run those levels again. If you don't, no amount of soundtrack quality fixes that. For anyone who grew up on R-Type, Gradius, or the original Jets'n'Guns, and has been quietly waiting for a horizontal shooter with real loadout freedom and a soundtrack that belongs in a venue rather than a menu - this is the one. The Steam community sits at a strong positive rating, players have logged hundreds of hours on the endless loop mode, and the handcraft in the visual and audio presentation is obvious throughout. It is not a genre reinvention, and the balance will occasionally frustrate you. But Rake in Grass built something that runs on genuine craft and personality, and those things are harder to find than the genre staples it comfortably checks.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

Be the first to comment on Jets'n'Guns 2.