There is nothing I enjoy more than a pleasant ride through the country; either by car or bike, there simply is nothing better. Of course, if you are the characters in Guts and Glory, there might be something a little better than a ride through the country. This game, developed by HakJak, has taken all what could be logical, relaxing and child friendly and turned it upside into the absurd, violent and nonsensical. With a strong community building already for this game and tracks full of surrealism, ragdoll physics and a sense of humor, it’s no wonder this game is gaining the attention it is.
The game is simple enough in concept. You choose the level you want to play and then choose the track you want to run. You can choose between official levels and tracks, or instead opt to play the community made levels. Either way, the goal is to reach all the designated checkpoints and try and be as fast as you can and make it to the end. Try is the key word with this game, and that is where the fun of this game happens.
This game offers some of the most amusing physics I have seen since QWERTY. The characters offered all have their unique way of controlling and have their strengths and weaknesses as far as running the tracks. My personal favorite character to play was Earl and his tractor. I found myself not only able to control Earl the best out of the group, but found myself doing some rather fun tricks such as spinning in the air and successfully landing flips. John and Jimmy offered some of the most challenging gameplay, but also the most fun wipe outs. When you need to respawn, the wipeout was usually violent and absurd. Since Johnny and Jimmy are only on a bicycle, balancing them was slightly more difficult, but it was faster. I paid no mind to who I crashed into and injured on the way to the next checkpoint, but I also would fall to my demise many times with a lot of red splattering around me. Thankfully, you can respawn at the last checkpoint you reached.
Crashing through fences, buildings, people and causing destruction is enough to stop caring about the time on the clock and just have fun creating mayhem. You can go slower and make sure you move ever so slightly so not to veer off course too far, but where is the fun in that? Perfection is definitely not the only goal of this game. Even when the mechanics and physics get slightly frustrating due to how sensitive controls are and how easy it is to get turned around or fall, you realize its all just for fun and learn to let go and throw yourself into the absurdity. It was also amazing to try some community levels and see the creativity of some of this growing user base.
Overall, this game is a unique experience. It offers challenge, violence, absurdity and fun. With the growing community creating new challenges every day and the surreal gameplay, it is no secret why this game is already gaining attention even before its official release. I look forward to keeping up with this game and seeing how they add, improve and put the finishing touches on this game. The developer seems very passionate about this game and listening to its players. This makes for a very hopeful prediction for the success of this game. This game is highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun time and doesn’t mind a little blood along the way.