We had some issues when the original Gungrave G.O.R.E. was released back in 2022. It was unfortunate that a number of missteps hampered an otherwise solid action title, but thankfully, the game will soon find new life with an upcoming remaster/remake, Gungrave G.O.R.E: Bloodheat. During Summer Game Fests’ Play Days event this year, IGN had a chance to step into Grave's boots again and also speak with Blood Heat’s general director, Kay Kim, about the studio’s mission to recapture what it means to play as Grave.

For those who had blasted their way through the previous version, you will recall that combat could feel a bit sluggish, and that the optimal way to play was to just sit back and shoot enemies until you could unleash Grave’s immensely powerful Demolition attacks. It was a playstyle that, while sure, would rocket up your beat (combo) meter and keep you out of harm's way – and it was an approach that the team didn’t quite feel lived up to the experience of being Grave.

No longer do guns have near-infinite range (though they still have infinite ammo), which requires you to get up close. In response to this shift, melee combat is far faster and feels more responsive. When playing the original G.O.R.E., fighting up close never landed for me, so I found this new iteration to be a treat, and it really upped that feeling of being a badass.

Perhaps the largest contributing factor to Blood Heat's existence and its wide array of adjustments is that the studio IGGYMOB has secured the Gungrave IP. By owning the rights, Kay shared how this really unshackled the team, giving both IGGYMOB and series creator and manga artist, Yasuhiro Nightow, far greater freedom and flexibility to make the game they wanted to.

Now that we fully own the IP, we can use the best, the most popular character in this Gungrave series.“

“With the Gungrave Gore series, Nightow-san wanted a lot of changes, but he wasn't able to fully get into the game’s development. Now, because we fully own the IP, he's at his liberty to,” Kay explained. “So the materials, the ideas, the concept. We had to communicate through an IP holder, really, to communicate with Nightow-san to get permission and agreements on a creative direction. Now that we fully own the IP, we can use the best, the most popular character in this Gungrave series. A character we couldn't use in Gungrave Gore. So we now have more freedom and flexibility to really implement all of the IPs that are part of Gungrave.”

Nightow-san’s impact will be felt throughout the game, from the small ways the Grave interacts with the world and moves to larger gameplay shifts. I was curious about what the biggest change that he wanted to make in this new version was, and Kay shared that the series creator felt that the BEAT system was a big problem in the original. “Eliminating the beat count. He (Kightow) thought it was creating a fundamental problem,” he revealed. “The play pattern couldn't get out of the box, where players just amassed the beat count and the gauge, and using that beat count to increase the demolition gauge, the players couldn't get out of that kind of box.”

It was this goal of forcing players out of the repetitive gameplay loop that would go on to influence that shift mentioned earlier, and improvements to the melee combat and moving things up close to the action. “So, the first thing he wanted to remove was the beat count. He really wanted to get out of that little box, the play style that was kind of limited to just shooting from afar, shooting from a distance, and just players obsessing over the beat count. And demolition shot gauge. So, that was the first thing he wanted to eliminate. So, because you had an unlimited amount of bullets, the player, the Grave, never had to reload and expose himself to danger. So, we wanted Grave to get in and have that risk taken on and be in the danger of being sent to fight…We put in a lot of work to various combinations, but players only ended up using that play style where shooting from a distance, amassing the beat count, and getting up close to do the demolition shot. So, we wanted that kind of simple gameplay. We wanted to remove that type of simple gameplay and really implement all the combinations and tricks and utilize all the graphics that we've put into this development.”

My time hands-on with Gungrave G.O.R.E. Blood Heat, while brief, left me feeling like it’s a solid and worthwhile update and it’s got me excited to play more. The intro stage, with its tank boss, was more thrilling to play, and there was a noticeable improvement in the feeling of the moment-to-moment tension as I would have to run to cover to find an out-of-the-way corner to replenish my shields. It was a tension I rarely felt in the original G.O.R.E. With a heavier emphasis on melee, I’ll be curious to see how much variation and combo potential there will be in the final game, to really let players mix things up and show off. Alongside other changes and improvements, Gungrave G.O.R.E. Blood Heat looks like a promising action game for both new and returning players to check out when it releases later this year.

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.