Overview – developed by Pixelteriyaki and published in collacoration with Shady Corner Games, Fingun Forever is a side scrolling 2D shooter, where Casino Karen has stolen your girlfriend and you must save her. Pilot the Fingun and blast through 9 vibrant stages, rescuing the captured girls and battling a menagerie of enemies. This title is available exclusively for PC platforms, via Steam and Itch, with links to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the rep at Shady Corner Games for providing the copy of Fingun Forever that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Mature Content Disclaimer: This title features content that in not intended for users under the age of 18 years old. The content featured in this game includes sexual imagery, themes and dialogue that alludes to drug use/kinky interactions. If you are under the age of 18, or this type of content makes you uncomfortable, please click off this page and take a look at the other content available on the site.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story. I will also be covering the core gameplay experience, as I do not want to spoil any of the surprises that this game has in store for players.
Story – During a peaceful day, tragedy suddenly strikes. The despicable villain Casino Karen, alongside her army of giant waifus have kidnapped your girlfriend, abducting her and her friends. In order to save her from the ample bosom of Casino Karen, you must pilot the Fingun, a powerful craft that is capable of blasting the most voluptuous of foes. Take down the villain and her minions by finger blasting them, rescue your girlfriend and save the day.
Gameplay – Fingun Forever is a side scrolling 2D shooter, taking place across a series of vibrant but challenging stages. As the pilot of the Fingun, players must blast a rather cutesy army of enemies, all while dodging the bullets that come their way. The gameplay Loop for the most part is very traditional, with enemies that move across the screen, while also being on various terrain, all of them want to take the Fingun down.
As players auto scroll through the stages, they must use their blaster to shoot down the enemies, while making sure the bullets don’t hit them. On the ship there is a heart, which is the centre of the ships hitbox, allowing for players to have a focal point when manoeuvring. While travelling through a stage, players must be careful as the terrain itself will destroy the ship on contact. This adds an extra level of danger to the proceedings.
The Fingun itself has a blaster, which can output a steady number of shots. This is the only weapon that players will have available to them, however, there are special power-ups that can be collected in the stages. There are smiley P ships that will appear during stages, granting more powerful shots when collected. These power-ups include satellites that circle the Fingun, Star shaped power shots and even missiles to blow enemies to bits.
But the power-ups aren’t the only thing you need to collect, as there will be a key to collect and captured girls to rescue. The key will unlock a heart if the player makes it to the end of the stage, with the hearts holding a secret to unlock. Then there are the girls to save, with each of the main stages having 50 girls to save. If the player is able to successfully save all of the girls in a stage, something very special will happen.
At the end of a stage, the player will face a powerful boss that must be defeated to progress. This is where the rescued girls will come into play, as the number rescued will affect the outcome of the stages. If the player has rescued all of the girls, the real boss, one of the busty girl villains will appear to challenge the player. However, if the player is unable to secure the girls, the player will face a joke boss which include a giant pudding and goofy fish.
When the boss has been defeated, the player will progress onto the next stage of the game. When a stage is cleared, the player will unlock them in the stage select, allowing for the player to quickly and easily jump back to them. This increases the replay value, as players can challenge again to fight the Waifu or joke boss, marking them off in the stage select. If the player can fulfil special requirements, they may even unlock a secret boss.
As this is a side scrolling shooter, the stages and boss battles can be very challenging. This means there is a high chance that the player may be shot down by enemies, or the bosses themselves. If the player is taken down at any point, any collected power-ups will be lost, resetting the player back to standard shots. In the event that the player loses all lives, the player will be able to continue from the start of the stage, or the boss if they have reached that point.
Outside of the main game, there is a gallery that players can access, viewing images that are unlocked when the requirements are met. These images contain a lot of smutty fanservice for players to enjoy, featuring special pixel art CG arts. The last thing to mention is the challenges. There is a collection of medals that players can earn, these can be as simple as clearing a stage without dying, or significantly more difficult like clearing the game without continuing.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is a very easy to pick up and play control system for this game, allowing players to easily jump straight into the action. There is the option for Keyboard and controller, with the preferred way to play the game being controller, or even an arcade stick if possible. The inputs for this game are easy to use, with movement, shooting and special manoeuvres implemented in a comfortable and accessible way.
Difficulty – this is a very challenging game offering an experience that is perfect for fans of scrolling SHMUPS, with a pretty solid difficulty curve. The introductory stage starts off pretty easy to get characters used to the game, before gradually becoming more challenging and tough. Due to this difficulty curve, there will be some practice needed for players to achieve all gallery/medal unlocks. But the general game experience can be cleared with some perseverance.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, Fingun Forever has a retro style feel to it, with the pixel art spritework and design, this makes it feel like something out of the late 90s. This works well in favour of the game, as it allows for a smooth gameplay experience, with zero lag or delay during play. Then there are the big bosses and reward images, which look very good on screen. The sound is excellent, with a J-pop style soundtrack that ties the whole experience together.
Final Thoughts – I enjoy action shooters, especially those that use the pixel style, so I was excited when I was provided the opportunity to play Fingun Forever. The design for the game is reminiscent of titles like Parodius, Harmful Park and even Cho Aniki, which delved in the weird and absurd with their concepts. I feel that this works well in favour of Fingun Forever, as it has all of those elements, while still having a unique identity of its own.
I did struggle a little with the difficulty curve at the start, but the more time I put into the game, the better I understood the game loop and improved. There were moments where the challenge felt a little unfair, especially during bosses but the ability to continue from the boss softened the blow. I believe this is a very good game, offering a familiar yet fresh experience, with some good fanservice on top. So I can easily recommend this to those looking for a saucy shooter.
In the end, I give Fingun Forever a final score of 4.5/5. This is a very good scrolling shooter that offers a highly challenging and replayable experience, with a rocking J-pop inspired soundtrack, retro style sprite work and plenty of fanservice. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each version will be available below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Itch version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 