SNIPERPUNK is an Intriguing 1v1 Bullet Hell Rogue-lite from College Students

Inspired by Indie Greats, SNIPERPUNK

A debut game from Vermont-based Enter CTRL Studios has been revealed, showing off a competitive title in a charming pixel art style known as SNIPERPUNK. Combining the thrills of playing against another warrior in top-down combat, this game seemingly aims to blend the general feel of other genre greats to create something unique. The team is also opening up to player testing through an Open Alpha on May 17th. Details on how to enter the alpha are below.

Featuring characters from various universes such as an afro-sporting engineer, a cyberpunk samurai, a space hero, and a sly gangster, SNIPERPUNK is all about filling the arena with bullets and taking out the opponent with clever upgrade choices, positioning, accuracy, and tactics. As determined via official marketing materials, the game goes for several rounds, and in between each players make their rogue-lite style item choices, allowing for increased stats and special effects such as an overhead battle axe or exploding bullets. The result is a chaotic bullet hell with adrenaline-pumping interactions, perfect for a fun party session or a competitive setting. Players will be able to connect with challengers or with friends in private lobbies via Steam.

SNIPERPUNK is being developed primarily by college students out of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. Known as EnterCTRL Studios, the group specifically cites Enter the Gungeon and ROUNDS as their inspiration for their debut title which has been in development for two years according to their website. The team is hoping that through player feedback during the Open Alpha phase, they’ll be able to develop a strong multiplayer experience.

“After a whole college semester of refactoring code and implementing our new item system, our game has pivoted from an arena fighter to a PVP rouge-lite,” said Lead Programmer Andrew Hunt over Discord. “We were pretty excited to hear that friends and students at our college’s game studio testing lab were into the new changes. Now we are looking for public feedback so that we can make a better game. We especially love to see how players can take advantage of the item system to make builds for PVP combat.”

Of course, as with any multiplayer title, the challenge will be to keep the game running smoothly online but the general framework seems really strong. Playing the game briefly reveals that there is a great feel to the animations and anyone that’s seen that famous GDC talk would likely call this one “juicy” to the point that it already plays great. Where SNIPERPUNK has an advantage is that the game has a familiar feel with an appealing twist and it could steadily develop into a game with a passionate competitive scene. Just being able to play the game offline is a huge boost in my opinion for any grassroots community looking to add something new to their lineup.

Learn more about SNIPERPUNK on the official website or Steam page.

The team at Enter CTRL Studios also encourages joining their Discord for feedback and to sign up for the Open Alpha. Use the command !alphakey to get access!