What Samurai GUNN 2 Is
Samurai GUNN 2 is a 2D platform fighter built around short, violent rounds. Movement is fast, hits are explosive, and matches end quickly, so a set can fit into a spare ten minutes or stretch out over a whole night. Rounds are frantic rather than patient: you are dashing, shooting, and slamming into each other constantly, and getting caught out means getting killed rather than knocked back for another go.
The game runs on a custom engine built specifically for it, with rollback netcode for online matches and raycast lighting for the pixel-art stages. Early Access is not a rough draft of the finished game: most of the core is already playable, including local and online versus, ranked and casual matchmaking, online lobbies, spectating, and a Steam Deck native version. The roadmap lists what is still in progress and what is planned, so expect ongoing additions of characters, stages, and modes.
Playing Together
The simplest way to play is four people on one screen. You get 1v1 and Free-for-All modes locally, plus a practice mode and target practice for getting comfortable with movement before fighting for real.
Online, you can play 1v1 or Free-for-All in both Ranked and Casual Matchmaking. Private lobbies are there for setting up your own games with people you know, and online matches can be spectated, so the rest of the group can watch while waiting for a turn.
One system worth knowing about: Coward Punishment punishes players for running away. In a game this fast, that matters a lot, because disengaging is usually not a good plan anyway.
Choosing a Character
Hayao is the recommended starting point and the fastest character in the game, and speed is one of the strongest things you can have here. Otomo places fireballs that trap opponents and slash through them for a temporary speed boost, though the traps are just as easy to catch yourself in. Golem builds destructible stone blocks and statues with his bullets, turning the stage itself into a weapon. Pops is slow, hits brutally hard up close, dash-grabs opponents, dash-grabs bullets to send them back, and his exploding splash damage goes through walls.
Ghost plays like the trickster: an echo float makes her hard to pin down in the air, her bullets are invisible, and she can dash into invisibility. Chain kills to stay invisible and make the other players nervous. Slug sticks to walls, runs on ceilings, and shoots kunai that anyone can pick up and fire back at different angles, with a fast-fall mixup to break his slow pacing.
Helmsley is the hardest character by a wide margin. He grinds along surfaces to earn ammo, then spends it to charge moves like a shotgun blast or a giant iron sword berserk mode. The tradeoff is that his playstyle takes serious retraining of your instincts.
Ranno is the guest character from Rivals of Aether and plays unlike the samurai cast: fast on the ground, slow in the air, with a toxic tongue grab, poisonous darts, and a bubble trap. More characters, including the Spelunky Crew and the Minit Gang, are listed as planned.
Before You Start
This is Early Access with a visible roadmap. New player onboarding and 2v2 versus are in progress, while character-specific tutorials, a comic reader, and replays are planned, so expect the game to keep changing under you. If your group wants to be the first to master the newest stuff, now is a good time. If you want a complete feature list, checking the roadmap first will save you a few surprises.