Interview: Gungrave G.O.R.E. was Once a ‘Freak’ of a Game

Gungrave G.O.R.E. just released, and it’s a resurrection of sorts for a relatively obscure series that last appeared in a notable way on the PlayStation 2. It preserves much of the gameplay that marked the originals out as a distinctive fusion of shooter and character action game, bringing it forward into the present day with a new, updated look. But it wasn’t always that way for developer Iggymob’s take on Beyond the Grave’s violent adventures. Just ahead of the game’s release, Siliconera had a chance to ask General Director Kay Kim about the game, its origins, inspirations, and what they’ve been doing since 2017, when the game was first announced.

Josh Tolentino: What was the biggest inspiration for you when designing a new look for Grave?

Kay Kim: From the game, the previous Gungrave franchise was the most inspiring source, and from movies, the film Equilibrium was the most inspiring. The Gunkata action by Christian Bale is still amazing to watch.

Jenni Lada: What sorts of challenges did you face when working on Gungrave G.O.R.E?

Kim: I think that there is nothing easy about developing a game. Everything is difficult. Especially at the time when mobile games were the main platforms in Korea, console game developers like us had hard time finding investment. At the time, there were only six people left in the team making the game. We didn’t give up on achieving the dream, and because of that endurance, we ended up meeting great partners, reinforcing the team, and coming this far.

Lada: Gungrave G.O.R.E.’s been in development since 2017. How has the game and your designs changed over the years? Did the extended development issue afford you any additional opportunities to refine your characters?

Kim: At first, the game was designed to be half open world and it was terrible. It was strange for Grave to search and have conversations. We were benchmarking the trending games at the time, and it became this freak of a game. So we have set the game to go beyond the original Gungrave design, and now it looks like what we are seeing today. We have refined the character since to make them look better.

Lada: What was the most challenging part of Grave’s design to bring to life in Gungrave G.O.R.E.?

Kim: It wasn’t as difficult as one would think. We have worked with [original Gungrave Character Designer Yasuhiro Nightow] deeply in many ways, so we could develop the character design quite easily.

Tolentino: The original Gungrave game was adapted into an anime series. Are there any plans to produce Gungrave stories outside of Gungrave G.O.R.E.?

Kim: Making Gungrave G.O.R.E. a successful entry to the franchise is our main focus right now. We’ll be able to discuss many future ideas about it later.

Tolentino: Aside from your own characters, who is your favorite fictional gunslinger?

I like Christian Bale from Equilibrium the most. He is so amazing.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.