Squirrel With A Gun Switch 2 Review

Squirrel With A Gun Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2

I would have sold a kidney to be in the meeting where Squirrel With a Gun was pitched. The idea of a homicidal squirrel causing absolute chaos while completing objectives like destroying a tank or delivering a birthday cake to a lonely neighbour, all while carrying an Uzi, feels like the most unhinged concept imaginable. Yet, here it is. What’s It Like? Grab a costume, lock and load, and prepare to go nuts as we review Squirrel With a Gun for Nintendo Switch 2.

Squirrel With a Gun sees you play as a furry hero, or anti-hero, who wanders into a top-secret facility and mistakes a classified microchip for an acorn. The moment you eat it, a squad of agents is dispatched to hunt you down, and that is when the squirrel discovers the true power of firearms. From there, the goal is simple. Destroy agents, gather golden acorns, and let nothing in your way slow you down. The game does have a narrative, but it can be summed up in one clear sentence: You’re a squirrel with a gun.

Gameplay follows a format similar to the Goat Simulator series. You platform, puzzle solve, and chase down golden acorns along with plenty of regular acorns scattered around the neighbourhood. These become your currency, letting you unlock new weapons and even vehicles so you can cause more chaos. Some quests involve blowing up barbeques, others involve fighting a tank, and some are as straightforward as a “floor is lava” challenge, where you simply need to reach an acorn by jumping on furniture. The neighbourhood is split into areas that unlock as you progress, and each section introduces new weapons and new types of agents (who are regular agents with different hats) to keep things feeling fresh. Guns obviously sit at the centre of everything, and beyond taking down agents or scaring residents, you can fire them at the ground to launch yourself into the air or use them as a kind of gun-powered double jump. Moving around like this is surprisingly fun, and a few of the puzzles land well. Combat is quick and energetic, with over-the-top finishing moves, including a neck break animation if you happen to be unarmed. The entire concept is wild, and the sheer chaos of it all keeps you entertained for the most part.

I say it will keep you entertained for the most part because Squirrel With a Gun has a lot of bugs that will frustratingly halt your progress. Some are harmless, like agents having hats or helmets floating behind them, or finishing animations dropping you underground for a moment, so you barely see what is going on. Then there are the genuinely frustrating ones. One section takes place in a saloon where you have a shootout with agents. Four or five times in a row, agents were shot and flew straight through the walls, locking them outside the play area while trapping me inside the saloon. The only fix was reloading the checkpoint and starting again. In the end, I swapped to a weaker weapon just to avoid launching them into the void, which finally let me finish the fight. Other issues include crashes to the home screen, ragdoll physics that stutter and lock up, and even a boss fight that got stuck on a wall, which made it impossible to finish until I restarted. It was a real shame because these bugs slowly wore me down. I started with a smile, laughing at the absurdity of the whole concept. As the issues kept stacking up, the lack of polish made things feel like a grind, and even though the game only took me around four hours to finish, it felt like a slog by the time I hit the end.

Graphically, Squirrel With a Gun does a decent job bringing its little neighbourhood sandbox to life. Character models are simple, yet they still manage to sell the humour and disbelief of everything that is happening around you. The squirrel’s expressions hit the right mix of cute and chaotic, and the agents wobble around and make every encounter feel a bit sillier. There are animation level of detail issues that stand out, especially with NPCs around the neighbourhood. Certain movements snap or skip frames, and some transition animations feel rough. These little inconsistencies chip away at the overall sense of polish, and combined with the bugs mentioned earlier, they make the game feel duct-taped together. On the performance front, the frame rate stays mostly stable, even when things get busy. Explosions, gun recoil, and physics-heavy moments generally run smoothly, and the action keeps a good pace. Load times are reasonable, and the world streams in without much hitching. Outside of the crashes, the core performance is fast and fluid, and when the game behaves, it is easy to get caught up in the chaos.

When it comes to accessibility, Squirrel With a Gun is pretty limited. The only option beyond basic controls is an aim-assist feature, so as always, I recommend doing further research to make sure this game aligns with your specific needs. At just under $30 AUD, Squirrel With a Gun is a wild ride that’s unfortunately brought down a little by bugs and frustrations. If you enjoy the chaotic, unpredictable spirit of games like Goat Simulator, you’ll probably get a big kick out of this one. For me, despite the technical issues, I had a lot of fun. I’m planning to revisit it when it gets an update, so I can keep you all posted on how things improve.

Squirrel With a Gun isn’t perfect. Bugs, stuttered animations, and a few frustrating moments can wear you down, but the core experience is wild, ridiculous fun. From launching yourself with guns to over-the-top combat and chaotic objectives, the game keeps the humour front and centre, leaving you with a funny adventure that’s completely nuts.

So, What’s it Like? Squirrel With a Gun is like Goat Simulator… with guns.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by the publisher, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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