EDIT: I previously thought this game uses Steam Cloud for saves. I was mistaken, it does not.

If you liked games like Raptor, Stargunner, and UN Squadron (a.k.a. Area 88) then you're in for something special.

Jets'n'Guns Gold is a side-scrolling shooter, where you play as a mercenary fighter pilot. You make money by destroying targets, and occasionally picking up bonus items you can sell later. Shops sell new weapons and ships, which can be upgraded for extra money. New items unlock as your total score rises, and a few hidden weapons and ships can also be found, if you know where to look in certain levels. New ships have better stats, and more slots to mount more weapons.

I used the mouse for control, and had no trouble with it. Default controls: Mouse to move, left button fire, right button bomb, middle button for remote control, and mousewheel for rotary cage. There's a gadget that gives a "bullet time" mode, I don't use it often so I used the keyboard for that, as the game doesn't support the side buttons on my mouse.

The best thing about the shop system in this game is that you can sell stuff back for full price! This lets you experiment with different loadouts easily, like buying bombs for a ground attack mission, then selling them back for a space mission.

Guns have unlimited ammo, but some generate heat. When your heat meter builds up to 100%, guns stop firing until it drops back to 80%, depending on your ship's cooling system this may take about a second. In practice, this means that if you hold down the trigger, the guns will keep firing in short bursts, which isn't so bad. It's much less annoying than the way most games use the heat mechanic, and gives you a reason to aim your shots instead of just spray and pray. Generally, machineguns make less heat than beam weapons, so it's possible to build a loadout that never overheats. Missiles fire with your guns and don't make any heat, bomb launchers use an ammo meter that takes seconds to reload.

Weapons can be upgraded, which gives them some combination of more damage, higher rate of fire, and/or more shot streams at once. Ships can also be upgraded to have better cooling systems, tougher armor, faster engines, and so on.

Depending on the ship, you can also install various gadgets. Two quite original gadgets merit extra attention here:

The RemCon (remote control) is a hacking device that shoots a beam at a downward angle, which can be used to take control of hackable objects. Some are just containers that you can open for bonuses, but you can also do stuff like hack a dump truck and make it run over the enemy, or hack an armored missile launcher to make it overheat and explode.

The Rotary Cage is a gadget you can install on some ships, that lets you rotate the guns in your front weapon slots, from a narrow forward spread all the way to a triangular backward spread. You can change the angle quickly with the mousewheel in combat. (Not all weapons can be turned with this device, so check for the sextant icon on the weapon description before trying it.) I liked this so much that I'm surprised other games haven't ripped off this idea yet.

Other gadgets incude stuff like a power shield that blocks incoming damage for heat, a TV camera that gives you extra money for broadcasting your missions, a time compressor that gives a (really somewhat awkward) "bullet time" ability, and PDA to guess unlock codes (via a minigame) of captured cargo containers, which also adds a falling block minigame.

The art style reminds me a lot of that Heavy Metal magazine from the eighties. Bizarre and cartoony ship designs and freaky alien monsters are the norm, all set in a rusty, grimy cyberpunk future. There's enough variety in level themes between surface and space levels to keep it interesting. The story is told in comic book pages in between missions. The last few ships in the game have different skins or fancy paint jobs, that you can change for free at the item shop.

Sound and music are both excellent, with lots of rumbling explosions and wailing guitar riffs.

The game allows nine save slots plus a quicksave. Getting destroyed lets you respawn from the last checkpoint you reached, or go back to the shop to start the level over. Finishing the game lets you start over with all your stuff on a higher difficulty, additional loops raise enemy toughness.

Play balance is overall very solid. There was an update a while ago that fixed some minor bugs, and rebalanced a bunch of stuff, based on Steam forum feedback. It's notable that the devs did this long after release; better late than never.

If I have any gripes with the game, it's this: You know that part in some games where you lose all your stuff for some reason, and have to finish a level with little or no useful gear to get it all back? Well, there are a few levels where you're forced to use a very basic ship for various story reasons. At least most of these levels are short and not too complicated.

All in all, I feel like I got way more than my money's worth out of this. It's hard to find good shmups these days, but this is a true love letter to the genre. Thanks to Rake in Grass for a job well done, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

EDIT: I previously thought this game uses Steam Cloud for saves. I was mistaken, it does not. If you liked games like Raptor, Stargunner, and UN Squadron (a.k.a. Area 88) then you're in for something special. Jets'n'Guns Gold is a side-scrolling shooter, where you play as a mercenary fighter pilot. You make money by destroying targets, and occasionally picking up bonus items you can sell later. Shops sell new weapons and ships, which can be upgraded for extra money. New items unlock as your total score rises, and a few hidden weapons and ships can also be found, if you know where to look in certain levels. New ships have better stats, and more slots to mount more weapons. I used the mouse for control, and had no trouble with it. Default controls: Mouse to move, left button fire, right button bomb, middle button for remote control, and mousewheel for rotary cage. There's a gadget that gives a "bullet time" mode, I don't use it often so I used the keyboard for that, as the game doesn't support the side buttons on my mouse. The best thing about the shop system in this game is that you can sell stuff back for full price! This lets you experiment with different loadouts easily, like buying bombs for a ground attack mission, then selling them back for a space mission. Guns have unlimited ammo, but some generate heat. When your heat meter builds up to 100%, guns stop firing until it drops back to 80%, depending on your ship's cooling system this may take about a second. In practice, this means that if you hold down the trigger, the guns will keep firing in short bursts, which isn't so bad. It's much less annoying than the way most games use the heat mechanic, and gives you a reason to aim your shots instead of just spray and pray. Generally, machineguns make less heat than beam weapons, so it's possible to build a loadout that never overheats. Missiles fire with your guns and don't make any heat, bomb launchers use an ammo meter that takes seconds to reload. Weapons can be upgraded, which gives them some combination of more damage, higher rate of fire, and/or more shot streams at once. Ships can also be upgraded to have better cooling systems, tougher armor, faster engines, and so on. Depending on the ship, you can also install various gadgets. Two quite original gadgets merit extra attention here: The RemCon (remote control) is a hacking device that shoots a beam at a downward angle, which can be used to take control of hackable objects. Some are just containers that you can open for bonuses, but you can also do stuff like hack a dump truck and make it run over the enemy, or hack an armored missile launcher to make it overheat and explode. The Rotary Cage is a gadget you can install on some ships, that lets you rotate the guns in your front weapon slots, from a narrow forward spread all the way to a triangular backward spread. You can change the angle quickly with the mousewheel in combat. (Not all weapons can be turned with this device, so check for the sextant icon on the weapon description before trying it.) I liked this so much that I'm surprised other games haven't ripped off this idea yet. Other gadgets incude stuff like a power shield that blocks incoming damage for heat, a TV camera that gives you extra money for broadcasting your missions, a time compressor that gives a (really somewhat awkward) "bullet time" ability, and PDA to guess unlock codes (via a minigame) of captured cargo containers, which also adds a falling block minigame. The art style reminds me a lot of that Heavy Metal magazine from the eighties. Bizarre and cartoony ship designs and freaky alien monsters are the norm, all set in a rusty, grimy cyberpunk future. There's enough variety in level themes between surface and space levels to keep it interesting. The story is told in comic book pages in between missions. The last few ships in the game have different skins or fancy paint jobs, that you can change for free at the item shop. Sound and music are both excellent, with lots of rumbling explosions and wailing guitar riffs. The game allows nine save slots plus a quicksave. Getting destroyed lets you respawn from the last checkpoint you reached, or go back to the shop to start the level over. Finishing the game lets you start over with all your stuff on a higher difficulty, additional loops raise enemy toughness. Play balance is overall very solid. There was an update a while ago that fixed some minor bugs, and rebalanced a bunch of stuff, based on Steam forum feedback. It's notable that the devs did this long after release; better late than never. If I have any gripes with the game, it's this: You know that part in some games where you lose all your stuff for some reason, and have to finish a level with little or no useful gear to get it all back? Well, there are a few levels where you're forced to use a very basic ship for various story reasons. At least most of these levels are short and not too complicated. All in all, I feel like I got way more than my money's worth out of this. It's hard to find good shmups these days, but this is a true love letter to the genre. Thanks to Rake in Grass for a job well done, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!