At this point, when I let my family know we have a new local multiplayer action game to check out, that news is met with heavy sighs and a general sense of apathy. Having endured countless hours of unsatisfying gameplay together, we’ve become a pretty jaded bunch. The thing is, it isn’t entirely our fault… too many developers seem to be ready to take credit for people having a good time playing their games for the wrong reasons. With the right attitude people can make just about anything fun, if nothing else at the game’s expense. Unfortunately, that was the case with Zero-G Gunfight, which may have raised an eyebrow or two at some points, but ultimately failed to make a positive impression.

There actually isn’t much to know here, other than it’s a physics-based local multiplayer action shooter where each player is dropped into a gravity-free stage, usually complete with some obstacles you can use for cover and access to new and more powerful weapons. The challenge is that since you’re floating free without gravity, when you shoot your weapon the recoil from the gun will send you in the opposite direction, obeying the basic laws of physics. So that means aside from trying to shoot your opponents you’ll also need to use your weapon to help you awkwardly get around.

Offering up a variety of more powerful, and sometimes much more risky, weapons is how the game compels you to want to risk moving around. Your default pistol may not fare well against someone with a rocket launcher, though typically the more powerful the weapon, the more it’s going to knock you around once you fire it. What ensues is generally a fair amount of chaos, with players and bullets flying by, people trying to quickly grab more nasty weapons, and a fair amount of random unpredictability.

The issue is that there are simply better examples of this idea being implemented out there, and in some cases also with more ambition. SpiderHeck, specifically, not only does all of this but sports better stage design, crazier weapons, and a web slinging mechanic that really helps it stand out. While this has a handful of stages, and can be fun for a pretty brief period before people will likely tire of it, ultimately it’s lacking the variety and excitement of its peers, making it easy to skip in favor of others.