Italian developers Ludicrous Games announced that their sprite-based, four-player, one-shot one-kill, brawling shooter, Guntastic will enter into beta testing over the weekend of October 24th through October 27th. You can sign-up to participate in the beta by visiting the official Guntastic website.

The game is an inventive twist on the typical competitive brawler formula, which usually centers around power-ups, combos, and melee attacks. This time around you take on the role of various characters who have access to a “vast” arsenal of weapons in which to shoot, inflame, vaporize, and disintegrate your opponents.

The hook is that each match only lasts for 25 seconds, so you’re compelled to fight fast and fight hard to capture the win before time runs out. You can get a glimpse of what the gameplay is like with the beta trailer below.

It kind of reminds me of a BroForce version of Mercenary Kings turned PvP.

All the action takes place on one screen, though, and it features both online and local multiplayer. The levels are also hand-crafted, but feature dynamic elements to mix up the gameplay, not unlike Super Smash Bros. or Brawlout.

The actual beta is only set to take place between Thursday, October 24th, and Sunday, October 27th.

You’ll have all weekend to get in game time via the open-beta.

There’s an irreverent tone to the game that reminds me of something from the 1990s; some counter-culture, off-the-cuff indie game that would have been quite popular in the shareware scene.

I don’t know how well the game will survive in today’s climate, especially if it’s going to be reliant on a multiplayer community to stay alive or grow.

We’ll see how it all turns out after the open beta takes place at the end of the month. Guntastic is scheduled to release in full over on the Steam store at some point during the fourth quarter of 2019.