Gunman Brings 50 Levels Of Turn-Based Artillery With Terrain That Comes Apart

Gunman has joined our Shooting category with a format nobody would describe as new. Turn-based stickman artillery has existed in one form or another for decades, and the browser space is full of competent implementations of it. What makes this one worth fifty levels is the physics underneath: bullets ricochet off surfaces at believable angles, terrain is destructible rather than decorative, and the cover protecting your opponent on this turn may simply not exist by the next one. That last property changes the strategic character of every match, because a defensive position is temporary by default.

The Aiming Model

Click and drag back from your character, exactly like drawing a slingshot. The drag distance sets power and the drag angle sets direction, so both variables are committed in one gesture and released together. It is immediately intuitive in a way that separate angle and power inputs never are, and it takes a genuinely long time to become accurate with, which is exactly the right combination for a game built around repeated attempts.

What makes the aiming interesting rather than merely fiddly is that it is entirely deterministic. The same drag produces the same shot every time, with no random spread and no hidden variance. That means a miss is always information you can act on, and adjusting by a small amount on the next turn produces a predictable change in where the round lands. Games in this genre that introduce randomness to the shot destroy exactly this feedback loop, and it is a relief to find one that does not.

The Environment Is A Weapon

• Bullets ricochet off certain surfaces, so an opponent behind full cover is still reachable at the right angle
• Terrain is destructible, which means you can excavate an enemy out of a position rather than solving the angle
• Cover that protected you last turn may have been removed by the exchange since
• Creative indirect angles routinely outperform direct lines, and the level design clearly assumes you will find them
• The environment degrades over a long match, so late turns are fought on a very different map from the opening

“The best shot in this game is almost never the straight one, and realising that is the moment it stops being a simple aiming exercise.”

The Arsenal And The Economy

Sparkling diamonds are scattered through every level, and collecting them funds purchases from the in-game arsenal between rounds. The spread of weapons is wide enough to support genuinely different approaches, and because the terrain is destructible, weapons that damage the map are strategically valuable in a way they would not be in a static arena.

The Opposition

The AI stickmen are cunning in a way that is genuinely annoying rather than artificially difficult. They take cover sensibly, they reposition when a position becomes exposed, and they punish predictable behaviour, which means the later levels require you to think about where you end your turn rather than only about where your shot lands. That is a meaningful distinction and it is what gives the fifty-level progression somewhere to escalate toward.

The escalation itself is well handled. Early levels introduce single opponents in simple terrain, teaching the aiming model without pressure. The middle stretch adds multiple enemies and more complex environmental geometry, and the final third combines fortified positions with opponents who actively counter your preferred approach. Nothing in the curve feels arbitrary, and each new challenge type is introduced in isolation before being combined with the others.

Where It Shows Its Limits

The single-player-only structure is the most obvious gap. A turn-based artillery game with destructible terrain is almost designed for head-to-head play, and the absence of any local two-player option is a genuine missed opportunity given how well the format historically suits it. Competing against AI opponents, however well tuned, is not the same experience as competing against someone sitting next to you.

The other issue is economic pacing. Diamond income is generous enough that by roughly level thirty most players will own the majority of the arsenal, at which point the purchasing decisions that gave the early game structure largely evaporate. The remaining levels are harder but the meta-progression that supported them has already finished, which flattens the back third somewhat.

Five Tactics Worth Adopting Early

1. 1Aim at the terrain beside a covered enemy rather than at the enemy, and let the collapse do the work
2. 2Spend a turn on a shield when you can see an opponent has a clear angle on you, rather than trading damage
3. 3Learn one weapon properly before diversifying, because the drag calibration differs noticeably between them
4. 4Take the diamonds on the far side of the map early while the terrain is still intact enough to cross
5. 5End your turn behind terrain that is thick rather than merely present, since thin cover disappears in one exchange

Controls

Mouse drag to aim and set power, then release to fire. On touch devices, tap and drag back, then lift your finger. Weapon switching and shield activation are handled through icons in the bottom bar during your own turn, and the entire interface is usable without a keyboard.

How Long Fifty Levels Takes

A full run through the level list sits at around four to five hours, with the difficulty escalation weighted toward the final third where fortified positions and countering opponents start requiring genuine tactical thought rather than improved aim. Progress and purchased weapons persist between sessions, so the campaign can be worked through gradually.

The diamond economy means most players will own the majority of the arsenal by roughly level thirty, which flattens the second half's progression even as its difficulty continues climbing. That mismatch is the main pacing complaint, though the destructible terrain keeps the tactical variety high enough that the levels themselves remain interesting.

Our Take

Fifty levels is a substantial commitment for a format this simple, and the destructible terrain combined with reliable ricochet physics is what carries it. If you have any nostalgia for turn-based artillery games, this is a well-built modern take with a deterministic shot model that rewards learning. The missing multiplayer is a real shame, but what is here is solid.