Sinden Lightgun Review "As I felt it’s heft as I lifted it out of the box, I simply muttered, “yes” 💥 @SindenLightgun #Retrogaming

As a collector of video games – as well as a reviewer of them – in my 40’s, I’ve seen a lot of genres come and go, get a new lease of life, get revisited, outmoded, souped-up, etc. and the one genre that burns me to the core most of all, seemingly swept aside by technological issues and the passage of time – is the lightgun genre.

Whether you were introduced to the genre through Duck Hunt on the NES, Point Blank on the PS1, House of the Dead on the Dreamcast, or Silent Scope, LA Machineguns, Time Crisis, or Beastbusters in the arcade, the chances are that you have some pretty strong memories bouncing around your noggin that involve that most shooty-shootiest of gaming genres (I also just remembered the Toejam and Earl Menacer game! What a multi-cart that was!), and they are fading away into the most distant past, as CRT TVs become harder and harder to get.

Quite frankly, unless you are a collector of video games and accessories from a bygone era, the most recent recollections that you’ll have would be of fiddling about with the incredibly tediously thin cable that came with the Nintendo Wii sensor as you tried to get it balanced on top of your TV without knocking it off,  yanking the cord out of the delicate sensor, or just strangling yourself to death out of sheer frustration – which often seemed the most practical option.

For me, the most recent memory was of Ghost Squad, a shooter that was released on the Wii here in the UK back in 2008. I remember picking it up and having an amazing time with it, feeling like I’d rediscovered an old friend. In fact, I can recall the very moment that – due to moving / downsizing – I had to get rid of the amazing 32-inch CRT TV I’d been given by the bassist in my band, and my main concern was the knowledge that I wouldn’t be able to easily play the light gun games on the various consoles and accessories that I’d spent time and money accumulating. Die Hard Trilogy, Virtua Cop and my beautiful, beautiful Point Blank series were about to become effectively useless and I vividly remember staring at my grey reflection in that behemoth of a TV, knowing that I’d realistically never own one again. I was almost being forced to render some games in my collection obsolete, it wasn’t my favourite moment.

The above paragraphs may seem ostentatious, but for those of us that love the light gun genre, the switch from CRT to LED was a real issue, it meant that our beloved light guns wouldn’t work, and whilst through the last decade it’s been pseudo-replaced by VR– and I say this as a fan of VR games – it’s very much not the same. The sense of co-op / multiplayer camaraderie isn’t there, and also, a huge amount of people can’t cope with the motion sickness that VR brings.

A few months ago, I included The 7th Guest VR in my top games of 2023, and even that was enjoyed in spurts as I desperately fought against the impracticalities and queasiness that the technology brings. If I had a choice of heading around someone’s house and playing VR with them, or a load of light gun shooters – it would be a very simple choice for me, that’s all I’m saying.

And now, in the second decade of the millennium, finally, finally a company has risen above all others -  on an impossibly high pedestal comprised of G-Con 45’s...and delivered us a gaming accessory that literally acts as not only the key that unlocks previously cordoned off gates of gaming enjoyment, but hints at the possibility of future gaming gold.

I’ve reviewed many products and accessories here at GF HQ, but few have got me as excited as the Sinden Lightgun. Working perfectly with most modern TVs and monitors, the gun allows the modern gamer to get hips deep back into a genre that has been lost for almost two decades. I’ve included some details from the Sinden website below:

• Fast Response, 60 frames per second

• Speed equal to CRT lightgun

• No sensors or external hardware required

• Does not need re-calibration even when switching displays

• Supported by all the major emulators

• 10 inputs (trigger, pump action and buttons)

• Offscreen Reload

• No external power required, just connect to computer USB

• Full support for Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi

• Prototype Android support

• Prototype PS1/PS2 support (requires physical mod with additional hardware to connect)

• 5m USB cable

• Works on all modern displays including LCD,OLED,Plasma

• Works on CRT

• Works on projectors but bulb or laser projectors are recommended over budget LED projectors

• Useful wiki for setting up emulators

• Friendly Discord with over 7500 members for advice and discussion

The Sinden Lightgun is a thing of beauty. I was sent a red version with a recoil function, and as I felt it’s heft as I lifted it out of the box, I simply muttered, “yes”. Admittedly, this isn’t a pure ‘plug n’ play’ device – it does require some initial setup (albeit clearly explained through the Sinden wiki-page), but it’s absolutely worth that initial setup time. 

I genuinely hope that Sinden have an ironclad patent on the technology here, as this genuinely feels revolutionary, and I would be ecstatic to see a resurgence of lightgun games across major consoles utilising the Sinden products and technology. 

SUMMARY

A final word, over the years, I’ve seen many dubious adverts on social media for hacked consoles, emulators, and shoddy looking gaming peripherals – Sinden is the polar opposite of that, from the packaging, support and product itself through to the sheer joy that the lightgun itself brings, the whole experience exudes quality, professionalism and passion.

Now stop reading this, order the Sinden Lightgun, and get installing MAME!

🔗Product Link - https://sindenlightgun.com/