Gonner

Genre: Action-Platformer / Roguelike

Players: 1

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Review:

Gonner is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements released on PC in 2016, ported to Nintendo Switch in 2017, and then ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018. It has you playing as an odd creature named Ikk who can put on different heads to gain different abilities, and who travels between levels by getting eaten by a giant worm and then pooped out the other side and just what the heck were the people who made this game on!?

Yeah, suffice it to say, the presentation here is very strange, and almost nothing is explained. You’re expected to either get on board, or not. The levels are constructed with 2D visuals that look almost like a black light painting, with the levels themselves constructing themselves as you go through them. This is backed by a very odd synthesized soundtrack that sounds less like music and a bunch of vaguely rhythmic noises pieced together. Like I said, very odd.

As for the gameplay itself, players can jump, double-jump, wall-jump, fire their gun, and use whatever special ability they have equipped, and with this limited move set, they are trying to take out as many enemies as possible before they’re killed. And you will get killed a lot.

There’s definitely the sense that this game has a lot of hidden depth with a ton of different guns and abilities you can gradually collect and then equip prior to each run. Unfortunately, this game’s odd nature makes it very difficult to piece together all of this. Yes, its odd presentation is one of its charms, but it doesn’t seem concerned with even making sure players understand the core mechanics of the game, so knowing just what some new piece of equipment actually does means a process of trial-and-error (or consulting a wiki online, I suppose).

It’s this constant quality of having no idea what the heck is going on that makes it hard for me to really get into Gonner. Even for those who dig the odd presentation and don’t mind the punishing difficulty level may find the way it refuses to explain anything that’s going on as just too frustrating to want to deal with. If you don’t mind that, you still may find yourself put off by the odd presentation or the difficulty. Either way, this is a very niche game, and one I have difficulty recommending.

tl;dr – Gonner is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that is very odd, and has no intention of explaining any of what the heck is going on. This is frustrating enough, but in addition, the game is punishingly difficult. At the very least, the presentation is truly unique, though not everyone will enjoy it. While i don’t think this is a bad game, it is an extremely niche one that’s not for everyone.

Grade: C

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