Enter the Gungeon

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Enter X Exit the Gungeon bundle, along with Exit the Gungeon)

Enter the Gungeon is a Two-Stick Shooter with Roguelike elements that has a lot of enthusiasm for the “bullet” motif. The enemies are bullets, who fire bullets. The names of everything are all bad bullet puns, even the dungeon itself is one massive bullet shell. Everything is adorably tongue-in-cheek and beautifully animated, making the presentation here very distinct.

Players will shoot their way through the dungeon… er, gungeon… with one of a handful of characters with different unique skills and weapons, fighting enemies for the spent shells they leave which you use as currency, looking for chests that will hopefully hold some wonderful new weapon, or a shop where you can stock up on supplies.

The game definitely feels close to the “bullet hell” sort of game, especially during boss fights, but the inclusion of a dash/dodge move helps to get you out of tough spots and helps to keep things lively.

While the gameplay here is a solid example of the two-stick shooter format, I kinda’ wish the “roguelike” nature of the game was a bit more forgiving. Maybe I hadn’t gotten far enough into things, but I saw very little benefit of my failed prior attempts beyond unlocking additional guns to be found in subsequent trips. And yes, I know there’s more stuff farther in – that much is obvious with all the boarded-up doors currently unavailable to me. But this is not an easy game, and it would be nice if I could at least build on my failures.

Still, that’s not to say it isn’t fun. In fact, Enter the Gungeon is a blast, pardon the pun. Just be aware going in that this game doesn’t pull its punches… er, shots. If you’re up for a challenge, this game is for you.

tl;dr – Enter the Gungeon is a two-stick shooter with roguelike elements that packs a lot of fun gameplay and a high difficulty level. An excellent game for fans of the genre looking for a challenge.

Grade: B+

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