There is always frustration when a fun game is released on PC and the agonizing wait for the console release is a long one. But there is also a rather satisfying joy when the wait proves to be completely worth it and happily this is one of those times as finally Enter the Gungeon from Publisher Devolver Digital has finally launched on consoles. I have watched quite a few streams of this in the long year that it was available on PC first, but now it was time for me to go explore some dungeons, find some guns and get shot…..a whole bunch of times!
Enter the Gungeon takes a full menu of different gameplay styles and brings them together in a cocktail of fun and hair pulling battles that is everything an arcade title should be. I love the retro look to the visuals which kicks off when you need to select your hero to take into the dungeons. Some rather tongue in cheek versions of iconic heroes from gaming and films just waiting to be the ‘Little Orphan Annie’ and chosen to test their skills against the enemies that lie ahead. From the Marine who bares a striking resembles to a certain Master Chief super soldier when in full armour to the Pilot, who with his laser pistol has more than a little similarity to a certain rogue smuggler who made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs!
I loved how the game makes you complete the tutorial before attempting to progress into the actual game itself, something I feel has been lost in modern gaming, I mean why wouldn’t you want to learn how the game works before attempting to see if you can master it for real right. Once you have picked your hero and completed the quick tutorial, it is time to get on with the job of exploring randomly generated dungeons by clearing rooms of enemies as you try to find your way to the boss of the level. Along the way you will find chests and pick up new weapons and items to help you on your way. Some pathways will be locked out until forcing you to backtrack and find all the rooms in that level. Finding secret rooms will often reward the player with a new shiny gun to use so taking your time to explore all the rooms before tackling the boss is definitely the way to go.
Thought it has retro visuals, the animation of the different weapons and enemies is a real delight with some great looking enemies to smite down. Walking bullet cases and shotgun shells attacking you does feel a little on the nose when you first begin your adventure but as the screen starts to fill with their bullets all heading right for you, you will be soon be more than happy to end their existence. I also loved the ability to kick over a table to provide some extra cover from the hail of bullets in a nice little nod to the old western films that taught me that wood is the perfect defence against anything bullet related. The action is smooth and fluid and the more you progress and enemy difficulty increases, the bullet hell can really start to test your reflexes in dodging and rolling out the way to ducking behind cover in order to get a cheeky reload before continuing the battle.
The fighting in the rooms provides a great warm up act to the main event, the boss fight. This is where the action really kicks it into gear with some tremendously designed bosses with just as amazing games. Boss encounters will provide a real challenge as you battle to take down their health bars as they throw powerful attacks at you and soon the whole screen will be full of enemy fire and can be overwhelming due to perhaps the one issue I have with Enter The Gungeon, the harshness of failing. Should you die, you will certainly respawn, but much like other rogue style games, the punishment for dying is that you will lose all progress and collected weapons meaning starting all over again. Which can be truly frustrating if you have just cleared a boss fight and claimed a powerful new weapon only to lose it with no way of reclaiming it.
I did sadly suffer some frame-rate drops at times when the action really picked up on screen which for a shooter with huge amounts of projectiles on screen all heading towards you can be a real hindrance in the middle of a fight. It is a shame that after being on PC for a year before coming to console that such niggles exist in the Xbox One port of the game right on release.
With the above said, I really like Enter The Gungeon, it is a great arcade title that rewards for skill and time invested in the game but the challenge of losing everything on death might become too harsh a punishment after a really good and long dungeon run. The action is immediate as well, the moment you enter a room, enemies will be on you right away and it is very satisfying to clear a room and be the last character standing even more so after taking down a boss and claiming the loot from victory.
The different elements do compliment each other well enough to make this a cracking title to clean the pallet of all the big name AAA blockbusters releasing every month and Enter the Gungeon offers a nice scale of difficulty to test your skill at all levels enough to let you get into the game from the start but continues to put you to the test the further in you progress.
