Welcome, aspiring Gungeoneer! Ever wanted to play a game where the bullets are the bad guys and you’re the hero? Devolver Digital has you covered with two amazing titles: Enter the Gungeon and Exit the Gungeon. These twin-stick shooters are packed with challenging gameplay, beautiful pixel art, and a wild universe full of character. While they’re set in the same world, they offer very different experiences. Let’s take a look at both and see what makes them so special!
The Shared Bullet-Filled Universe
The foundation of both games is a wonderfully outrageous premise. Players find themselves in the Gungeon, a sprawling, ever-changing labyrinth filled with gun-toting bullets, explosive enemies, and a vast arsenal of strange and powerful weapons. The ultimate goal, in Enter the Gungeon at least, is to find the legendary “gun that can kill the past” and rectify a past mistake. The lore is delivered through clever item descriptions and subtle environmental cues, creating a world that is both self-aware and deeply engaging.
The art style is a consistent success across both titles. The pixel art is meticulously crafted, vibrant, and bursting with personality. Every character, enemy, and gun is animated with care, making the screen feel alive even when it’s a chaotic storm of bullets. It’s truly astonishing how inviting and exciting the pixelated graphics and energetic soundtrack make a game that is essentially a nonstop barrage of bullets. The sound design is equally impressive, with satisfying “pows” and “pews” that make every shot feel impactful, and an energetic soundtrack that perfectly complements the frantic pace of the gameplay. For any fan of retro-inspired aesthetics, these games are a visual and auditory treat.
Enter the Gungeon: The Definitive Roguelike Experience
When discussing the Gungeon series, the original is often the gold standard. Enter the Gungeon is a classic roguelike twin-stick shooter that masterfully combines tight, responsive controls with a punishing difficulty curve. The game’s loop is simple yet addictive: choose a character, descend into the Gungeon, and try to survive as many floors as possible. With each new floor, players face more challenging enemies and, crucially, a new procedurally generated layout. Even for someone who is new to roguelikes and dungeon-crawling games, the action-packed chaos of nonstop bullet shooting and fighting is simply marvelous. It’s a game you just can’t put down, wanting to go over and over no matter how many times you die, making for hours of fun.
The core gameplay is defined by two main mechanics: shooting and dodging. The player’s dodge roll is a pivotal ability, granting temporary invincibility and allowing them to weave through barrages of bullets, an essential skill in a game rightly nicknamed an “intense bullet-filled adventure.” I personally spent hours trying to perfect the timing of my dodges, and the feeling of seamlessly rolling through a dense pattern of enemy fire is incredibly satisfying. This is a game that demands skill, precision, and a bit of luck. Another personal touch is finding a favorite character from the roster of unique Gungeoneers, each with their own starting equipment and story.
The real heart of Enter the Gungeon lies in its staggering variety. The game features an enormous collection of unique guns and countless passive and active items. These aren’t just different skins; they are bizarre and creative inventions. You might find a gun that shoots sharks, another that fires bees, or a weapon that launches a laser beam. The synergy between guns and items is where the magic truly happens. A seemingly useless gun can become incredibly powerful when combined with the right passive item, creating wildly different and often overpowered builds on each run. The sense of discovery and the desire to see what new, ridiculous weapon you’ll find on the next floor is what keeps players coming back for more.
The game’s progression system is also well-executed. Even when you die—and you will die, a lot—you can still earn Hegemony Credits to unlock new guns, items, and NPCs in the hub world. This creates a sense of forward momentum, as each failed run brings you one step closer to unlocking the tools you need for a successful one. The difficult boss fights, which range from a giant bullet king to an explosive bird, are a true test of a player’s skill and endurance, and defeating them for the first time is a monumental achievement. A notable and very fun addition was the collaboration with Cult of the Lamb, introducing a playable character called “The Lamb” in a special mobile version of the game, which was a fantastic surprise.
Exit the Gungeon: A Different Kind of Challenge
Following the success of Enter the Gungeon, Devolver Digital released Exit the Gungeon, a direct sequel that changes the formula in significant ways. While the original was a deep, sprawling roguelike, Exit shifts the perspective to a vertical “dungeon climber” format. The Gungeon is collapsing, and players must ascend through the floors, battling enemies while riding a series of elevators and platforms. The core goal is no longer to delve deeper but to escape.
The most notable departure from the original is the weapon system. Instead of collecting and swapping between a variety of guns, the player’s weapon changes automatically and randomly every few seconds. This new mechanic forces players to constantly adapt their strategy, mastering a wide range of weapons on the fly. This change, in my opinion, is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s a fresh and frantic take on the gameplay, constantly keeping the player on their toes and preventing them from getting too comfortable with a single weapon. On the other hand, it removes the satisfaction of finding a powerful gun and building a run around it, which was a huge part of the fun in the first game. Getting a powerful rocket launcher followed immediately by a single-shot peashooter can be incredibly frustrating.
The new dodge mechanic is also a major difference. The classic dodge roll is replaced with a “dodge-jump” that allows the player to bounce off bullets and enemy heads, a feature that, while unique, feels less precise than its predecessor. The game’s focus on verticality and platforming adds a new layer of complexity, but it also feels less like a twin-stick shooter and more like a platformer with shooting elements. The runs are shorter and more arcade-like, making it a great game for quick bursts of play rather than long, deliberate sessions.
The story of Exit the Gungeon is a direct continuation of the first game, and for those who have completed Enter, it provides a satisfying narrative payoff. It’s a fun, quirky spin-off that builds on the world and characters we already love. However, for a new player, it might not have the same immediate appeal or long-term replayability as the original. The constant randomness of the weapons and the less refined movement mechanics can make it feel like a less-polished experience.
A Tale of Two Triumphs: A Comparison
At their core, both games are about surviving an intense barrage of projectiles, but they approach the challenge from different angles. Enter the Gungeon is a methodical, deep, and rewarding roguelike. It is a game of strategy, item synergy, and learning enemy patterns. It’s a game that respects the player’s time and effort, even in failure, by offering a clear path of progression. The freedom to choose your weapons and build is its greatest strength.
Exit the Gungeon is a more immediate, chaotic, and high-energy experience. It’s a game of improvisation and adaptability. Its strengths lie in its fast-paced, arcade-like nature, making it perfect for quick runs. However, its greatest weakness is also its core mechanic—the randomized gun. The lack of player choice in weaponry removes a significant layer of depth that made the first game so compelling.
Final Opinion
For those who are new to the series and love a challenging roguelike with immense replayability and depth, I would highly recommend Enter the Gungeon. It is a masterpiece of the genre and one of the best indie games of its generation. The satisfying gameplay, huge arsenal of weapons, and rewarding progression system make it an essential title for any fan of the twin-stick shooter. The feeling of finally defeating a difficult boss with a crazy, overpowered build is something truly special.
On the other hand, Exit the Gungeon is a fun, but ultimately less substantial, experience. It’s a great game for those who have already played and loved the original and want a fresh twist on the Gungeon universe. It’s perfect for a quick session, but it lacks the long-term depth and strategic complexity that made Enter so iconic. I would view it less as a true sequel and more as a clever and creative companion piece.
In conclusion, both games are a testament to the creativity of Devolver Digital. They are both visually stunning, audibly impressive, and a joy to play. While Enter the Gungeon stands as the definitive, must-play title, Exit the Gungeon offers a worthy and different adventure for those who can’t get enough of the Gungeon’s quirky, bullet-filled world.
