Enter The Gungeon

Developer: Dodge Roll
Steam Release: Apr 2016
Hours Played: 7.8
Similar To: Binding of Isaac / Neon Chrome / Nuclear Throne /  Starward Rogue
Rating: 5/5 Stars

GAMEPLAY

ETG is a top-down/twin-stick shooter rendered in the pixel-art style. You choose one of 4 characters to start a game and then tottle off to the entrance of the "gungeon" and dive in. It is often compared to the Binding of Isaac but, for me, there are enough differences to set it apart. There are 5 floors or "chambers" to battle through containing around 12-24 rooms in each and culminating in a battle with a random boss. Each character is armed with their own basic default weapon with unlimited ammo but you'll pick up from a huge variety of nearly 200 guns during your travels from the conventional shotguns, rifles and pistols to the ridiculously outlandish like the face melter, banana and camera! The idea is to shoot, weave, dodge and dodge-roll your way ever further on each run. 
 

BALANCE & PACE

This is a true rogue-like where everything is reset at the start of each run. No carrying forward surplus weapons or currency from the previous game here and certainly no such luxury as upgrades! In the game you'll pick up more powerful guns and spend currency at the shop to buy a key for a chest or an extra life or armour etc, but when it's game over you'll just have your own experience and knowledge to fall back on for the next outing. Understanding the enemy and their patterns, therefore, is useful to know in helping you progress further next time. For those with bad memories, this and many other things such as those guns and the bosses you've encountered are recorded when unlocked in the game's encyclopedia known as the Ammonomicon. You may save a game at the end of each chamber.
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

ETG is set in a maze of dark, candle-lit dungeons. You'll usually get plenty of furniture to hide behind and tables to flip over to give you cover but it's the dodge-roll (especially while encountering the bullet-hell bosses) that will mostly get you out of a pickle. The gun you hold is also quite chunky and can clearly be seen as you change its direction. The real winner though is the sound and, like all good tense and atmospheric top-down shooters, plays a lot better with the music switched off. You really feel that you're heavily immersed in a proper, good ol' fashioned gunfight. The different guns have a myriad of sounds; enemies die with a satisfying snap, and that pop through the time-tunnel as you transport yourself through the portals gives instant fast-travel that extra oomph.   

PROGRESS SYSTEM

Like the Binding of Isaac there is no score, high-score chart or leaderboard to speak of. The over-riding goal is really to reach the deepest level - a detail that will need to be stored in the memory bank as there isn't even a record kept of any details of your best run. However, to compensate for this, there are records of all unlocks kept in a book known as the Ammonomicon . From here, you can see details of all enemies and bosses you've fought along with all guns and items that you've picked up. The presentation is a little bit random as the order they're stored in does not seem to correspond with the chamber you've reached or how deep you are in the game but it's a feature the game needs as otherwise the runs would be a little meaningless.

   

CONCLUSION

This is a fine and chunky top-down shooter that does an artful and creative job in pulling the player in. As you complete each chamber (which will take multiple efforts lasting hours) you'll be drip-fed rewards such as seeing more varied enemies and discovering new guns. As you learn the nuances and become more skilled it gets more and more satisfying to defeat trickier enemies because you feel like you've worked hard (in the nicest possible way) and really earned the right to move onward and upward. So, yes, while the game may be difficult for the casual crowd, if you're into top-down shooters and want to test your skills this is a great thinking-person's title with plenty of intense arcade-action to keep you enthralled.