Enter the Gungeon is a rogue-like, top down dungeon crawler developed by Dodge Roll and published by Devolver Digital. In this game, the player descends into a dungeon of monsters with the goal to find the legendary gun to change their past. It is a simple game where players must dodge bullets, avoid traps, and slay the “Gundead” enemies. Players will discover randomly generated levels, with a lot of different (and often hilarious) guns, enemies, and bosses mixed in. For those familiar with The Binding of Issac, this game will seem like a fresh take, but without the heavy themes.
Aesthetics
Enter the Gungeon is aesthetically pleasing and follows art style similar to retro arcades. It follows a uniform theme, including music and artwork, which makes the effect more believable. In my opinion, for the mechanics of this game, this simplistic type of aesthetic complements the game well. In addition, this game takes an entertaining approach by making every aspect of the game, from weapons and enemies, all about guns.
Story
The focus of the game is centered around the ambitions of different adventurers’ who seek to rewrite their past at any cost. Overall, this simple, no-frills story really works in the favor of the overall experience of the game. For individuals who just want to experience the game and play with the mechanics, the story can be considered accessory to the game content. What lies beneath, however, is a rich story backstory about the dungeon that is hidden in the quests and random encounters along the way.
Mechanics
The focus put into the core mechanics is where the game shines. As mentioned previously, the game is all about guns. What really pleased me about Enter the Gungeon is the attention to detail – the number of discoverable guns and effects is enormous. Each of the guns have a unique firing pattern or reference to pop culture which makes playing the game more interesting. Another mechanic that stood out was the ability to avoid bullets by flipping tables for cover or dodge rolling. These are two very simple mechanics that can be performed by a button press to temporarily grant bullet immunity. In addition to these methods, those precise enough to weave through bullets may do so to avoid taking damage. Games like Enter the Gungeon allow casual players, but also rewards players with higher degree of mastery.
Technology
The game is built with Unity, which is well established technology, and is offered on various platforms such as PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch. This is a logical decision because the developer can reach a wide audience since the mechanics of the game itself does not require innovation.
Lens #2 – Surprise
Elements such as chests and discovering new guns and enemies feed the desire for surprises that our brains love. Furthermore, Enter the Gungeon keeps the element of surprise long after all the guns have been discovered through randomly generated levels and rooms.
Lens #3 – Fun
The lighthearted artwork and theme makes this a pleasurable experience for everyone, especially when compared to games of similar genre. However, for some individuals the fun of this game comes from the journey in mastering the game mechanics. The nature of this game is a double-edged sword, as many individuals would be drawn away from the game for the same reason.
Lens #4 – Curiosity
Nothing really entices curiosity like the large, empty encyclopedia the player starts with at the beginning of the game. As player discover new guns and enemies, the book fills up with the characters seen. This simple trick helps with the players curiosity and encourages the replay of the game. Also as previously mentioned, there is an air of mystery for the “optional” story. The game encourages players to discover the backstory by themselves, as interpreted by characters the player encounters.
Lens #9 – Unification Theme
Another point where the game shines is its strong unification theme with guns and retro gaming. It is very evident that Enter the Gungeon is using every means possible to enforce the theme of guns and retro gaming because of its one-dimensional approach, which almost feels like they are overdoing it. As a result, the game feel more complete and well designed because of the consistent theme.
Links below go to the official page and launch trailer: