Enter the Gungeon

Eeeeeeeenter the Guuuungeooooooon
Release: 2016
Platform: PC
Developer: Dodge Roll
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Genre: Rogue-like, Twin stick shooter
Gameplay Stats: 47 Hours, 30/54 achievements, 4 Pasts complete

I decided to give this a revisit after seeing my favorite YouTuber (Northernlion) return to this game with the Advanced Gungeons and Draguns update. This was a rebalance of the original game with some extra added content. I bounced off of the game when I first played it at release in 2016, thinking it was a bit too tough. I remember feeling remiss because this game does check a lot of my boxes: fun, puns, rogue-like, great pixel art... With some fresh YouTube videos trip sitting for me, I learned a lot about the game and how to approach the meta-level strategy to get some good results.

Visuals: I think I may have already given away my feelings on the visuals, but here goes! I think they did an excellent job with the pixel art for this game. The characters and enemies are cute for the most part, and creepy when they're meant to be. I think the design of them all conveys what they're about which goes a long way towards understanding them in game. Oftentimes you will come across an enemy for the first time in a group of other enemies, and it's good to be able to tell what kinds of attacks they will use from their design. There are some surprises, but I think the overall MOs are shown. I think that the floors in the game are nicely done, but it really looks like the most detail was put into the first floor. The rooms are the most varied, and there are some cool details in the environment. I would've liked to see alternate reskins of the floors to keep them from being quite so same-y each run. Binding of Isaac does this really well I think.

Audio: The opening song in this game is a genuine banger. I like that it also plays during the credits and it genuinely feels like a reward each time you complete a run even though you can hear it when you first boot up the game. I don't really remember music playing on the actual floors, which I guess means that the music was fine. I don't remember feeling like the audioscape was empty or too full unless you're in a room of enemies in which case you've got several reasons to get shooting. The sound effects are pretty good and not too obtrusive which is shocking to me. You are firing a gun the vast majority of the game and it never feels too monotonous. I guess because each gun has a unique firing noise and you get different guns each run. The only exception here is the starting guns for each character that you will likely be using the first floor or two, those get mildly annoying.

Plot: It's a rogue-like, there's not too much going on here. I think the characters are all trying to erase their pasts by going to the Gungeon (Gun + Dungeon) to find the gun and bullet combo that can kill the past. The player has to play the past that is meant to be forgotten and I think that's the gist. There's just a little bit going on here which is nice to frame the game, but it doesn't really matter that much.

Gameplay: I seem to be really drawn to games that play well over games that tell a solid story. This game plays well! I don't have a ton of experience with rogue-likes,  but I think I agree with Northernlion that this one is the most fun in terms of minute-to-minute gameplay. Weaving through the waves of enemy bullets while delivering your own counter attack feels good. It's a lot to get used to at first, which I think is why I bounced off this game in the past, but once you get a bit better it's really fun. There is enough variability in runs that I didn't get remotely bored in my time with the game. I don't think that this game is as infinitely replayable as Binding of Isaac and honestly I feel like that's a good thing. Not all rogue-likes need to be Isaac.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with this game and I think the rebalancing Dodge Roll has done since release are a real credit to the game. I don't have much of a hankering to play more of thisgame as I'm writing this, but I would be surprised if I didn't return at some point to try and finish some more of the achievements. [9/10]