As someone who loved the original Gauntlet and very much enjoys Vampire Survivors, I really expected to at least like this. But surprisingly I didn't, and the reasons why are easy to explain.

But first of all, is my review even valid? After all, I only have 1 hour in the game. Well if you're me, you'll probably say "no" because most games these days simply can't be reviewed in an hour. But this is the first game in recent memory that was so absolutely boring within the first hour, that I just couldn't play any more. Note that I only played single player. Here's why I didn't enjoy this game:

1. There is no enemy variation. There are 3 basic enemies: guy that takes 3 shots to kill, guy that takes 2 shots but is fast, and guy that takes 3 shots but shoots projectiles at you. There are very minor variations, like some projectiles which can be shot and those that can't, but that's the vast majority of enemy complexity. In addition to the basic enemies, there is an occasional elite enemy that has many more hit points and shoots several projectiles in a blast with a varying pattern. New levels don't introduce new enemies. You fight this same score of enemies at least all the way from levels 1 through (I believe) 6. The only thing that changes is their stats increase and their sprite changes.

2. Upgrades are meaningless. As you increase your stats, you power through the levels, at which point the monsters all have higher stats. This means that with like even 7 upgrades to your main weapon (a shiny, golden upgrade), you're still fighting enemies that take 2 or 3 shots to kill. Eventually, at the end of an upgrade line you can specialize your weapon, but this specialization is a sidegrade, not a more effective upgrade. At least this is true of the 2 characters that I played to that point. I'm just not willing to play another hour to find out for two more.

3. Every level is the same. There are 2 main elements to a level: keys for locked walls, and shootable walls. You walk through the maze, looking for a copper, silver and gold key, in that order. Once you have the gold key, you find the exit and leave. Sometimes you might find an exit where you don't need all 3 keys.

Here's the thing: if any one of these things above were not an issue, I think I would have fun with this game. It can be okay for the levels to be repetitive if the enemies aren't, or vice-versa. In this game there's just enough similarity that I never felt as though I was making any kind of choice. Most survival games have quite boring enemies, but the upgrades significantly impact survivability and gameplay.

There are many classes, and the one special class that I unlocked was the elf. The elf has a homing primary weapon and a primeable secondary weapon. It sounds fun on paper, but because there is so little enemy, level or upgrade variation, it doesn't matter that the class was designed this way. The game felt too similarly to the other two classes I played.

Maybe these issues are alleviated after 25 minutes into a run, but having to play through such a 25 minutes every time is just not something I'm eager to do.

As a Gauntlet fan, I want to make a final note that I haven't seen another reviewer mention. There are a lot of mechanics from Gauntlet that this game does not adapt, but the one most worth mentioning is that the levels are randomly generated, and relatively small. For anyone who remembers, especially Gauntlet II on NES, the original game had great level design. Sadly, while these levels are serviceable, no individual level stands out or enhances the gameplay experience.

As someone who loved the original Gauntlet and very much enjoys Vampire Survivors, I really expected to at least like this. But surprisingly I didn't, and the reasons why are easy to explain. But first of all, is my review even valid? After all, I only have 1 hour in the game. Well if you're me, you'll probably say "no" because most games these days simply can't be reviewed in an hour. But this is the first game in recent memory that was so absolutely boring within the first hour, that I just couldn't play any more. Note that I only played single player. Here's why I didn't enjoy this game: 1. There is no enemy variation. There are 3 basic enemies: guy that takes 3 shots to kill, guy that takes 2 shots but is fast, and guy that takes 3 shots but shoots projectiles at you. There are very minor variations, like some projectiles which can be shot and those that can't, but that's the vast majority of enemy complexity. In addition to the basic enemies, there is an occasional elite enemy that has many more hit points and shoots several projectiles in a blast with a varying pattern. New levels don't introduce new enemies. You fight this same score of enemies at least all the way from levels 1 through (I believe) 6. The only thing that changes is their stats increase and their sprite changes. 2. Upgrades are meaningless. As you increase your stats, you power through the levels, at which point the monsters all have higher stats. This means that with like even 7 upgrades to your main weapon (a shiny, golden upgrade), you're still fighting enemies that take 2 or 3 shots to kill. Eventually, at the end of an upgrade line you can specialize your weapon, but this specialization is a sidegrade, not a more effective upgrade. At least this is true of the 2 characters that I played to that point. I'm just not willing to play another hour to find out for two more. 3. Every level is the same. There are 2 main elements to a level: keys for locked walls, and shootable walls. You walk through the maze, looking for a copper, silver and gold key, in that order. Once you have the gold key, you find the exit and leave. Sometimes you might find an exit where you don't need all 3 keys. Here's the thing: if any one of these things above were not an issue, I think I would have fun with this game. It can be okay for the levels to be repetitive if the enemies aren't, or vice-versa. In this game there's just enough similarity that I never felt as though I was making any kind of choice. Most survival games have quite boring enemies, but the upgrades significantly impact survivability and gameplay. There are many classes, and the one special class that I unlocked was the elf. The elf has a homing primary weapon and a primeable secondary weapon. It sounds fun on paper, but because there is so little enemy, level or upgrade variation, it doesn't matter that the class was designed this way. The game felt too similarly to the other two classes I played. Maybe these issues are alleviated after 25 minutes into a run, but having to play through such a 25 minutes every time is just not something I'm eager to do. As a Gauntlet fan, I want to make a final note that I haven't seen another reviewer mention. There are a lot of mechanics from Gauntlet that this game does not adapt, but the one most worth mentioning is that the levels are randomly generated, and relatively small. For anyone who remembers, especially Gauntlet II on NES, the original game had great level design. Sadly, while these levels are serviceable, no individual level stands out or enhances the gameplay experience.