You've already read the other reviews. You already know this is supposed to be an updated and modernized verion of the arcade classic. You already know how they tried to make each character unique, with new elements: twin-stick shooting, MMO tactics, RPG progression, element-mixing magic. You already know there's both couch and online co-op.

And you know the other reviews aren't answering the one, fundamental question. One that's hard to vocalize without sounding trivial. It's about something that can't be measured, can't be analyzed or quantified. It's about a feeling, a memory.

Is this Gauntlet? Is this *really* Gauntlet?

And the answer involves a flashback. Sorry in advance.

1985 -- A group of 15 and 16 year-olds hits the arcade to get their videogame fix. They were a standard 80s group of teens -- the preppie, the punk, the jock, the girl. It was a group that didn't outwardly have much in common. But not long ago, they discovered by accident two shared passions among them: video games, and Dungeons and Dragons.

That day in the arcade, they saw something. Something new, something different, a game that spoke to both gamers in each of them. Pixellated swords and sorcery. Four, count 'em, four players at once. Four characters, four classes, four roles. All working towards a common goal: the next level.

These four unlikely friends each took a spot before the grand machine, somehow choosing characters in coordinated silence. No discussion, just unspoken agreement. The girl became Warrior, strongest of all. The punk became Valkyrie, protector of the group. The preppie became Elf, rogue and rebel. The jock became Wizard, cerebral and calm.

The next hours were epic.

Fast-forward to 2014. An old gamer sees an updated Gauntlet. He sighs, remembering Dark Legacy and other kind-of fun but failed attempts to update and recreate the arcade classic. But the reviews look positive, and YouTube videos show fun-looking gameplay. What the heck, there's even a sale on 4-packs.

The next hours were epic ...

The answer is yes.

Yes, this is Gauntlet.

(first Steam review ever, thanks for reading)

Have to say as a whole, the game was not a bad game - However, I would not recommend buying it.The "feeling" of the game was very old school gauntlet (prior to Gauntlet Legends & Dark Legacy), the visuals were beautiful, Relics are an awesome new spin on the classic "Bomb Potion" we all know and love, and a lot of the other new additions were cool (Death is actually a challenge now!), but that's about it.

Where this game falls short is... pretty much everything else - Like Seven Sorrows, really.
It is a very short, very empty, and very unfinished game with a pitiful amount of content.
If you were hoping for old school Gauntlet with loads of levels, prepare to be let down.

For one: There are only 12 levels, split into 3 realms (A crypt, a cave, and a volcano) - Each of these realms comes with 3 sets of 3 (Always a normal stage, a random generated stage, and an arena), and then a fairly easy to defeat boss to deal with as the fourth and final chapter level.

You paid $19.99 for a 3.5 Hour game (The original Gauntlet? The game this is based on? Pretty sure that game was endless honestly, it had HUNDREDS of levels - Even Dark Legacy took 12 hours to beat on 2 player and had 60 Levels, more than 5 times the amount of levels this game has!)
I've played the game solo, and I've played it through twice nearly with a group of 3 and a group of 2 .

Secondly, none of the levels pose unique challenges or puzzles - It's all the same paths just recycled and arranged. Even the randomly generated levels are similar, I have played the same randomly generated level twice in one playthrough! These levels are also COMPLETELY LINEAR!

Third, there's only four classes - Of course one can argue this is "based on the original" which only had four classes, but that leaves no reason for not expanding on and improving a working formula. More than one gauntlet game had more than 4 classes, why not bring those back?
Gauntlet 3 had 8 Classes, Gauntlet: The Third Encounter had 8 classes too.
Hell, Legends / Dark Legacy boasted 8 Classes, 8 Beasts, and 1 Secret character + Skins.

Fourth, there's also very little customization of said classes, as all growth is in a mandatory tree that grows as you play. Even the wardrobe and custom armours? there's only 3 full sets and a few extras, and all of them require playing on hard or higher to acquire (aside from the usually very ugly first set of unlockable armour).

mastering your character takes longer than beating the game - I finished the game at about 50% Mastery, and this is while consciously trying to actually master the character - I can't imagine how slow playing for fun would be. While this would be fine normally, what's the point in learning these new abilities and bonuses if you've already beaten the hardest obstacle in the game without them? Most of them are passive skills (like damage up +5%) so they don't change gameplay all that much.
Ah, this kind of ties into the next point as well:

Fifth, the game (much like Diablo) Expects you to just replay it constantly on higher difficulties to add replay value. And by higher difficulty, I literally mean that all that changes is
A) how much gold
B) How many generators there are.
C) How fast foes come out of them.
D) How strong these enemies are.

It doesn't unlock additional side paths or secret stages. No major differences on difficulties.

Sixth, Lack of co-op - The game is structured so you need to work together to persevere - Yet,
you get constantly rewarded for killing your teammates. It is almost impossible to find good teammates, the game works best if you KNOW you have 3 friends who will consistently play with you - Trustworthy players. While this can't be blamed on the game itself, it really ruins the multiplayer experience if you have bad luck and can't find a good team. Luckily, I bought this for a few buddies as well in the four pack - So I've experienced the good as well.

Seventh, Filled with bugs, glitches, errors, the odd crash, and other "half-finished" giveaways.

And finally, keys and potions reset - You literally lose all your keys and potions after every "level" (3 stages per), So stashing Potions and Keys to benefit you later? no point! You can't! But there's enough keys in every level so that you can get every single locked door if you have have a brain, so don't worry - You won't miss a single thing unless you try! It is so linear that you have to consciously TRY to not get everything (Though the only thing you can really collect is Gold anyway!)

TL;DR

If you like short, simple, unoriginal games with literally no replay value that have less than 4 hours of content? Gauntlet is your game! On the other hand, if you like games with at least some replay value, unique items, customization, Challenging puzzles, cool classes, and generally more than just a difficulty change for replayability? Do not get this game! Go play Gauntlet or Gauntlet II - Both of which are also better games than this, and give you the "Real" gauntlet experience. Or if you're not feeling the old games, try Gauntlet: Dark Legacy instead.

I can't say this game wasn't fun at all, but it's literally free-to-play quality.
It's not a bad game, but it is THE WORST Gauntlet.
It is not worth $19.99, and it is definitely not worth $59.99 for a 4-pack.

If you wanted a good ol' Gauntlet style experience, I personally recommend you do yourself a huge favor and buy either Gauntlet, Gauntlet II or Gauntlet: Dark Legacy instead, because in my opinion they are all far superior to this rendition of Gauntlet. Considering Dark Legacy is 14 years old, and Gauntlet II and Gauntlet are from the 80's - that's really saying something.

For what it's worth, it was pretty fun for the short four hours of gameplay we got -
But save your money. This is not Gauntlet, Gauntlet II, Gauntlet IV, Gauntlet: Legends,
or Gauntlet: Dark Legacy - This game might as well be called "Rusty Brass Knuckles."

Now, I know this is based on Gauntlet (the original), not Gauntlet: Legends, or Dark Legacy.
I've played the original gauntlet, and multiple other renditions in the series - Great series, really.
But I felt this installment didn't match up to the glory of other previous games, hence: negativity.
As someone who has played most of the series (aside from Gauntlet: Third encounter)
I strongly consider Gauntlet, Gauntlet II, Gauntlet IV, Gauntlet: Legends, and Dark Legacy
(if I didn't make that obvious enough) much better games than this rendition of Gauntlet.
(Which - much like Seven Sorrows - is less than four hours, has pretty generic gameplay,)
and made a promise of old school gauntlet action, then didn't deliver a quality product.)

As stated above, some people will enjoy this game - But I cannot recommend a 4 hour game,
for the price of 20 or 60 dollars. 5 or 10? I would agree. Most Indie games are that cheap,
and this honestly feels like an indie made game rather than a professional production.
I don't expect everyone to share my opinion, but a review isn't wrong just because you disagree.

Gauntlet is a classic envision of the dungeon crawler game from the atari/nes classic. Introducing a unique take for the classes with the controls, a more modern look and a multiplayer mode which is ridiculously chaotic while keeping true to the original concept of the game. Fans of the original will pick this up and immediately be immersed into a good time with their friends or random individuals online.

Right from the beginning the game will introduce players with some random retro sounds, and music thrown around remixed. Fans of the original gauntlet will immediately be hit by nostalgia. The game lets players choose from two control scheme, The keyboard and mouse scheme or the xbox controller scheme. The controls, however, are not bindable at the moment but does match up to today's control scheme in gaming and works out really well. Those that are new will have to be able to adapt to these controls which aren't hard to learn. The options of the game will have screen size; blood gore; and graphic options and even a retro mode filter which makes the game look like a 8 bit colorized classic look for the game.

The game lets the player choose four different hero each with their own control scheme style and abilities (referencing to the joy pad).
The Warrior Thor with the ability to spin attack enemies and rush/charge them able to tatically enter the fray of battle
The Valkarie Thyra is the defender of the team, with the ability to shield wall block and toss the shield at multiple enemies.
The Elf Questor is the agility of the team that can roll quickly and dodge from attacks while dropping mines and using focused ranged attacks to back the team in a distance.
The Wizard Merlin is the complex of the classes. By using three distinct elements and a combination of two spell press each. He can cast a variety of different spells. Varying From shielding spells to projectile damage and crowd controlling spells

Each of these four classes adds a unique play to the table as players traverse the dungeons. There will be four difficulties of game play. Options are Easy, Normal, Hard and Insane. There are a variety of kill challenges that players will have to complete while playing the game to earn a buff perk called masteries on their class in order to survive the difficulties. There are also some relic items' players can buy from the shop after earning enough gold in the game to carry to add more variety of skill to aid them in the harder difficulty along with some aesthetic load outs.

The game play with coop is quite simple. As the team moves along the map moves along with the team though players can, however, can get stuck into a corner if other players hug the opposite side and stay too far. There will be many things going on at once on the screen so some players might have to adjust to seeing the intense amount of action on the screen and keep an eye on their character otherwise losing sight of the character and dying will cost the team a coin which is the shared life the team uses. If all coins are diminished it is the game over, and the entire team will have to start from the beginning, however, coins can be replenished by attacking enemy summon portals. To win the stage players will destroy enemies, take down portals, discover secret with keys and open doors and reach the doorway to escape. Spamming buttons and shooting randomly at everything are also not advised because the only way to heal in the game is to eat food items and by doing so will accidentally destroy the holy chicken and potions.
At the end of each stage player will be rated on the gold collected along with the amount of kills and the one who performs above all will be crowned king. There are also only three bosses in the game and three different stages with 4-5 levels each, which can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to complete depending on difficulty and skill levels.

Players can play this game by themselves. However, it is highly recommended as a coop game, therefore, multiplayer is must especially since there will be all types of variety of undead and monsters to fight. From enemies that explode and damage all others or those that spawn from portals to shoot projectiles. Only with the help of friends and others will players conquer the gauntlet and reign supreme.

As for my opinion about the game to be honest? This game is ridiculously fun with friends and random players alike. It's a fresh look on a classic game while staying true to it is what more can I say. Online has been flawless so far with a few problems on connections. The game has some technical issue such as unbindable keys at the moment and reading the game from window language or detecting resolution. Those are issues that should be taken to the forums and not about the game in terms of review. And hard + insane mode is ridiculous. As in you'll die when the action gets intense, and you'll die many times. The game has some technical issue such as unbindable keys at the time and reading the game from window language or detecting resolution. Those are issues that should be taken to the forums and not about the game in terms of review. Prepare to Gauntlet.

+4 Variety of modes for your skill level
+ Sleek and refined envision of gauntlet series
+ Retro sound effects and music and epic music scores.
+ Control scheme for controller and mouse+kb is fantastic for each character each with thier own style of play
+ Some randomly generated content but not much.
+ Fast and sleek gameplay even on multiplayer, though there isn't lobbies but joining is easy with a click of a button.
+ Masteries to accomplish to benefit character with Relic items to purchase along with aesthetic
+ fast paced gameplay with hordes of variety of enemies
+ MULTIPLAYER + Second player on your pc can also join in.

- Getting stuck in corners of the map when a teamate decides to wonder off
- People going afk, luckily theres a kick function
- no online communication of any type. Can't type or talk to them in a mic
- unbindable keys atmyou can't change the setup i've tried.
- Good varieties of relic and items but not enough
- Who the ♥♥♥♥ destroyed my chicken? You idiot!
- Not completely randomly generated content
- can't join a game underway or started
- Questor is always crowned king that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
* he also steals my chicken
- Good amount of replay value until you max out every single mastery.
- Some players having problems with display, reading game language and unbindable keys, they're ixing it.

Feel free to check my steamgroup and follow curator if you enjoy the review.
Reviewed live twitch.tv/kenuty
YT video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28IFE3IgAOw&feature=youtu.be

So Posted a review for Gauntlet a while back but it wasn't received to well, and they are now putting this game on sale for daily deals so I made a few changes and reposted. hope this one is more helpful. It has no issues or bugs that I have experienced. I have only played a little bit on my own most of my time spent in game was co-op with my wife. For me the entire reason to even play Gauntlet is to do it co-op. In co-op even though you are working together to complete the level there is also a bit of competiton. You strive to get highest kills, most gold, and also to obtain and keep the golden crown which flies off every time you take damage(and I mean flies off, sometimes across the screen). Each character has a unique and individual feel to their combat and attacks. My only regret is that it's not longer(beat the game in about 7 hours). However replay value comes into play with completing different difficulties and experiencing the combat and skills of the other characters. I definetly see myself playing through the game two to three more times.
I don't regret spending $20 on this but %50 off would make it about right I think.

Oh and I could probably live longer and complete the levels with more ease if my wife didn't love being the archer, shooting every piece of food that shows up, stealing all the gold, and using all the revive tokens! She is lucky I love her!!!!

Gauntlet- 7/10
wife- for better or worse, richer or poorer, food or no food!

tl;dr -
+ Faithful to the series
+ Some randomized generation
+ Dynamic design and enviroments
+ Updated and fun to play charaters
+ Incredible fun with friends
+ You get to chop through hordes of enemies
+ Watch your friends suffer because you shot the last Food (HP refill)
- Lack of potions, replaced with purchasable temporary boosts
- Game is fairly difficult, even on the easier settings (but is this really a negative?)
- No changing character/players mid-game (have to quit back to lobby)
- Main fun comes from playing with friends / No chat to others can be fairly hard


If you've played the original gauntlet, the dark legacy version, or perhaps one of the arcade ports, you will find yourself in love with this game. That said, people new to the gauntlet series can also find a lot of love for this game. This game takes gauntlet back to it's arcade roots with a few modern twists.

If you're new to the series, A breif overview:
Gauntlet is a cooperative top down beat/shoot/magic/death them up game where you and up to three friends traverse increasingly deadly areas searching for gold through death bringing traps and hordes of enemies in an effort to complete the Gauntlet and earn power and riches beyond imagination.

If you're one of the people who only cares for gameplay, prepare for a treat. Gauntlet brings back the main 4 characters from the previous games, who have each been amped up beyond what abilities they had previously been seen with:

First comes the warrior - Rough, Tough, Break Through & Beat em up. Two handing an axe allows the warrior a wide melee swing and devestating damage. He can also preform a spin attack, cleaving enemies all around him. Great for taking on those hordes of skeletons who just can't seem to leave you alone.

Next is the Valkyrie - Strong, Agile, and willing to take any measure to get her revenge. The Valkyrie uses a spear and a shield, able to dash through enemies while blocking her opponent's attaks. She can throw her shield Captain America style with her special and oh is it a devestating move.

Thrid comes the Elf - Long Range and Quick as the wind. The Elf is an archer who can utilize rapid fire arrows, precice piercing shots, and even small bombs he can place at his feet. And if enemies start to encroach he comes prepped with a dodge role to quickly reposition and wreak havoc on his foes.

Lastle comes the Wizard - Spells, Spells, and more Spells. The character to see the greatest update from their old age counterpart, the wizard now has access to 9 different methods of attack. From chain lightning to freezing orbs to massive fireballs to electricity bubbles, the wizard finds himself the most versatile of the 4 heroes, although he is the weakest in HP.

The game plays just like the classics, with a multitude of enemies and chain attacks that leave you feeling like a total badass. This game is enjoyed far more with friends, though single player can be a great challenge if you're feeling brave.

The game is not without some slight negatives. It lacks the possibility of changing your character color (to my knowlege) as seen in the Dark Legacy iteration of Gauntlet, leaving me without the possiblility to play as my classic red elf. (warrior is set to red, valkyrie to blue, elf to green, and wizard to yellow) The potions that used to be screen nukes or destroy death have been removed, replaced with artifacts that you can purcahse with your gold in game (no microtransactions as of yet - and never i hope) that grant temporary boosts to stats. While a nice twist I just can't get past them removing one of the most iconic abilites in Gauntlet.

Overall, this game is a gem, and definatly worth the asking price. Whether a fan of the series or not, you can find good fun in this game. If you're unsure if you want to purchase it, know that it is a game aht is a lot more fun to play than watch.

Good luck in the Gauntlet. and please.... Don't shoot the food.

If you can remember this game the first time around you're probably like me; couple of kids (in thier bed right now), a penchant for all things mystically nostalcic and incredibly thinning hair. Not 40 yet though ...

In short the original was awesome. I remember it taking an age to load (on the speccy) and then spending HOURS with my best mate killing ghosts, skeletons etc. etc.

The reboot definitely lives up to the playability of the original, though times have changed. I'm running it on a machine that makes my 128k speccy look like the first wheel and my partner in rendering 'bum kicking destruction' is my good lady wife.

To be honest, we're not that far in to the game, having only completed the first two scenarios but we've experienced, in no particular order; edge of the seat tension (thanks Death!), tactical analysis, acute tactical deficiencies, where the hell is the next chicken dinner?, smoke breaks, dying (a lot), spamming the B button to do Thor's whirly thing, shouting, heatedly debating, the children, halfway through play, spilling juice all over their bedroom and an EPIC amount of GOLD. This is what a game should be all about :)

Being a Diablo III player I thought that this would be the usual kinda romp through a dungeon with no particular level of difficulty, however, I was totally wrong. This game is hard - playing it solo on normal with Thor will get you killed fairly quickly. Like other games of yesteryear you had to learn them especially when soloing, so I was pretty chuffed when the missus stopped on WoW and decided to have a bash. Better. Much Better.

You really get the benefit of the differing abilities of the characers when you play as a team. We were playing as Thor & Questor (Tank & Damage respectively) and were pretty effective at knocking out the generators/portals or whatever you want to call them.

Hard on two player, No. Challenging, Yes. but that doesn't mean it's not FUN. I've thorougly enoyed the last 3 hours of play and if it wasn't for my eyes about to dry out, I'd probably be on it for a few more tonight.

By comparison Diablo is a bit of a cake walk, if you really want something to get your teeth into, then give this a go, I double dares ya!!!

P.S. I bought the 4 pack which I think is really good value for money. If you're gifting, you'll have a lot of fun with whomsoever you send it to.

P.P.S The kids bedroom carpet is ok ;)

Merry looting!


Fudge

I grew up with Gauntlet, but alas.... this version has sadly mucked with the formula a bit and made it a bit more like Diablo and other grinders, as to be nearly unrecognisable. In fact, it's probably closer to the classic "Smash TV" in gameplay - which is not bad, per se, but it doesn't resemble Gauntlet much.

Most of the classic gameplay elements are there, but some have been meddled with while others are notorious by their absence. The characters play far differently now - to be completely different from the arcade original. The warror and valkyrie can't shoot, and the wizard has a bunch of spells which can be selected by confusing street-fighter-like button combinations. Also the way magic works in game is not like the original, owing to a relic system that lets you buy types of magic for in-game gold. The enemy generators are fewer but now take excessive hits to damage. Death is more of a nuisance than he ever was, and now ALL the food is vulnerable to being shot.

As for level design, the rooms are rather too large and you can avoid most of the nasties by running in circles. It's not very claustrophobic and Gauntlet-like at all. Also granted that the game likes to lock you in arena battles is where this game borrows more closely from Smash TV than Gauntlet.
The inclusion of the crown is a welcome addition (like classic Gauntlet II's "it" creature), as are the exploding barrels. Some of the other room elements (moving blocks, lava cranks) don't add much to the game at all and just get in the way of the fun.

I understand the desire to update an old game, but sometimes going crazy and introducing a bunch of cool new things that don't really work together can really imbalance the fundamental gameplay, and that's what's happened here. As it stands as a game in it's own right, it's certainly fun during multiplayer -- if you can bear being the slow old wizard while everyone grabs the gold before you do. Also the boss fights are a bit of a let down... I had to figure out how to kill the first one, and having to solve room puzzles isn't really what Gauntlet is supposed to be about. Just let me hack'n'slash them, thanks.

My fear is that the game will not have much lasting appeal - save for those who love grinders. There are not so many levels and there are no infinitely generated ones like the arcade game. It's just going to become a grindfest for masteries, new character clothes and relics pretty quickly. To top it off, the character speech in-game gets really REALLY repetitive, and the score leaderboards have been plauged by cheats.

It's not a bad game,... in fact it's fun for a while, and will grow on you if you give it a chance .... but it's just not a great game.

The original Gauntlet from 1985 was one of those genre defining games, that was not only one of the first really fun co-op games I ever played, but also was the predecessor to many classic dungeon crawlers we know today like Diablo, Sacred, Path of Exile, Magicka, Baldur's Gate, Dungeon Defenders or even instance dungeons of World of Warcraft. Spawning a classic sequel & several modern remakes on the consoles, Gauntlet has endured the decades, although the modern 3D versions failed to capture the feel from the originals for me. So here we are in 2014 with another remake, one making the bold claim to the title, simply 'Gauntlet', has a lot to live up to!

For those familiar with the original games, first time you start you will be hit with a good dose of nostalgia. Retro sounds from the original are remixed into the modern music & effects, the logo & look all feels familiar but fresh. Great sound really sets the scene & gets you pumped! I liked the graphics look & the lighting, not super HD but clean and easy to see what is going on. Monster designs were also well done.

All the trademark Gauntlet features you expect are included, ranging from the 4 well defined character classes, the puzzle like mazing map designs, lotsa gold!, keys, turkeys (& friends to steal them :p), potions, jump platforms, spawners, grim reaper & the awesome narrator telling the classics like “Warrior needs food .. badly!” & “Wizard is about to die!”. All this feels authentic & refined, honouring the originals faithfully, but there is also many new features & enhancements.

Besides the obvious move into 3D, all the characters have got new moves & upgrades. Each has 3 attack types, plus ability for 2 Relics (basically power-moves), each using unique controller configurations. You can combine your attacks in different ways, & also with other classes based on the situation. Most moves have both strengths & weaknesses so the right selection (plus aiming & timing) is key to survival.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=318842086 Basic character class are as follows:

* Warrior (Thor) is great in mowing down large groups, although weaker against ranged, hard to excel at but tough overall.

* Valkyrie (Thyra) is good defender with shield, also versatile & powerful offensive moves, but weak destroying spawners.

* Elf (Questor) is fast & nimble able to attack from almost any range, good AoE bomb damage for groups but needs space to operate effectively.

* Wizard (Merlin) is the most complex, yet highly adaptable class, with 9 spell combinations both offensive & defensive, it can be seen as over-powered but requires a lot more skill to play.

(There is more to each class but it gives you a rough outline.)

Adapting to the battle is fluid & fun to control though & when mastered, combat can become epic! The combat control system is simple by many modern game standards, but it’s really exceptionally balanced, intuitive & accessible – one of the strongest features of the game!

Each character class independently can gain 72 Mastery Levels (XP levels) which will unlock perks & upgrades to progress further on the Hard or Unfair difficulty. Each difficulty level needs to be unlocked for each character & higher levels do offer a really intense challenge. This adds a lot of replayability as does the many in-game ‘grindy’ achievements you can earn at the end of each level that give you buffs or boosts. There are some cosmetic items you can purchase for the coins you earn in the dungeons, to change the look of your character. There aren’t very many though. Likewise, there are some (few more) Relics, but overall there isn’t a lot of selections for those wanting high level of customisation.

Despite all the positive design choices, the authentic feel & just plain enjoyable co-op gameplay, Gauntlet has one fatal flaw … the lack of content, specifically the number of dungeon levels.

There is 3 zones each with 4 dungeons, some multiple levels, but overall only 30ish levels in total. This includes 3 boss arenas that have no exploration. This will only take 4-5hrs to play through Solo @ Normal. The original Gauntlet I/II had 100s of levels (if memory serves), practically endless random dungeons to conquer. See how far you could survive with your buddies, but you just don't get that feeling here.

Replaying levels for each character & difficulty level is fine, but with so few levels I have already started to memorise the layouts. I fear this lack of variety will make this a short lived experience with many gamers, when I could have seen it be my go-to favourite game for a while. I really hope to see lots of new dungeons or at the least support for community workshop maps or a random generated endless mode (100s of increasingly difficulty & larger dungeons) to provide a real hardcore on-going challenge to work with your friends towards. More items, perks, customised looks would all be welcome too!

Although I agree with having no chat in the game, having text chat in the lobby &/or hub would be most helpful. Currently, there is no way to communicate at all with other team mates if not in your friends’ list. Also, it is very limiting in public games when players cannot join in mid-level, you can only join when in a lobby – but who wants to wait in a lobby for that elusive 4th player to drop in, or to go back to lobby every time to find another player when someone drops mid-level? It’s not a smooth experience & comes off as rather basic, along with making it very hard to get a full team together. Matchmaking does seem to work well at least.

Playing with friends is an absolute blast & with so much else done right the limited content can be ignored (for a while) along with the online multiplayer limitations I mentioned above. It's a supremely enjoyable experience. Whether you have played the originals or not, this is a solid action dungeon crawler that succeeds in recreating that uniquely 'Gauntlet’ experience.

Find some friends & have some fun! Dibbs on Valkyrie .. and … No destroying the food! :)

I wont recommend this game to someone looking for a Gauntlet game, but if it's on sale for like $10, id say go for it.

On one hand, the game isn't a "bad game," except for the fact that there are only three areas, which was an enormous disappointment to me when i walked forqard and back thinking i had just missed them. On the other hand, this game is not the Gauntlet you probably know and love. The whole new character design thing is lame, Gauntlet didn't need that type of gameplay.

Then theres the part where there really aren't any items because you get these sort of bonus skills (which are the only thing you use gold for) which are activated by potions (which is the only thing you use potions for). Keys don't roll over after you've completed a level, and neither do potions, and theres really no reason to ever worry about having the exact number of them, you might just miss one or two doors with some gold behind them, which is relatively pointless and not even remotely exciting anyways.

It feels like someone who hasn't played Gauntlet much just took the project and went "Hey, guys, hear me out, I think people want this kind of game!"

All things considered, I didn't go through it hating my life, but I would give it a better ratying if it didn't pretend to be a Gauntlet game. And, again, why so few areas, that really bugs me. I feel like if I paid $10, or $15 i would be okay with it, but I didn't, so I'm not.

I hesitate to select "no" on this, but I guess I wasn't sure what to expect before I began playing it. Needless to say, I approached with optimism.

I played the hell out of Gauntlet Legends way back on my N64 with my brother and sister, as well as some of Dark Legacy. Although this game has upgrades you can buy ("relics", kind of like constant passives) and a small amount of persistence, there's a lot that doesn't work in this iteration of a classic.

-This game is short.

-The bosses are easy.

-Teamwork is non-existent in most PUG scenarios (and anti-team actions are even actively encouraged).

-The latter fire/hell-themed dungeons are depressingly boring and empty; devoid of even minor details.

-There's literally nothing to unlock as you progress except for ugly skull-obsessed cosmetics and minor passives: no new hero classes (jester?) or full reskins (like the minotaur from Legends, for instance)... not even the ability to change your colour. Maybe a skull helm though; well done, hero.

-DID I MENTION THE SKULLS-ON-CLOTHES THING??

My biggest gripe though: there is literally no reason this game had to strip out the numerous advancements of the formula established in Dark Legacy and Legends. Those were damned good games (but nostalgia may be strong with this one), and in their place we get a shallow experience wearing the skin and spinning the axe of Gauntlets of yesteryear. It had some potential but feels like the ball was dropped.

TL;DR: It's still a decent arcadey chop-em-up, but I'm left feeling like I got (another) half-finished Kickstarter project which promised big and delivered nothing. Legends and Dark Legacy moved the formula forward, to great success. This one has moved the ball back to the 50-yard line for no conceivable reason. I can't figure out what the idea was, here. If it was intended to be most like the old Gauntlets, why don't you constantly lose health? Make up your mind!

It's alright, maybe worth getting on the cheap, but I think my friends and I were a little underwhelmed and lost interest quickly.

We'd all played Gauntlet back in the 80's, and while this does generally stay true to the basics (characters, keys, potions etc), the level design just seems lazy and linear. Linear's not a bad thing in games, but in this instance it takes an already simple game and points you forward. With limited character attacks that soon become repetitive, and only the illusion of character skill trees/progression, it all adds up to you thinking you could spend your time better elsewhere.

The levels are split into 3 sets of 4, with each of those 3 sets having it's own theme. One of those themes is mostly dark caves where the only light source is a slight glow around your character, which doesn't really add to the atmosphere, it just makes it annoying to navigate. Each themed set is also very samey.. I think they've been a bit lazy and could have not only put ALOT more levels in, but also more variety. Kinda feels like a tablet game in that respect.

On the plus side, it's a bit of fun with friends, especially with the difficulty up when in rooms where you get swarmed, but unfortunately it mostly lacks any real frantic play.

If you like working on Achievements, you'll find a third of the achievements are for playing very badly, another third for progress, and the last third for playing way more than you really want to.

I'd give the game a neutral rating if I could, but in honesty I don't think it has enough to recommend it.. seems like development was a bit lazy, although it's not buggy or anything.. just design choices really.

Sir Faulty's Scorecard

Personal Rating: "Worth purchasing"
Traditional Rating: 7 out of 10
Genre: Isometric Action Role Playing Game for up to 4 players

Don't shoot the food!

Revisiting classics from the past can often be a tricky business. For each successful reboot (take the new Tomb Raider for example) there are more often than not a host of clunkers. Conker Locked and Reloaded, Golden Axe - Beast Rider, Shadowrun the RPG that morphed into a terrible multiplayer FPS and the Bomberman reboot are just some of the failures that failed to capture the imagination and the magic in the same way the originals did. Where Gauntlet manages to fit into all of this depends on how rosey those nostalgia-tinted glasses of yours have become. Gauntlet has seen its fair share of reincarnations over the years since the classic 4 player co-op arcade game debuted in 1985 with not all of them being entirely successful at achieving what they set out to do.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=320284128
This latest incarnation by Arrowhead Game Studios , the guys that already made another Gauntlet type game called Magika, are on hand to give us a modern day remake of the original arcade classic giving players the chance to revisit the spoils of the often fettered and restrictive dungeons from the original as hoard's of fantasy-based monsters swarm your character in ever increasing numbers the further down the line you progress. As a modern day game, Gauntlet may appear almost archaic to the gamer who has little or no connection to the series. There are no RPG builds here to tinker with as each character from Thor the Warrior, Merlin the Wizard, Thyra the Valkyrie, or Questor the Elf each have their own unique strength and weaknesses. The player is given no option, just like the original, to play mix and match with their character builds.

Some things have been tinkered with and changed for a modern day audience. In the original, if any of the players died they could immediately insert another coin to rejoin their friends in the adventure. This allowed players to continue on provided they had enough coins in their purse. In the remake the party is started off with five skull coins which any player can use should they meet their end. More coins are slowly built up through a progress bar onscreen which does mean all parties playing together need to be a bit more tactical and keep an eye on each others health since this sharing of coins can often have the unintended effect of having your weakest player consume all the coins thereby ending the games playthrough. The original Gauntlet featured no bosses but since boss-battles have become such a staple of the RPG cannon in recent years the three bosses that bookend each of the three short chapters can often be grueling and tough fights as enemies are spawned to aid the particular boss in battle.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=320284128
Like the original some things do make a welcome return. One of these being the sharing of food. Food increases health for the wounded but also increases the health bar of the unaffected provided they collect a certain amount of it. Like the original, depending on the willingness of the players to co-operate by sharing food and luring monsters into places where they can be engaged and slaughtered more conveniently will greatly enhance your parties chances of success. If you have a stubborn player on board who is there to "troll the food" you may be in for a bit of a rough ride (although there is an option to kick the player from the game provided you are the host). Once again it is possible like in the original to accidentally damage the food available in each level so that no one can consume it (thanks to one of Questor's, Valkyrie's, Merlin's or Thor's rouge arrow, shield, fireball or spin-attack's) which can have the drastic effect of changing the tides very quickly on the more harder difficulty settings. Death, and its icy grasp, also makes an appearance and while practically impossible to kill is best avoided by staying out of his radius (a blue haze that emanates outwards) as coming into direct contact with this will result in instant death. The original Gauntlet is also noted for its narrator so it was great to see him make a comeback with most of his original quips intact such as "Remember, don't shoot the food!", "Elf – shot the food!", and "Warrior needs food – badly!"

Gauntlet is an incredibly short adventure but given its current price that argument does become rather moot. Three chapters with four acts that take no more than 45 minutes to clear should see most parties finishing the game in just under five hours. One can progress further on with the party by simply upping the difficulty level to the next tier. If I have some complaints it's that there is very little enemy variety on display during each chapter and until that chapter closes and you move onto the next you will be fighting spawns of the same enemy over and over again. Also the games camera is drawn so far out of the action that during some 4 player co-op mayhem it becomes very difficult to distinguish what the hell is going on when the screen is literally swamped with enemies because everything appears so tiny. Graphically Gauntlet is rather underwhelming relying yet again on many of the genres environmental tropes such as musty cavernous trap-riddled tombs or fiery lava pits of fire and brimstone. Nothing here that you would have not already seen countless times if you are a fan of the Diablo series. My major gripe with the game is probably the multiplayer lobby, which must filled with all four players, if you want the full experience. There is no drop-in, drop-out functionality here and often you can create a game in the lobby and wait eons for other interested parties to join you provided you haven't already sent out invites to play to your friends.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=320218989

Conclusion

Gauntlet is a simple hack and slash fantasy game that would be pretty much unremarkable if it were not for its 4 player co-op. As a single player game it's a bit of a tiresome chore (even with its short length) but add three friends into the mix and it can often be blast to play. Gauntlet doesn't redefine the way we play co-op games but it does ensure those who tag along for its incredibly short ride - do have some element of fun!

+ Funny, witty, beautiful!
+ Fast-paced action combat!
+ Flawless combat dynamics!
+ Every class plays differently! The Wizard skills are sort of like Magicka!
+ A BLAST to play with friends! Great synergy between classes!
+ Although designed to be played with a controller, works flawlessly with mouse and keyboard!
+ Good variety of enemies, and enemy skills!
+ Game mechanics are top-notch!
+ Thoughtful and very polished.

This game is a MUST for fans of the genre! Lived up to the expectations and more!

If you played and loved Gaunlet on GameCube, do not expect the same type of game here. This game is much more challenging and expect failure at first on higher difficulties. This game is designed with team coordination in mind. At Normal or Easy difficulties, the game is easy once you get the hang of it. But at Hard and Unfair, it becomes very challenging to play solo or with an uncoordinated team members since you have limited lives. This game is best played with friends or other people. Though it is doable even on Unfair difficulty, I would not recommend playing this game solo.

There seems to be some imbalance amongst the classes. Archer and Wizard are arguable the most reliable classes on Hard or Unfair difficulty due to their ability to kite. Valkyrie would be a close third with his overpowered spammable lance thrust and shield block. And Warrior is definitely the runt of the liter due to damage and survivability issues.

Warrior offers the least overall damage and the most difficulty avoiding damage while in combat. His weak attack is appalling and his strong attack is comparable to the Valkyrie's while being slower and having a smaller area of effect. The only redeemable quality about the Warrior is he unlocks a low-hp regeneration perk and he has the simplest control design.

Wizard has the most complex kit design requiring 2 button combinations between 3 buttons to determine your spell cast. (XX, XY, XA, YY, YX, YA, AA, AX, AY). They offer a lot of utility, have comparable sustained damage and a decent kit to kite once you get used to switching spells on the fly, and unlock a shield that blocks damage after 16-20 seconds of being untouched. Wizard has essentially no burst but plenty of ways to dish out damage over time.

Archer is in my opinion the easiest to use with high burst damage from his bombs, low sustained damage, and a nice roll dodge; just imagine playing a MMO and mobbing monsters.

Valkyrie like I mentioned earlier has a ridiculously power strong attack which offers high amounts of sustained damage; the tradeoff is he's vulnerable to getting hit if he just spams the attack. The Valkyrie unlocks a powerful perk which makes him very durable at low health.

The leveling and gold system definitely seems a bit bland. You can buy relics which are temporary perks you can use with potions and new gear but the gear is purely aesthetic. I do find it interesting that you "level up" by unlocking achievements (eg. killing 10,000 monsters, breaking 500 props, etc) which will give you various benefits. It seems kind of silly that you unlock some perks for dying. Some perks have 3 tiers, Bronze Silver and Gold. Each is just a slight upgrade over the previous perk. The time it takes max out all the perks is at least 30 hours on a single class.

I would estimate the average playtime will be around 20-40 hours for a person who enjoys this game. After 40 hours of personal gametime, I would say the game is definitely better played with friends. Though public rooms are available, the experience is nowhere as fun. My biggest concern is that the game will lose replayability once you become better at it and master every level on Unfair difficulty since there is a limited amount of actual content (you can speed run through everything on Easy in probably 2 to 4 hours).

Overall, I would give this game a 7 out of 10. I would say the game's good, but not great, and very fun while chatting with friends over voip.

Where can I really start? With the promise of the classic Gauntlet experience, as a remastered reboot, I came in with glinting eyes and an eager smile. The first levels I greatly enjoyed, especially playing in a group of 4. Unfortunately, I started to notice something sinister as the time went by. The level design, the enemy design, the bosses....it's all so lazy! the entire game follows the same formula. There is almost no deviation from this, and the exploration factor is zero. Using keys in smart manner is absent, the enemy variety is disappointly scarce, featuring what basically amounts to recolors of the same enemies: melee gore fodder, slightly tougher ranged casters, and brutes, along with minibosses. The lich I found to be pretty interesting, featuring a couple of neat attacks. Beyond that, the game had a gross blandness you normally need unsalted crackers to experience. Class design is horribly tilted, with Valkyrie having the ability to block, Warrior being a warrior, Elf being useless (seriously, his attacks cannot damage spawners--who made this decision?), and the ripoff Magicka Wizard (why is the wizard given 9 spells, in a hack and slash game, and then make only 2 of them do meaningful damage?). The game falls flat at a meager 3-4 hours, with no real incentive to keep replaying. The new relic system replaced the potions that we remember. These relics cost gold, and use a potion to cast. They range from making enemies not attack you to making enemies not attack you. And then, as a slap to the face, you can't gain any potions to use during boss encounters. Wtf? Why give us this illusion of progression? And the actual gear and DLC incentives are cosmetic only. Dropping 36,000 gold nets you a different colored cape! nice! There is a mastery system, but to get noticeable effects, you have to grind so hard (dying gives you bonuses to reduce your ability to die.... you're rewarded for bad play). All in all, this isn't the reboot we wanted, you're better off looking for a PS2 copy of Gauntlet Dark Legacy or even the original Gauntlet (stay away from that horrible mistake God of Wa-- I mean, Seven Sorrows). To its credit, it is not the worst thing I've ever played. It works well, isn't buggy, the netcode felt sound, and you might even get some giggles out of a 4 player co-op session. This game is just bland and felt lazy and uninspired the whole way through. But at least you can still shoot the food.

Gauntlet, not a game for the faint of heart...

But in reality you just need to have two things to play and enjoy this game - patience (I can't stress this enough) and a love for the classic 'Dungeon Crawler' genre, which has paved the way to many great games in this modern age.

However - you will need to understand what this game is NOT. It is not item / equipment intensive (no matter how much some players will complain), nor is it a game that currently contains plenty of end-game material - and NO, this does not give you the right to complain endlessly when you realise this.
If you are looking for these sorts of games - then you can play a game like Diablo or Path of Exile, because chances are; you will not be able to enjoy this game or understand the uniqueness that it presents.

So what sort of people would enjoy this game? 'Completionists', classic gamers, players who have a group of friends and want to enjoy a co-operative game together (re-experience the 'old days' where gamers would sit together and play on a console), players that have played the Gauntlet gameline since the very beginning, fans of 'Dungeon Crawlers' - the list goes on and on.
It is a game that immerses itself within local competitiveness (just like those times when you would battle your friends in Super Smash Brothers) as well as giving you a darker theme (for the glory of adult themes).

Truely a game that can unleash a multitude of emotions.

Do I recommend this game? Yes
Should you buy this game? Yes
Would you enjoy this game more with friends? Hell Yes!

So leave your ego at the door, sit yourself down and play some Gauntlet.

(If you were looking for gameplay and mechanics information - go here http://gauntlet.gamepedia.com/Gauntlet_Wiki)

--- EDIT --- 5/11/14

I have had a few messages saying that 'if I find this version of Gauntlet enjoyable - I must not have played any of the original games'. I laugh at these messages - and to refrain from any further pointless accusations, please refer to the below.

I have wasted many a 'gold coin' playing this game back in the arcades in the 80s (the original and Gauntlet 2) and I am currently arranging shipping to have the one of the original Gauntlet Arcade Machines - delivered to my house.

I have then spent many many hours playing the Nintendo version as well.
I have played the game on the Atari Lynx (Third Encounter).
I rampaged my way through number 3 - on the Commodore 64.
Legends, Seven Sorrows, Dark Legacy on Playstation 1 and 2 respectively.

Great game. Love the Classic mode that was a good idea on the devs. part. Brings back a lot of memories. Wizard spell making is pretty cool. Controller works pretty well for those crashing on couch days. This game is well worth the $20 bucks.

Online works well and my experience was this:

Warrior: "Warrior needs food - badly"

Elf: "Elf - Shot food"

Wizard: Wizard destoryed food

Valkyrie: ???????? (Running in circles)

Warrior: (I hate you guys. Can't wait for some bros to get home. So they can play this.)

Pros: The game looks and runs great. I haven't seen any bugs or had any crashes yet. It is very fun for the first 3-4 hours.

CONS:
It is extremely repetative.
The "puzzles" are easy and you don't have to think twice about using a key.
The characters AREN'T balanced. The melee characters need a complete rehaul. You can literately get stun locked when you use warrior. If you get hit once as the warrior, there is no way to escape and you can bounce around and get hit 2 3 sometimes 4 times and die. 90% of the time you are running away, kiting as a melee character.
THERE IS NO END GAME. You work towards your relic, which is the only thing you can customize besides cosmetics. BUT GUESS WHAT? You can't actually use your relic during the boss fights!! ALSO you can only use it 2 MAYBE 3 times during a dungeon with the way they have it set up.

All in all, it is a fun game for a couple of hours. Maybe a weekend fling. But there is absolutely no more then 7 maybe 8 hours of fun. $20 is too much. 6/10

Gauntlet doesnt have drop in play. The only way to get 4 people in one session is to sit in the lobby, but most leave after waiting a few secs making it very difficult to get a full party. In this version like the arcade there can only be one wizard or one fighter, that means often a player will leave if they cant be the class they want making it more difficult to form a full party. Its hard to make a full party now, let alone when it gets old noone will play it meaning that most people will be left playing it alone since without drop in it would mean sitting in the lobby for ages hoping even one person had the game installed to join. If someone quits mid level or if you have 4 good people but one quit and need 4, then you have to quit the match and start over, ugh.... Drop in during gameplay was the first question asked in the forum when it was posted on steam, no wonder it never got an answer :P

The camera is real weird in the game, it does not focus on your character, instead it shares the screen with all 4 players like an old game where people share the tv. This means often people can stuck in corners or cant move at all because of a wall.

The game works, the devs are active in the community. So there is that...
Rating: 7/10 Value: $4.99

I have yet to purchase a game with such excitement and high standards to meet my expectations, until I heard they were "updating" the old Gauntlet series. To put it short and simply this game did not deliver what a veteran Gauntlet player would've liked. Albiet, I was looking forward to something similar to Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and maybe that was my mistake.

Positives:
-Game runs well
-Voice lines are nice touch
-Artifacts (or whatever they're called) were new and interesting
-Reminded me of playing the original Gauntlet full through
-Sound effects of the elites sound exactly like the soundbit from Dark Legacy elites which made me nostalgia a bit
-I felt in full control with both the controller and mouse bindings except for one class

And now for the painfully long negatives:
-Firstly when I saw the opening I saw three areas to go to and figured it would expand maybe once completed, in a fashion to the Gauntlet spawn point would move you lower into the Gauntlet or take you elsewhere, but it didn't. Three very short areas.
-The areas themselves weren't something to be impressed over. A castle (which did look nice to be fair), a cave which is a boring excuse for no effort, literally two levels are just dark and you can only see your character with a bubble effect, and a cultist lair (in hell?). My 5.7 hours on record was all it took to beat it by myself.
-The sound would ALWAYS glitch out and become ear-wrenchingly bad anytime a spawner or a mass of enemies would enter your line of sight. Seriously? Half the game was comprised about that, this shouldn't be an issue.
-Monster spawners were a serious pain to get rid of at times. The only thing that "progressively" made the game harder was that some enemies would "enchant" the spawners so enemies came about twice as fast and playing by yourself make this much more tedious than need be.
-Wizard customization for keyboard was designed by an idiot. Left-click, shift, right-click to switch to ice. There's about ten numbered keys on top or a nice scroll weel on the damn mouse that were unused for pete's sake.
-The enemies were so uninspiring. What happened to the countless crazy monsers that were in Dark Legacy like treants, lizardpeople, mummified egyptians, spider-people, minotaurs, AND SO MUCH MORE?
-Money was worthless in this game. Money is meant to upgrade yourself to do more damage or survive longer, but no instead you complete "achievements" to unlock upgrades to yourself (such as more healing on food and more damage to enemies) while gold is meant to buy these somewhat pointless trinkets that cost WAY TOO MUCH TO UPGRADE. The items to "upgrade" your character such as armor and weapons are just different looking. Nothing new added other than asthetic. That is some cheap crap right there, I'm sorry.
-THE STORY IS UNBELIEVEABLY POOR! I'm sorry but I had no idea who any of the "bosses" I fought were and what the lore was. Who was this guy who wanted the three shards? Why did these guys have them? Who is Anul'Rekkan (or whatever their names were) and why is his sword so underwhelming in the final fight?
-Bosses weren't fun and were not even challenging. First try on them all and the final fight was a laugh. Be an archer and just ricght-click aim every enemy until he's done spawning them. Yawn.
-Also Classic verison makes you want to vomit with how bad it made the game look. Way too confusing to tell anything especially with the cultists' lair.


I really wanted to like this game, I did. I loved it in the beginning and was 100% stoked for the rest of the game. Yet, as soon as I got near the end I realized that I really didn't want the game to end like this. I expected mroe from Warner Bros. being on the titlecards. The only thing that would make this redeeming would be if free expansions came out to give you more areas to explore and items that actually were useful.

tl;dr 3/10 You quickly wish you were playing the original Guantlet more than anything.


EDIT: Since I intially put this review out (admittedly a bit hurried before I went to work) I have played more into the game, such as increased difficulty, more class expansions and more single-player and multi-player experience. As before I'll just start with what I noticed this time around.

I've got to say playing on a higher difficulty with friends you actually know is phenominal. True most of the fun came from how stupid we play, but nonetheless the credit is to how the game handled us. The Valkyrie literally just runs in and does damage to everything in pair with the Warrior to peel off damage from the Elf and Wizard. The combos were SO much more amazing when your team barely makes it out of a room alive and are rewarded with some gold and much needed food.

My friends I feel had more fun than me (due to my own reasons listed above) yet with the few bug fixes that came out today I really noticed the change, especially the chrashing on the Wizard class. No more time wasted on having to wait for someone to rejoin in and start the dungeon again. Game moves smoother and feels much more like an arcade with friends, so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you get a friend or two to purchase this game. For the $20, I feel like it's a decent price. I'd like to say maybe $15 just because of the lack of replayablity after your beat it and (understandably) yet to see changes to asthetic changes.

I feel I was a bit more harsh in my initial review so that's mainly why I came here to adjust it. I still have some audio issues with spawners, but maybe just because I'm hosting the game? I'm not sure really. If you're old enough to have played the old arcade or NES version of this game I'm sure you would feel right at home playing through. If you're expecting it to be Dark Legacy, don't remotely get your hopes up, because it's a completely different set of developers and they've chosen to go back to the game's old roots, which I rather enjoy more when playing with friends.

Altogether I say this game still has a ways to go to get me to change my mind of purchasing this game, but I do like it for what it is. Here's hoping to adding new levels in soon.

6/10- IGN
"It was okay."