Gauntlet Review and Impressions

It looks like most reviews are busy on titles like Wasteland 2 and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor to give Warner Bros. and Arrowhead’s take on Gauntlet a whirl, but we’ve still managed to round up a few reviews and impression articles from the net for our readers to read.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun, scoreless.

That may well be familiar to anyone who has played Seven Sorrows or Dark Legacy, but from its chiptune menu music to its constant visual references, Arrowhead’s intepretation is certainly looking right back to the arcades and the start of the series. With a party of four, it’s an enjoyable diversion and the four classes are well balanced and complementary, but the traps, layouts and enemies aren’t quite disruptive enough, and even on higher difficulties the routine of combat tests endurance rather than creative solutions.

Hardcore Gamer, 4.5/5.

Gauntlet delivers a fun and challenging dungeon crawling experience that manages to avoid repetitiveness. Although it has some minor launch bugs to work through, they are easily overlooked. The best way to think of the Gauntlet series before this reboot was as an old muscle car. It provided great years with its powerful, uncomplicated nature, but it was little more than a rusty clunker. Much like a jalopy can become a classic, Arrrowhead has beautifully restored Gauntlet to its former glory and made it something you’ll be proud to take a spin in. Ride on, Gauntlet fans.

Unlockable Characters, 3/10.

Yes, the imbalance in characters can be avoided if you play by yourself, but who wants to play Gauntlet by themselves? Especially since there is practically no individual advancement, which leaves only the interaction with others to save it, just like the original Gauntlet. It wasn’t fun to play on your own, and while there were balance issues on a game from 1985, you don’t have to carry over the flaws to pay homage. Especially if you expect people to pay $20 for it.

Finally, Kotaku‘s Mike Fahley posted some impressions:

So far, Gauntlet isn’t a bad homage to the pixellated original. Adding in loot, equipment and special skills that unlock as you play make it lean a bit more towards a bare-bones Diablo, but the spirit of the 1985 arcade game lingers.