As time moves forward and I continue to age, the Gauntlet series has periodically reemerged to remind me that I’m really not all that old. While naming some of my first games may date me, I can always look at the original 1985 release of Gauntlet and feel reassured. Even I can say that the series began before my time, and I really only discovered it just halfway through its current run at its 7th(!!!) release to hit the arcade. While this game was about as awkward as the rest of the 90s, it was undeniably addictive and ate a good portion of my allowance (in the form of quarters). The fact that you could save a unique ID to return to it in the arcade blew my mind. Ever since, Gauntlet Legends sequels have been a return to a fond pastime. Learning that the developers were returning to the style of the original game which was out of arcades before I even knew what arcades were seemed like a risky decision, but I'm never one to pass up a Gauntlet title and had to check it out.
They were the A team because A is the first letter in the alphabet
This release in particular is a meticulously-designed nostalgia bomb which really returns to the series' roots. I would liken keeping up with this series to watching the development of a child.--from its simple Atari stages, Gauntlet grew more intelligent before hitting the awkwardness of puberty in which it really began to try to define itself stylistically at the cost of actual substance. The artist design became very focused on color coordination among the characters and the enemies departed from simple goblins to more unique but ultimately mindless monsters. Now finally nearly 30 years old, I like to think that it has looked back and realized it was much happier watching Saturday morning cartoons before it started worrying about being cool.
Eventually you reach an age where it is ok to admit Lion-O is awesome again
It is a testament to timelessness of killing endless waves of skeletons and goblins within the confines of dark dungeons that Gauntlet is still releasing titles with very few changes to its now iconic formula. Much like the original arcade title, there is a ladder for completion times and gold earned in each level which you can try to reach the new high score on. A few novel features have been added to the typical leveling experience to diversify your gameplay, such as achievements for good things like skeleton kill count or bad things like the amount of useful items you have accidentally destroyed, which provide in-game effects such as making you better at killing skeletons, while having destroyed items give you a percentage of their total benefit. There is also a store where you can buy relics which can occupy one of two inventory spots as extra usable buttons set to the controller bumpers.
Don't remember this many bridges...
Rather than a color-coordinated cast of classes such as blue mages or red warriors of the Gauntlet Legends era, this Gauntlet has the same iconic cast from the original. One of the most satisfying aspects of the game is that these characters once again have a great deal of differentiation as did the original title. In fact, if I had to choose one aspect of this game I was most impressed with, it was the different playstyles for each character. This is something that I absolutely must describe in detail, since I think each difference really lends itself to the characters' fighting styles and makes them feel unique, not only on the screen and strategically, but even it the way you use the controller. It really feels like the developers recognize the use of controllers as a tool to interface with the game and didn't fall into many of the rote control schemes of the majority of games on the market. From a game in such a long standing franchise, it was very surprising to see this sort of innovation seamlessly mixed into its traditional gameplay.
Know your role
Thor the Warrior and Thyra the Valkyrie are the most similar, each with thumb buttons for a weak and hard attack. The third button for Thor is a spinning attack while Thyra’s is a quick spear dash. The greatest difference is their use of the right thumbstick, with Thor using it to direct a charging attack while Thyra uses her shield to block attacks coming from the direction you are pointing. Questor the Elf only uses one of the buttons for a quick escape tumble, which is good since you will have both thumbs on the thumbsticks constantly, using the left to move and the right to direct and endless hail of arrows. To accommodate, this control scheme, his bomb attack and charged arrow use the two triggers. Merlin has the greatest button use as three buttons represent different elements which he can use in two button combinations to create one of 9 different spells which are they cast in the direction of the right thumbstick.
Pretty easy to know how you should position when your character lacks a melee attack
While the series' development has changed hands over the years, it's hard to believe the same hands aren’t involved in some aspects of its design. The game menus have that sort of well-oiled, efficient feel that only iterative titles which have had time to repeatedly cut the fat from a familiar design can really develop. Opening public or private lobbies and jumping in and out of their people games is intuitive and simple, letting you get to slaying hordes of masters with as little lag time as possible. Controller detection immediately earned it huge points in my book. Gauntlet also provides what has now become a hallmark of the series, a central chamber containing exits to every level of the game which gives the completionist in you a satisfying feel as you open each new door.
Hard to focus on a midlife crisis when this is obivously the spider level
However, with all said and done, the Gauntlet franchise started showing its age a long time ago. Gaming has evolved the past 30 years and with it, player expectation. What may have appealed to gamers decades ago, like eating dots in a maze or fighting actually endless waves of monsters, isn’t quite the complex myriad of rewarding challenges that most games of the present provide. While there is a fun story and a ton of self-reference in the series, it's difficult to carry a game on nostalgia alone. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but battling infinite waves of skeletons can get really boring. Unfortunately the explosive walls, spike traps, and doors requiring keys don’t really spice up the experience.
Some doors can be navigated around and are there specifically to waste your key
Gauntlet is a throwback so massive that it has essentially circumnavigated the globe. No matter what age of gamer you are, chances are you have spent a great deal of time playing some iteration of the series. Bringing it full circle to its roots is extremely cool, and the developers thought of a bunch of cool ways to mix up the game dynamic. The online jump in play lends itself so naturally to Gauntlet’s arcade roots that it feels like the original title may have been designed with this in mind. That said, it is very much an arcade game in that it is low on story and really emphasizes combat and reaching for high scores on leaderboards. While it’s a nice diversion and extremely charming, Gauntlet doesn’t provide the same diverse and rewarding experience many modern games do. Much like an arcade game, it is probably best played with friends and without investing too much into the experience.
REVIEW ROUNDUP
+ Unique abilities and control schemes for each character
+ Lots of fanservice from way back to the original release
+ Easy jump-in multiplayer with friends or strangers
- Not much in the way of character progression
- Killing monsters is almost the only thing you do
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