I’ll begin by saying that this review should not be taken seriously: in fact, I don’t even know if you can call it a review. Like with Jet Set Radio (https://www.backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/456111/), I have given up trying to play this game because of mechanics I consider to be flawed to the point of making completionist endeavors fruitless. As such, little more than 2.5 hours have been logged, meaning there is no doubt I have missed out content that would better inform a real opinion.
So why did I quit on Enter the Gungeon? It comes down to one term: RNG. We’ve all played games that adopted Diablo’s loot system wherein beating areas culminated in a randomized treasure that was either groan-inducing or worth the trouble. Now, imagine that applied to multiple aspects of a game: the quality of weapons you get, the items you find (or don’t find), the layout of the map, the bosses, the bosses’ lairs, and enemy spawn points. Imagine all of those features lathered with scattershot probability and zero-sense of progression and you will hopefully see why I ended up abandoning ship.
As ETG is a roguelike, some fans may claim that I am simply not used to what are ultimately standard components of the genre. It is true that ETG is my first official entry into roguelikes, but a little research shows that what I am complaining about isn’t conventional amongst them. Yes, procedurally generated rooms are common; however, the range on their drops is definitively capped, and, more importantly, you get an idea that you are advancing forward. In ETG, neither of those things are present - one run can see you instantly acquire a flame-shooting shotgun that allows you to blitz right on through; the next can literally give you nothing, forcing you to try to make it to the end with only your starter pistol.
I cannot stress enough just how irritating this whole enterprise is. Player skill is thrown-out the window in favor of a dice roll that makes the difference between a grind-a-thon and smooth-sailing. Sure, you can technically engage in some form of strategy ala tactfully dodging and returning fire, but given the Bullet Hell frenzy of enemy (and boss) attacks, this, at best, drags the pacing of fights to a crawl (antithetical to the nature of schmups) or, at worst, makes them feel like cheat-fests, especially on higher floors where the defense and attack power of these monsters increases. It’s not that such brawls are particularly hard, it’s that the risk-reward ratio is inherently corrupted.
The combat isn't the only thing that takes a hit as a result of the RNG armaments. Exploration is severely discouraged since clearing chambers requires risking your HP in slugfests with swarms of creatures: why bother unveiling the fog of war when the rewards aren’t guaranteed to match the risks? You’re better off immediately engaging the head honcho upon finding the entrance to his/her abode than frolicking around the rest of the map in the hopes of discovering some secret or public cache; there is literally no point in blasting your way through demon-after-demon if you’re not guaranteed something tangible.
To counter the stupidity of this game design, Enter the Gungeon throws in a few alleviating elements, though you’ll quickly find that each of these holds severe flaws that undermine their very purpose! First are the presence of two stores: one on the hub surface, the other inside. The former sells new weapons with currency earned from beating bosses, but these just get inserted into the loot generator amidst the other useless schlock; the second are a variety of items, but these too are subject to the RNG governing the game as a whole, meaning one layout the vender can have healing items, keys, or new guns you desperately need, the other more inadequate junk.
Second is the coloration of contraband chests- you’ll quickly learn that the hues of depositories dictate the quality of their spoils. Once again, though, the chance-based apparatus combined with the limited number of obtainable keys makes the premise an inherent gamble: you’re going to waste time and potentially hitpoints looking for a lockbox, and then further use up (and/or spend money on) a latchkey, only to get a freakin’ crossbow after the endeavor.
Both these pathetic attempts at checking the RNG are degraded by an additional problem- the lack of descriptions on objects. With guns, this is tolerable since you can quickly surmise the power/spread of one via shooting it; with other weapons, though, it’s hit-or-miss. Examining any in your inventory brings up a description that may explain what it does, but just as often opts for a vague mythological blurb akin to a Pokedex entry. You’re better off consulting the wiki than squandering gold on something that may not even help your playthrough (whether or not that’s a valid solution for a video game is up for debate).
That vagueness extends to a lot of features in Enter the Gungeon. Besides a small tutorial that teaches the basics of jumping and shooting, you’re not given any instructions on other facets, like elemental effects or what to do about that weird guy in the sewer. Regardless, I don’t find this to be a particularly bad part of the game since those are minor in the grand scheme of things.
It’s a shame that the RNG taints things because almost every other aspect of Enter the Gungeon is solid. The sprite-based character models and medieval-flavored architecture bask under a dark rainbow of colored enviros, making for a ghastily vibrant world. The procedural algorithm does a decent job at freshening stages up each time you have a go at them, and the inclusion of numerous breakable objects is both surprising and welcoming, especially during shootouts. Combat flows fine (the number of guns at your cold dead fingertips has been covered extensively by other publications), and the 80s-esque arcade OST does a good job naturally transitioning between vestiges whilst keeping the adrenaline of firefights pumping.
That being said, I said “almost” for a reason- small gripes come up, such as the reused SFX for the aforementioned destroyable objects, minor ability variations between each of the controllable protagonists, the sparse story against the grand lore, and the lackluster design of most of the beasties (though the bosses look pretty sweet).
But even if these were resolved, they wouldn’t be able to overcome the faults I raved enough about earlier. Again though, this isn’t a legitimate review, and clearly a lot of people have had tons of fun with Enter the Gungeon and its randomness. I unfortunately wasn’t one of them. Maybe it’d be better with multiplayer….
So why did I quit on Enter the Gungeon? It comes down to one term: RNG. We’ve all played games that adopted Diablo’s loot system wherein beating areas culminated in a randomized treasure that was either groan-inducing or worth the trouble. Now, imagine that applied to multiple aspects of a game: the quality of weapons you get, the items you find (or don’t find), the layout of the map, the bosses, the bosses’ lairs, and enemy spawn points. Imagine all of those features lathered with scattershot probability and zero-sense of progression and you will hopefully see why I ended up abandoning ship.
As ETG is a roguelike, some fans may claim that I am simply not used to what are ultimately standard components of the genre. It is true that ETG is my first official entry into roguelikes, but a little research shows that what I am complaining about isn’t conventional amongst them. Yes, procedurally generated rooms are common; however, the range on their drops is definitively capped, and, more importantly, you get an idea that you are advancing forward. In ETG, neither of those things are present - one run can see you instantly acquire a flame-shooting shotgun that allows you to blitz right on through; the next can literally give you nothing, forcing you to try to make it to the end with only your starter pistol.
I cannot stress enough just how irritating this whole enterprise is. Player skill is thrown-out the window in favor of a dice roll that makes the difference between a grind-a-thon and smooth-sailing. Sure, you can technically engage in some form of strategy ala tactfully dodging and returning fire, but given the Bullet Hell frenzy of enemy (and boss) attacks, this, at best, drags the pacing of fights to a crawl (antithetical to the nature of schmups) or, at worst, makes them feel like cheat-fests, especially on higher floors where the defense and attack power of these monsters increases. It’s not that such brawls are particularly hard, it’s that the risk-reward ratio is inherently corrupted.
The combat isn't the only thing that takes a hit as a result of the RNG armaments. Exploration is severely discouraged since clearing chambers requires risking your HP in slugfests with swarms of creatures: why bother unveiling the fog of war when the rewards aren’t guaranteed to match the risks? You’re better off immediately engaging the head honcho upon finding the entrance to his/her abode than frolicking around the rest of the map in the hopes of discovering some secret or public cache; there is literally no point in blasting your way through demon-after-demon if you’re not guaranteed something tangible.
To counter the stupidity of this game design, Enter the Gungeon throws in a few alleviating elements, though you’ll quickly find that each of these holds severe flaws that undermine their very purpose! First are the presence of two stores: one on the hub surface, the other inside. The former sells new weapons with currency earned from beating bosses, but these just get inserted into the loot generator amidst the other useless schlock; the second are a variety of items, but these too are subject to the RNG governing the game as a whole, meaning one layout the vender can have healing items, keys, or new guns you desperately need, the other more inadequate junk.
Second is the coloration of contraband chests- you’ll quickly learn that the hues of depositories dictate the quality of their spoils. Once again, though, the chance-based apparatus combined with the limited number of obtainable keys makes the premise an inherent gamble: you’re going to waste time and potentially hitpoints looking for a lockbox, and then further use up (and/or spend money on) a latchkey, only to get a freakin’ crossbow after the endeavor.
Both these pathetic attempts at checking the RNG are degraded by an additional problem- the lack of descriptions on objects. With guns, this is tolerable since you can quickly surmise the power/spread of one via shooting it; with other weapons, though, it’s hit-or-miss. Examining any in your inventory brings up a description that may explain what it does, but just as often opts for a vague mythological blurb akin to a Pokedex entry. You’re better off consulting the wiki than squandering gold on something that may not even help your playthrough (whether or not that’s a valid solution for a video game is up for debate).
That vagueness extends to a lot of features in Enter the Gungeon. Besides a small tutorial that teaches the basics of jumping and shooting, you’re not given any instructions on other facets, like elemental effects or what to do about that weird guy in the sewer. Regardless, I don’t find this to be a particularly bad part of the game since those are minor in the grand scheme of things.
It’s a shame that the RNG taints things because almost every other aspect of Enter the Gungeon is solid. The sprite-based character models and medieval-flavored architecture bask under a dark rainbow of colored enviros, making for a ghastily vibrant world. The procedural algorithm does a decent job at freshening stages up each time you have a go at them, and the inclusion of numerous breakable objects is both surprising and welcoming, especially during shootouts. Combat flows fine (the number of guns at your cold dead fingertips has been covered extensively by other publications), and the 80s-esque arcade OST does a good job naturally transitioning between vestiges whilst keeping the adrenaline of firefights pumping.
That being said, I said “almost” for a reason- small gripes come up, such as the reused SFX for the aforementioned destroyable objects, minor ability variations between each of the controllable protagonists, the sparse story against the grand lore, and the lackluster design of most of the beasties (though the bosses look pretty sweet).
But even if these were resolved, they wouldn’t be able to overcome the faults I raved enough about earlier. Again though, this isn’t a legitimate review, and clearly a lot of people have had tons of fun with Enter the Gungeon and its randomness. I unfortunately wasn’t one of them. Maybe it’d be better with multiplayer….
ArcUwUeid
1 year ago