Gauntlet Reviews
Gauntlet: Slayer Edition is still well-worth a play, especially for fans of hack-and-slash action. It's a streamlined dungeon-crawler with easy-to-learn combat and a great selection of time-tested characters. Things may start to feel repetitive after a while, but playing with your friends and taking breaks every couple of levels can help things feel fresh again.
It's certainly not the worst Gauntlet revamp there's ever been, but there's too little substance or variety to satisfy either new fans or old.
Although it isn't as deep as other action role-playing games out there, its simplicity is a big part of its charm. It is the kind of game I find myself trying to talk my friends into playing so that we can confront the hordes, battle giant bosses, and fight over gold.
Gauntlet is a polished game that does right by its predecessors. It's a great mix of both old and new school sensibilities, and despite the fact that the art style isn't as pronounced as it could have been, the actual core of the game is very sound. With the addition of online play to the series, this one will have legs for quite some time and deserves a spot in the Gauntlet pantheon.
There are moments in Gauntlet: Slayer Edition that shine. Whether it's successfully taking out a room full of enemies with your three co-op partners or, even better, single-handedly, because your friends already died and now they owe you a debt. These are the moments that people will play for despite its repetitive nature, but that repetition is ultimately the deal-breaker and the other issues only serve to reinforce that there are other games in the genre that do it better.
Gauntlet is an accessible co-op dungeon crawler that's at its best with a group of friends. It may be on the shorter side, but while it lasts it's an unpredictable and memorable experience. Hopefully this is only the first of many steps into the perilous Gauntlet.
Gauntlet is just as chaotic as its predecessors, but more refined and less haphazard too.
There are some neat little deviations from the formula here, but it's far too safe to linger in your memory once you've had your fill of slaying monsters.
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.
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.
Don't spend the $20 asking price, but consider it for a weekend jaunt if you can get a sale price on a four-pack.
An old-fashioned game in a newfangled era, Gauntlet does too much and too little all at once.
A retro-restoration that's fun with friends for a while, but the repetitive levels and a lack of any relevant progression set the stage for a mundane mix.
Gauntlet pays faithful homage to the '85 original, but doesn't bring the replay value expected in the post-coin-op era.
Sadly, the biggest problem with this whole package may be that Arrowhead has already made a truly great Gauntlet tribute anyway, and it was Magicka. There was a game with the freedom to choose its own first principles, while still having Gauntlet's mean-spirited playfulness baked into it. The difference, I suspect, is between being creatively inspired by the spirit and ethos of a legendary design, and being cast as a kind of well-intentioned caretaker.
Gauntlet: Slayer Edition on the PS4 is great fun with some friends, but the end-game consists of too much repetition and endlessly grinding for gold coins.