The reboot of classics is a trend that often gives good exponents but sometimes ends up not doing justice to the originals and the tireless nostalgia of the taller players. Back in 1985 Atari launched a game for up to four players that dominated many arcade salons for its fresh, addictive and totally thought-out multiplayer
proposal. Gauntlet became by its own merits one of the best examples of its genre, the dungeon crawler in the most primitive sense.
Now, Arrowhead Game Studios , the same ones that shaped Magicka , dare to recover the immortal Gauntlet and adapt it to today’s times, with a versionin Steam at 19.95 euros that, despite being expensive, will please those who remember it and want to see it redone.
Diablo III, Path of Exile and other referents prevail today the genre of dungeons and hack and slash in aerial view to go along with other users in a cooperative way .
The new Gauntlet enters fully here taking advantage of the trends of this type of adventure where the incessant search for gold and objects and the quick click to make the maximum possible damage are the key to success. It is interesting to see how classic catacombs and castles have been remade, how balanced the characters
( Guerrero, Magician, Elf and Valkyrie ) and differentiated from each other, or how replay is sought at all costs to an adventure that will not last for the first time five hours. We will be careful not to shoot food (health), it also disappears.
Combining the skills of one or other characters, Thor, Merlin, Thyra and Questor, is not absolutely essential but it does help a uniform and trained advance for all types of enemy minions or damage nearby and at the same time the most resistant, huge and deadly bosses at the end of the dungeon.
There are four initial acts that are incorporated in this first version of the title, but we do not rule out subsequent updates that do extension, hopefully not payment.
The labyrinthine structure of the dungeons (caverns, palaces, razed cities, mansions, gardens, forests …) is well designed but often presents a single way forward. Full of traps and hordes, yes.
It is one of the facets that make Gauntlet effective, the enormity of the armies that will come our way, with battles that put more than thirty characters in combat, all active and sometimes overflowing and that do not let us reach the generators that do not stop invoking them. Playing with the elf and his infinite arrows or with the warrior and his short-range but forceful ax has little to do
with the wizard and his spellbook, for example. In addition, all the characters will collect runes and points – in addition to the essential gold to obtain new items of equipment and aesthetic personalization – that will allow them to improve their magical relics to prepare great supernatural attacks that save them from the most complicated situations.
Along with Normal mode, there is the Difficult mode and the Unfair mode, where the respawns-lives-are limited and the damage of the enemy
much more noticeable. Gauntlet invites to play again and again to improve the characters and customize them to our liking among a gallery of equipment and clothing items. Of course, we can travel alone if we do not want to connect online,
but the grace of it, like other dungeon crawler, lies in participating in cooperative games. To be able to be four players, although we will miss a voice chat, writing or some form of communication with our colleagues to ask for help, give directions or advice if we know the level, distribute areas and that kind of tactical plans that should be taken in all multiplayer co-op.
