Exit The Gungeon joins our beloved misfit gungeoneers following the events straight after Enter The Gungeon, despite this being a spin-off game you'd be surprised how fun this game is. However it is let down by a few mechanics that make the game more RNG than the previous game. (TL:DR Below)

Getting the elephant out of the room early, lets talk about the main mechanic that sets this game apart from Enter The Gungeon (which will be referred to as ETG from now on) which might turn some people away from this game unfortunately. Your only granted a single weapon, this weapon will change depending on how good or bad your playing which is determined by a combo. Each time you hit an enemy your combo meter will increase little by little and eventually start increasing the combo number. The higher the combo meter the better your weapon will be once it changes, however, once you get hit your combo resets back to 1. This mechanic would be fine if it was more finely tweaked, for example I could get a weapon from a combo of 4, and then receive the same weapon at a combo of 7. I'm unsure how this system works but it seems to me that it's a little unbalanced. But honestly I don't mind this mechanic, it forces you to try to adapt to your situation depending on what weapon you've got which, sure can make the game more challenging than it needs to be, but it's still enjoyable. Now that's out of the way...

You'd be surprised how different Exit The Gungeon is when it's turned into a 2D platformer type game, and with the way it's presented it does provide a different kind of challenge that ETG doesn't have. You'll be familiar with the mechanics from the previous title such as blanks and dodge rolling (which you can now dodge roll up and down). This title doesn't shy away from being difficult and challenging, however sometimes I feel like some of the boss attacks are simply insane to dodge.

There is a nice variety of different elevator and auto scrolling levels that keep the game fresh and exciting to play. Depending on which character you choose will depend on which route you will take, each character has their own route. Some of these levels are simply a few platforms whilst enemies spawn, whilst others are more fleshed out and have a risk of you falling off and taking damage. And some are auto scrolling levels either going up or running to the right, which adds some variety in the levels.

Considering this game is a spin off and not a fully fledged out sequel, this game reuses some of the music and sounds from ETG, which is completely fine by all accounts considering it's a spin off game. It's also nice that the developers added different music to the game as well, and that not everything from the previous game was just copied and pasted into this one.

There's still a lot of attention to detail in the pixel art style, the backgrounds are slightly animated and shows some of the enemies fighting against one another or sometimes scrambling to get out of the gungeon as well. Even the side walls are sometimes filled with enemies who are just standing there watching you ascend through the gungeon. The enemies that you encounter have all seemed to have a fresh new look to them, which again shows how great this development team is.

• It's still rather difficult
• Variety of different levels, include simple levels with a few platforms to auto scrollers
• A different experience compared to ETG thanks to it being a 2D platformer
• New bosses (with variety) and some you may recognize
• New music, as well as some reused music from the previous game
• Detailed backgrounds and levels
• Returning enemies have a fresh new coat of paint on them compared to ETG
• Not as addictive as ETG but still a lot of fun

• Randomly generated weapons every 30 seconds - 1 minute, provides a different kind of challenge that some may find more frustrating than challenging
• The changing weapons mechanic seems slightly unbalanced to what guns you get

• Lose a heart container upon purchasing some items (unsure if this is a mechanic or a bug)

Though some might find the changing weapon mechanic more annoying than others, it didn't hinder my experience with the game all that much, it may be more frustrating for some more than others. The bosses still provide a challenge, and the levels are varied enough to keep me wanting to progress throughout the game. If you're a veteran Gungeoneer then this game is a must have! If not, you still might find it enjoyable, but I'd suggest grab Enter The Gungeon first. Either way, I still recommend this product!

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[h1]Introduction[/h1] Exit The Gungeon joins our beloved misfit gungeoneers following the events straight after Enter The Gungeon, despite this being a spin-off game you'd be surprised how fun this game is. However it is let down by a few mechanics that make the game more RNG than the previous game. [b](TL:DR Below)[/b] [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Getting the elephant out of the room early, lets talk about the main mechanic that sets this game apart from Enter The Gungeon (which will be referred to as ETG from now on) which might turn some people away from this game unfortunately. Your only granted a single weapon, this weapon will change depending on how good or bad your playing which is determined by a combo. Each time you hit an enemy your combo meter will increase little by little and eventually start increasing the combo number. The higher the combo meter the better your weapon will be once it changes, however, once you get hit your combo resets back to 1. This mechanic would be fine if it was more finely tweaked, for example I could get a weapon from a combo of 4, and then receive the same weapon at a combo of 7. I'm unsure how this system works but it seems to me that it's a little unbalanced. But honestly I don't mind this mechanic, it forces you to try to adapt to your situation depending on what weapon you've got which, sure can make the game more challenging than it needs to be, but it's still enjoyable. Now that's out of the way... You'd be surprised how different Exit The Gungeon is when it's turned into a 2D platformer type game, and with the way it's presented it does provide a different kind of challenge that ETG doesn't have. You'll be familiar with the mechanics from the previous title such as blanks and dodge rolling (which you can now dodge roll up and down). This title doesn't shy away from being difficult and challenging, however sometimes I feel like some of the boss attacks are simply insane to dodge. There is a nice variety of different elevator and auto scrolling levels that keep the game fresh and exciting to play. Depending on which character you choose will depend on which route you will take, each character has their own route. Some of these levels are simply a few platforms whilst enemies spawn, whilst others are more fleshed out and have a risk of you falling off and taking damage. And some are auto scrolling levels either going up or running to the right, which adds some variety in the levels. [h1]Music[/h1] Considering this game is a spin off and not a fully fledged out sequel, this game reuses some of the music and sounds from ETG, which is completely fine by all accounts considering it's a spin off game. It's also nice that the developers added different music to the game as well, and that not everything from the previous game was just copied and pasted into this one. [h1]Graphics[/h1] There's still a lot of attention to detail in the pixel art style, the backgrounds are slightly animated and shows some of the enemies fighting against one another or sometimes scrambling to get out of the gungeon as well. Even the side walls are sometimes filled with enemies who are just standing there watching you ascend through the gungeon. The enemies that you encounter have all seemed to have a fresh new look to them, which again shows how great this development team is. [h1]Pros[/h1] • It's still rather difficult • Variety of different levels, include simple levels with a few platforms to auto scrollers • A different experience compared to ETG thanks to it being a 2D platformer • New bosses (with variety) and some you may recognize • New music, as well as some reused music from the previous game • Detailed backgrounds and levels • Returning enemies have a fresh new coat of paint on them compared to ETG • Not as addictive as ETG but still a lot of fun [h1]Cons[/h1] • Randomly generated weapons every 30 seconds - 1 minute, provides a different kind of challenge that some may find more frustrating than challenging • The changing weapons mechanic seems slightly unbalanced to what guns you get [h1]Bugs[/h1] • Lose a heart container upon purchasing some items (unsure if this is a mechanic or a bug) [h1]Closing Thoughts / TL:DR[/h1] Though some might find the changing weapon mechanic more annoying than others, it didn't hinder my experience with the game all that much, it may be more frustrating for some more than others. The bosses still provide a challenge, and the levels are varied enough to keep me wanting to progress throughout the game. If you're a veteran Gungeoneer then this game is a must have! If not, you still might find it enjoyable, but I'd suggest grab Enter The Gungeon first. Either way, I still recommend this product! [quote]For more [b]brutally honest reviews[/b] go and follow [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/critical_reviews]Critical Reviews[/url] curator group [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34309008-Critical-Reviews/]here[/url].