Enter the Gungeon

I've just finished this game to 100% completion, and feel that it's finally time to write a review for it.

Enter the Gungeon is easily best bullet hell game I've ever played. I'm not usually a fan of games that require good reaction time, as mine is normally terrible, but something about Enter The Gungeon manages to pull out the best in me. It's fast-paced, a roguelite, damage is *usually* your fault, has top-notch theming, and supports multiple playstyles to keep the game feeling fresh for a long time.

The general gameplay loop consists of entering a floor, shooting through rooms full of enemies, finding loot, and using it to defeat a boss before moving to the next floor. A standard run consists of five floors, after which one obtains the "Gun That Can Defeat The Past" with which to end the run. If one has collected all the "Bullet That Can Defeat The Past" components over the course of several runs, the final level opens where the character is sent back in time to their past with a specified set of items and a single bossfight. Each past is a reference to some famous piece of media, and they all feel unique enough to be fun to fight even as they remain the same every time. The real end of the game, though, comes after one has defeated all the pasts for the four main "gungeoneers," opening a sixth and final floor that is both long and absurdly difficult. Entering this floor is optional, but doing so allows for unlocking of secret characters and the game's "true ending" that I will not spoil here.

The difficulty is just right, though in typical roguelite fashion, RNG can and absolutely will screw you over from time to time. Luckily, however, it is usually clear within 3-7 minutes of starting the run, and the quick restart button on the pause menu means that you really don't lose THAT much time to bad first floors, even if they are annoying. It's a much bigger problem earlier on in your playtime, when you're not quite as fast at clearing floors as you should be, though even later on it still is probably the worst aspect of this game, especially if running a luck-dependent character.

Balance is pretty good, all-round. Enemy damage patterns are varied enough to not feel stilted, but learning how enemies attack is, like any other game of this kind, the single biggest thing you can do to "git gud." Most guns and items are useful in their own ways, and picking up something new usually adds that little change to your playstyle that run as you begin using it in new and creative ways. Almost nothing just adds a flat increase to damage or anything else that just makes enemies deader faster, though stat-altering items that do effectively just that do exist and are always a bit flat to pick up, even if they are universally helpful. Perhaps the most interesting thing done by the item system, though, would be the synergies. Synergies are a mechanic built into the game that changes how items work if another item is held. Most of these are references or jokes of some kind, oftentimes to gun-related media, but a simple example might be that a gun that was a simple rifle can start shooting three lower-damage shots that cause flame. Synergies are everywhere, and items that weren't great beforehand can easily become heavily sought-after treasures after picking up a synergizing item.

The game does have a co-op mode, though the second player is only allowed to be one co-op specific character. Mechanics work well during it, but the camera is obnoxiously terrible to the point of near-unplayability without a modded fix. The online remote-play suffers from the input lag that all steam remote play suffers from, which in a game where quarters of a second are vitally important, makes local co-op virtually the only acceptable solution. All that being said, though, I WOULD recommend the experience if one has a real-world buddy to pull over and the static camera mod to visualize the entire room rather than disorienting everything based on something the other player is doing.

I only 100% games I absolutely love. Enter the Gungeon is one of those games. Honestly, not that hard for a roguelike bullethell (speaking as somebody who has sunk nearly 1000 hours into games like Isaac), but immensely fun. I almost feel like this has a better pin on the fun/accessible balance level than games like Isaac (which, again, I have sunk nearly 1000 hours into).
I am not saying the game is easy, but getting a viable run going seems like less of a crap shoot, or at least something that can be discerned pretty early into a run.
I love moving in this game. I love shooting in this game. I love having fun with this game. You will almost certainly need to look up guides to 100% the game because finding some secrets requires either a lot of persistence or a lot of help. However, having fun is something anyone can do without much help (again, speaking as somebody who put almost 1000 hours into Isaac).
TLDR: If you like Binding of Isaac, buy this game. If you like this game, play Binding of Isaac. If you don't like either, then we can't be friends.

It goes without saying that, where the vast library of indies is concerned, Enter The Gungeon is easily a contender for one of the best out there on the Steam store in terms of what it sets out to accomplish as a deep and challenging roguelite with a unique flavor of 'bullet hell' to stand out from the crowd that has very much saturated the market and demand for these types of games.
Though any game that is simply 'good' at what it does would be wholly underselling the sheer creativity and attention to detail put into crafting this game's world, it's many colourful characters and, above all else, the insane amount of guns and gun-like items on offer for the player to have fun with! Seeing as each run will start you off with just your starting pistol as well as any other small perks that each of the four playable 'gungeoneers' (plus several other secret characters that can be unlocked through specific means) have, which helps to encourage those to experiment with which ones align with their own playstyle.
However, to get right into what Enter The Gungeon is all about, you are tasked with exploring five increasingly challenging chambers (with a special 'sixth chamber' for those who want to truly push themselves and go beyond the 'vanilla' experience) as you go through about roughly twenty or so rooms in each chamber, with every room either being filled with random enemies that are hellbent on bringing you down, a store vendor that lets you make use of this game's currency in the form of 'shells' or a treasure chest that varies in size and elegance depending on it's quality that requires a key to unlock alongside the typical 'boss room' where the chamber's big bad lays in wait for you to take on.
Bearing in mind, this isn't even touching upon the many other little special rooms that one may encounter along the way that aren't a part of the standard chamber layout, whether this be one of a dozen or so shrines that the player can pray for various benefits (usually with a 'caveat' in the form of a loss of a heart/gun or some challenge to overcome first) or different minigames that the player can choose to participate in via payment of shells for potential awards, sometimes being absolute trash if they play terribly or being a genuinely super powerful item or gun if they perfect it!
One thing to address in particular that some may have a serious gripe with is how Enter The Gungeon starts off especially harsh to new players, not just in the sense that it's a challenging roguelite where you need to learn the many enemies and how to adapt to each of their patterns (especially when combined with other foes with complex attack patterns!) but also adapting to runs where you have great items but stuck with the starting pistol or a superb gun but having no luck with any decent items.
This problem is especially apparent when you first begin the game as most of what is unlocked at the start is not that great compared to 85-90% of the items you'll be unlocking later when you have enough 'Hegemony Credits' earned by killing bosses to spend on items that can be bought outside at the Breach to have them potentially spawn in the chambers below. Noting that the Breach itself will be quite sparse at first until you start picking up Cell Keys from bosses (or, on the rare chance, a powerful enemy) to unlock specific cells in the chambers during certain runs where you can free these NPCs for use either on the Breach to buy more items and unlock certain challenge modes or those who remain below in the chambers who offer their own items, albeit often with a twist of the sorts!
Seeing as there is a lot on offer as far as traditional roguelites go, Enter The Gungeon will prove to be a fun game for those who can stick at it, even if it is one that seems overwhelming to start off with. Since I will admit to having tried this fun indie back in 2021 on the PlayStation 4, having to give a good 12-13 shots JUST to reach the Fifth chamber and another several more before eventually getting my first 'run' completed. (Sadly I didn't get too much further in, no 'Sixth Chamber' unlocked nor did I try out most of the challenge modes) Meanwhile it only took me three runs to get to the Fifth chamber and cleared my first full run the very next attempt when making my return to the Gungeon here on PC!
This is to say that, once you've learnt how to play Enter The Gungeon, it comes back to you quite easily and, with some patience and willingness to learn, anyone can become decent at this roguelite once they know what to expect as this bullet hell roguelite doesn't give you any power-ups or little perks to help you start off better at the very beginning of each run. Rather, by playing each run and unlocking more unique and potent weapons/items, you not only become better by learning to dodge bullets better and become more adapt to the many firearms and abilities that items offer out there but improve by the selection of said guns and items becoming better the more you unlock as you progress further down the Gungeon.
Though it won't be for everyone, there is something quite satisfying about completing a run of the Gungeon, whether it be by just barely getting by and pulling through to the end in a struggle to defeat the big boss at the end of the Fifth chamber or a purely glorious playthrough where you get all manners of great items that synergize together (another fun mechanic where certain weapons/items become stronger when in your inventory together) and you nail each boss perfectly as a result, ending up with having a solid shot at the true 'end-game' via some of the secret bosses in their own areas inbetween the chambers or the dreaded Sixth Chamber itself if you have that already unlocked!
Honestly, given the sheer coverage of this game, it wouldn't surprise me if my review does not change many minds of those who have either played it for themselves or have already heard of this impressive indie by Dodge Roll. (Indeed, naming their studio after a most critical gameplay mechanic in their big hit game is quite something, albeit the success is well-deserved on their part!) But for what it's worth, Enter The Gungeon still holds up surprisingly well here in 2025 and, despite it being nearly six whole years since the final update, I can confidently say that this is one indie that any respectable Steam gamer that cherishes their indies should at least have a look at to see if they have what it takes to beat the Gungeon and, more importantly, to kill their past!
TLDR Version:
• A fascinating roguelite that fully makes use of various 'bullet hell' mechanics in it's challenging gameplay (+)
• Lovingly crafted world where anything and everything has some relation to guns, ammo or explosive set in our real life or the fiction of many other games' universes (+)
• Five chambers consisting of increasingly difficult randomly-generated rooms, with a Sixth chamber and multiple secret areas to unlock for those eager for the extra challenge (+)
• Over five hundred different guns and items, each one unique and offering something new to the player for each run through the Gungeon (+)
• Multiple different game modes that can be unlocked on top of special rooms in the Gungeon that offer optional events or minigames for players to take on and potentially be rewarded well for skilled effort (+)
• The 'bullet hell' roguelite can be overwhelming for those not used to either genre and may prove too much for some casual gamers (-)
• Starting off Enter The Gungeon can be quite slow and possibly frustrating, given the poor selection of mostly subpar or gimmicky weapons/items at the start where nothing else is unlocked (-)
• No perks or stats to improve for a better start to each run in future attempts, which will likely put off those wanting an extra aid as they progress (-)

Genuinely the best Roguelike ever made, sure there are rivals but nothing plays like Gungeon, progresses like Gungeon, or hooks you and gives you a reason to stay like Gungeon. Worst part about the game was playing it as my first Roguelike, nothing else competes. Got 100% completion after 200 hours and it was fun every second, fantastic modding scene too. Do yourself a favor, play this game. You'll have yourself wanting to kill your past so you could've played it sooner. 10/10.

Some say Binding Of Isaac is the best top-down roguelite, but I'm saying this is the best. The controls are tight and satisfying, the gun and character variety is amazing and the gun theming might appear at first glance to be lame and reddit, but the fact that it's so all-encompassing and used at every opportunity makes it work even if it shouldn't. Absolute recommend.

This game is a true 10/10. A masterpiece in the true sense.
I keep coming back to it over and over again throughout the years.

The ageless art style, the ridiculous yet deep lore, the crisp recognizable sounds, the snappy gunplay, the number of characters/guns/items/SECRETS (and symbiotic combinations of all mentioned!)... I can't name it all in one review.
All in all combined I have played this game for over 200 hours for sure, and I will probably play that much more still, since I have yet to defeat the actual boss boss (no spoilers :)) and unlock everything.

The game is a true work of art and a rare gem in a sea of mediocracy.

5/5 - Perfect
For someone who hates bullet hell games AND dark souls style repeat and learn type gameplay, it would take something pretty special to become one of my most played singleplayer game. Perfect in every way.