By Andres Aguirre
It has been a few weeks since Eastern New Mexico University has switched to only online classes and people are working from home. Even though we still have work from classes to do at home, there is a lot of down time between and after assignments. When I am not cleaning, working from home or doing class assignments, I usually spend my time playing videogames. One game that I have been enjoying and putting in hours on is called “Enter the Gungeo”. No that is not a typo, it really says “Gungeon” instead of dungeon.
The game first came out in 2016 on limited platforms, but later released on more consoles like the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2017. It costs $14.99 for the online download and costs between $20 and $30 for the physical copy. I waited for a deal and ended up purchasing it for only $10—what a steal! You have the option of playing solo or co-op with a friend. It is a pixelated, old-school looking, gun shooting game with excitement in every level.
Everything about this game is guns and bullets. The enemies are literally personified bullets holding guns shooting bullets. Heck, the title is even a pun mixing the words gun and dungeon. You have a wide variety of weapons to use on your journey, such as regular guns like shotguns and rifles. Then there are guns that are more creative, like a T-shirt canon or a gun that looks like an “r” that shoots out the word “bullets”. It’s hilarious and clever at the same time.
The player can choose between four different characters that have their own strengths and weaknesses; the options are the Marine, Pilot, Convict and Hunter. The whole point of the game is to go through 5 different levels and build a gun on the way to kill your past. Each level has multiple small enemies and you must explore the rooms to find and fight the main boss of that level. As you go through each level, the more difficult it gets, as the number of enemies increase in each level and it becomes harder to maneuver around and kill the enemies. They all shoot at you at the same time and it can be impossible to run around each enemy and the bullet they shoot. One of the game mechanics is that you can dodge roll over bullets if you time it right; this can get you out of sticky situations and help clear out a room, but if you use it too much you might run into bullets instead of evading them.
You also get different power ups and items that can aid you. An item can be a blank, which pushes enemies back and clears the room of bullets. They are limited so you must use them wisely. An example of a power up is an ally which can be a space turtle or small chest that follows you around and helps kill enemies. There are countless combinations with guns, items and power ups that can occur, so it makes it fun to experiment with different options.
“Enter the Gungeon” is one of those games you play for a while and look at the time and see that two hours have passed by; It is addicting and super fun. I recommend playing with a buddy so you can have each other’s back and come up with strategies to defeat enemies. I have it on my Nintendo Switch, which makes it convenient to take on the go and use the joycons for co-op when you have someone else to play it with. If you’re looking for a new game to play that is action-packed, full of fun and hilarious concepts, then do yourself a favor and play “Enter the Gungeon.”
