Gearbox may be the next to escape Embracer Group as the massive company continues to hemorrhage staff and studios as part of a restructuring effort sparked by a $2 billion deal that fell through last year.
The Steam Next Fest demo of this bullet hell roguelike has big Risk of Rain energy, and some cool tricks of its own
09.02.2024 - 22:43 / gamesradar.com / Austin Wood / Of Rain
I'm ending a week packed with Steam Next Fest demos on a high note with Gatekeeper, a top-down bullet hell roguelike clearly inspired by Risk of Rain. Pick a character, drop into a medley of environments, and shoot dudes while hoovering up items until the number stops getting bigger. It's a familiar formula with a new perspective, and while there are some mechanical and artistic similarities to Risk of Rain and its sequel, Gatekeeper feels like it's found its own identity.
I went with the default character for the demo, partly because they have a built-in second life (which I haven't lost yet, thank you very much), and partly because the vanilla character is always the best way to gauge a new roguelike. My kit also includes a standard aim-and-shoot full auto gun, a fireball AoE, a ricochet shot, and a basic teleport-style dodge. Imagine if Risk of Rain's Commando and Huntress trained up a bullet hell protagonist and you're most of the way there.
There's enough bullet magnetism to make abilities intuitive to land, but not so much that you can blindly chuck attacks into the crowd. Enemies range from slow-moving golems and sentient obelisks to homing droids, and kiting enemies around while picking off priority targets is key. I'll gun down stragglers while saving my big abilities for juicy crowds, triggering all the items I've amassed as I go. My favorites so far mirror some of my favorites in Risk of Rain: enemies dropping explosives on death, seeker projectiles triggered by attacking, applying burn to enemies, and so on.
One thing I appreciate in Gatekeeper is that leveling up by collecting XP is also a really big deal. There's a bit of Vampire Survivors in the way you draft boosts to your HP, damage, regen, movement speed, and cooldown reduction, and these stats can in turn affect what items you prefer. You also upgrade your abilities as you go, increasing their AoE, adding effects like burn damage, and so on. You really get a sense that your whole kit is evolving outside the items you're stacking on. I've been dumping everything into my fireball so far and have zero regrets.
There's a good variety of objectives, too. In the time I've beaten one miniboss, I've defended charging totems from incoming waves of enemies while dancing around fiery hazards, collected and deposited ancient keys, and endured horde modes with set kill counts. The levels are a bit flat, but the design suits the flow of the game and keeps the important stuff – namely items and enemies – clearly visible.
Perhaps most importantly, Gatekeeper has a rather lovely soundtrack. I don't think anyone can match composer Chris Christodoulou's synth-heavy lullabies, but there's a nice set of of drum 'n bass thumping in my ears even as I
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
gamesradar.com
29.02.2024 / 18:07
Helldivers 2 players died over 10 million times taking a single planet, Mort, from the Automatons this week – and even then barely pulled it off
The campaign to defend a single planet, Mort, from Helldivers 2's encroaching Automaton threat saw players die "over 10 million" times in the past two days alone.
gamesradar.com
29.02.2024 / 16:31
Helldivers 2's first balance patch is coming, dev responds to meta-weary fans tired of "underperforming" guns and stratagems
To the dismay of bugs and bots everywhere, it sounds like the weakest weapons in Helldivers 2 are due for a buff in an upcoming balance patch.
gamesradar.com
28.02.2024 / 22:45
MMO community celebrates beloved player's release from hell after a truly filthy 2,500-hour Old School RuneScape grind: "I'm astounded at the sheer willpower"
Old School RuneScape – and also regular RuneScape – developer Jagex has a new corporate owner, but it's business as usual for the MMO's community, which is still hard at work finishing grinds that nobody, not one soul on this Earth, asked or expected them to actually do. The latest landmark achievement comes from well-liked content creator Limpwurt, who's finally emerged from a self-imposed grind that started some 2,500 hours of game time ago in August 2023, but at least he's got a really cool cape and a baby mole to show for it.
gamesradar.com
28.02.2024 / 22:45
Helldivers 2 escort missions are out of control, but we're in this together so the community's desperately trying to help their fellow recruits stay alive
Helldivers, we have yet another problem. Despite their best efforts, some Helldivers 2 recruits – and I'm not just talking about new cadets, who get the benefit of the doubt – are really struggling with the escort missions currently dominating the Automaton warfront. I get it, they're hard. Arguably too hard on occasion, the occasion being, almost every single one on any remotely high difficulty. But the bugs and bots ain't going anywhere and neither are escort missions, so we're gonna have to get through this together. Luckily, the community's been hard at work sharing helpful tips for escorting civilians while keeping their insides inside at least 25% of the time.
gamesradar.com
28.02.2024 / 17:58
As Helldivers 2 draws Metal Gear Solid 5 comparisons, Obsidian RPG master Josh Sawyer says "more games should just directly copy stuff that feels good"
In amongst the expected Star Troopers chatter, a less obvious comparison for Helldivers 2 has quietly been making the rounds: 2015's Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Unexpected overlap in stealth, movement, and gunplay has brought Kojima's open-world action espionage masterwork back into the spotlight, and director Josh Sawyer of RPG powerhouse Obsidian reckons it's all just more evidence that more games shouldn't feel bad about copying stuff that works well and feels good.
gamesradar.com
28.02.2024 / 00:23
Nintendo takes Switch emulator Yuzu to court in major lawsuit, alleging it fueled 1 million illegal downloads of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom before release
Prolific Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu is the latest to receive a lawsuit from Nintendo, and it's a big one. The house of Mario alleges that the program fueled a rush that saw The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom illegally downloaded over 1 million times before the game was properly released, and that's just one item on Nintendo's laundry list of alleged damages, which collectively take aim at a major emulator in a way that's rarely seen, even from such a famously litigious company, drawing many comparisons to Sony's lawsuit against Bleem.
gamesradar.com
27.02.2024 / 21:32
"The biggest revolution in gaming in decades" is a $180 AI-powered fart box that makes your room smell of blood, gunfire, explosions, and – seriously – "clean air"
Technology, as storied author Ursula K. Le Guin noted in a prescient 2005 post, is not limited to high-tech hardware but also encompasses the likes of paper, furniture, medicine, and much more. I would go further and argue that some outwardly high-tech hardware should not be classified as technology, and I will now point any naysayers to the GameScent Automated Gaming Scent Atomizer, a $180 AI-powered box that will fart out smells designed to match whatever game you're currently playing.
gamesradar.com
27.02.2024 / 21:31
FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki wants to make more games as big as Elden Ring: "If I am allowed, I want to try"
FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki would love to make more games that are as big as Elden Ring, which is sure to be music to the ears of many fans.
gamesradar.com
26.02.2024 / 23:03
Oh no, here I go again: Genshin Impact dev's new-again action RPG Honkai Impact 3rd gets Part 2 release this week
Honkai Impact 3rd, which was Hoyoverse's big action RPG before Genshin Impact ate all the money in the universe, is gearing up for a relaunch of sorts with its Part 2 update, a massive patch bringing a whole new storyline. It's coming to PC and mobile this Thursday, February 29, and I can already tell I'll end up trying this Hoyo game too, especially now that it's on Steam (with 72% positive reviews, if you're curious).
gamesradar.com
26.02.2024 / 20:10
Helldivers 2 avoided PvP to reduce toxicity, so of course some players are being toxic anyway by fighting over shared resources and team-killing to steal weapons
Helldivers, we have a problem. Undemocratic bug fodder has infested the ranks of Helldivers 2, and the toxic behavior of these players is putting a damper on what should be a glorious campaign for Super Earth.
gamesradar.com
26.02.2024 / 20:06
Stardew Valley update 1.6 is coming next month, ConcernedApe confirms: "Now, back to the grind"
The long-awaited Stardew Valley update 1.6 release date is set for March 19 on PC, developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has announced.