Gatekeeper
- May 13, 2024
- Gravity Lagoon
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam"Gatekeeper is a Shooter game with exceptional mechanics, splendid graphics, and spectacular music. Play solo or team up with a friend in multi-player co-op mode. Your mission: reclaim the stolen Heart of the Universe from an unknown galaxy, utilizing unique abilities of playable characters and collectibles to defeat ancient guardians and unlock new locations."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game is a fun and engaging roguelike that combines elements of Risk of Rain with its own unique mechanics.
- The graphics and art style are visually appealing, and the gameplay runs smoothly, making it enjoyable to play solo or with friends.
- The achievement-based unlock system adds depth and encourages players to explore different playstyles and strategies.
- The game suffers from a lack of variety in items and character builds, leading to repetitive gameplay and a feeling of sameness in runs.
- Some characters feel underpowered compared to others, which can lead to frustration and imbalance in gameplay.
- The recent updates have made the game slower and more grindy, with enemies having excessive health, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- gameplay175 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players enjoying the bullet hell mechanics, diverse enemy encounters, and engaging co-op play, which can lead to hours of fun. However, some criticize the repetitiveness of levels, lack of depth in progression systems, and a feeling of sameness in gameplay, suggesting that it lacks unique mechanics compared to similar titles like Risk of Rain 2. Overall, while the core gameplay loop is solid and enjoyable, there are calls for more variety and customization options to enhance the experience.
“Gatekeeper's is visually stunning, gameplay is fun especially with friends, found ourselves burying hours into it without even realizing.”
“The arsenal of artifacts with oddly specific ways to unlock them keeps gameplay interesting and adds more challenges to the game on top of the original goal.”
“The gameplay loop is satisfying: you land in some unknown place, fight waves of enemies, do some objectives (activate this, activate that...), loot chests with items that give you certain bonuses, level up your characters with perks like + attack speed, + damage, + hp regen, - cooldowns... I did not experience all of the in-game mechanics, but so far it seems promising.”
“Overall, extremely unenjoyable progression system, bland empty levels, uninspired enemy visuals and lack of gameplay depth.”
“Lack of actual 'game' would actually be fitting the most here because whatever you do here feels like it has neither impact on the gameplay nor does it feel like the game itself cares about it anyway.”
“Its literally the laziest of gameplay you can create, just place a turret in the middle and let enemies run into it.”
- music110 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its energetic and engaging qualities, while others find it repetitive and generic, likening it to stock assets. Many appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the gameplay experience, though a few suggest turning it off in favor of personal playlists. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, its repetitiveness may detract from long play sessions.
“The music is great and the performance is impeccable; I have had zero lag or frame drops while playing.”
“Every stage has beautiful colors and a captivating soundtrack of house music.”
“Honestly, the music alone is worth the price.”
“If you're going to play, I'd suggest turning the music off and playing your own stuff.”
“Music is generic EDM and feels like a stock asset.”
“I'm not nitpicking here but it feels like someone was picking some free internet music with the 'action' tag on it, put it in and done.”
- graphics107 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive a mixed reception, with many praising the beautiful art style, smooth visuals, and immersive audio design, often drawing comparisons to titles like "Risk of Rain 2." However, some users note issues such as outdated textures, difficulty distinguishing objects in chaotic scenes, and occasional framerate drops during intense gameplay. Overall, while the visuals are generally well-received, there are concerns about performance and clarity in certain situations.
“This game has amazing graphics, great engaging gameplay, and awesome amounts of fun with it as well!”
“The art style and visual effects are beautiful.”
“The graphics look very nice and a lot of enemies are unique and original, a lot of which have unique behavior, which makes it feel more like fighting actual enemies and not bots that just chase after you in a straight line.”
“The graphical component looks outdated, even for an indie project, and the poor quality of textures and lack of detail give the impression that you are playing a game from the 90s.”
“The game lags so bad even when it's on minimum graphics.”
“Especially when the gameplay and aesthetic seem like they're designed to make players drowsy.”
- replayability20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is highly variable among players; some praise its excellent replay value due to its rogue-like mechanics, engaging atmosphere, and unlockable achievements, while others criticize it for a lack of unique content and boring characters, leading to minimal replay incentive. Overall, those who enjoy the gameplay mechanics and exploration find it engaging, while others feel it lacks depth for repeated playthroughs.
“High replayability due to the rogue-like nature of the game and the endless survival mechanic.”
“The replayability, music, atmosphere, and ramping difficulty are one of the main reasons for someone to easily lose 3 to 4 hours playing, with a feeling that only 15 minutes have passed.”
“A lot of replayability thanks to achievements unlocking different items, keeping the gameplay new.”
“Absolutely no replayability....”
“Just does not have a lot of replayability.”
“It's not unique, lack of content (would have more in a future though), heroes and boons are pretty boring and not much replayability as well.”
- story18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely underdeveloped, with players noting a lack of depth and lore, reducing it to a straightforward shooting experience. While the core gameplay mechanics are praised, the narrative feels minimal and repetitive, leading to a desire for a more substantial main story mode in future updates.
“Although not super fleshed out in terms of overall plot and story, the game has solidified its awesome core gameplay loops and mechanics.”
“Hope the main story mode gets longer through development.”
“☐ no story”
“Any sort of lore and story has been thrown overboard and it's just a mindless horde shooter now.”
“When it comes to gameplay, it is a mixed story.”
- optimization16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization receives mixed reviews; while many players report smooth performance with no lag or crashes, some express dissatisfaction, noting significant performance issues compared to earlier versions. Several users highlight the game's ability to run well even on lower-end hardware, but others feel that recent updates have negatively impacted performance.
“The music is great and the performance is impeccable; I have had zero lag or frame drops while playing.”
“Seems to be well optimized and runs locked at 144 fps with no crashes.”
“Really fun game, especially to play with friends; the standout to me are the sound design and gameplay. The game runs smoothly on my bread toaster.”
“The performance is god awful now and it feels like the demo was miles ahead.”
“Performance wise, I play on ultra wide 1440p 240hz.”
“Btw, optimization also pretty ok.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, with bosses described as bullet sponges rather than engaging challenges. While some appreciate the polished gameplay and the absence of currency collection, they note that the grind can feel excessive compared to other titles like Hades and Diablo, which offer more rewarding progression systems. Overall, the game is seen as fun in single-player, but the grinding may detract from the experience for some.
“The bosses act more like tedious bullet sponges than a challenge that's difficult to overcome; none of them can beat the player simply walking in circles around them.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“You don't have to run around collecting currency, because I think it's tedious.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its engaging graphics and music, reminiscent of "Risk of Rain," while also offering a fresh take that captivates players. The appealing art style and expansive maps contribute to a rich environment that enhances replayability and creates an immersive experience, often leading players to lose track of time. Overall, the combination of these elements fosters a compelling and enjoyable atmosphere.
“A Risk of Rain remix, this game brings all the best parts of ROR while still managing to change the recipe and atmosphere enough to draw you in.”
“The art style is very appealing, with the new large maps packing quite a bit of atmosphere.”
“The replayability, music, atmosphere, and ramping difficulty are one of the main reasons for someone to easily lose 3 to 4 hours playing, with a feeling that only 15 minutes have passed.”
- character development7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has received mixed feedback, with some users praising the overall character designs while others criticize the lack of variety and the presence of bizarre elements. Many noted that there are similarities in character design and item functions, suggesting a need for improvement in this area. Overall, while the designs have potential, they require further refinement to enhance uniqueness and coherence.
“Character designs are good.”
“Character designs are good.”
“Character design definitely needs some work.”
“Even things like the basic character design have bizarre elements.”
- stability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, users report excellent stability, with no significant bugs or glitches encountered during gameplay. The game runs smoothly and consistently, contributing to a positive experience.
“Runs great, feels great, looks great, great.”
“Runs great, feels great, looks great, great.”
