GoNNER

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 922 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • music
GoNNER Game Cover
Just a little bit of handholding wouldn’t have gone amiss, but spend some time working out what GoNNER is about and you’ll find a dark yet warm hearted bullet ballet.
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GoNNER is a single-player shooter game with roguelike elements, known for its tough-as-hell gameplay, intriguing story of friendship between Ikk, Death, and a space whale named Sally, and phenomenal mechanics. The Blueberry Edition offers new weapons, heads, enemy types, visuals, and daily challenges, providing a fresh twist to the award-winning original. With a perfect music score and amazing atmosphere, GoNNER will pull you into its unique world and keep you coming back for more.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 922 reviews
gameplay106 positive mentions
monetization2 negative mentions
  • GoNNER features a unique and beautiful art style that captivates players.
  • The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding, encouraging players to improve their skills.
  • The soundtrack and sound design enhance the overall experience, making it engaging and immersive.
  • The game suffers from a lack of depth and variety, leading to repetitive gameplay.
  • The controls can be frustrating, particularly the inability to shoot upwards and the mechanics surrounding item retrieval after getting hit.
  • The difficulty can feel artificial at times, with enemy placement and level design leading to cheap deaths.
  • gameplay311 mentions

    The gameplay of Gonner is characterized by its fast-paced, challenging mechanics that blend roguelike elements with intuitive controls, offering a rewarding experience for players who enjoy experimentation and high-score chasing. While many praise the smooth and responsive gameplay, some criticize the steep learning curve and frustrating mechanics, particularly regarding the recovery system after taking damage. Overall, the game is noted for its engaging visuals and soundtrack, which enhance the gameplay experience, despite some players finding it repetitive or lacking in depth.

    • “Incredibly smooth gamefeel + colorful, charming, minimalist graphics + varied styles of play work to create a flow state (egged on by the combo mechanic), hitting that sweet spot between relaxing and challenging.”
    • “The gameplay feels extremely smooth and responsive, also, the controls and game mechanics are simple and easy to grasp, it's enjoyable to play.”
    • “Tight controls make the platforming a blast, there's enough variety in the guns and loadouts to make replay value high, and the roguelite elements favor score-attack gameplay that doesn't feel overdone or shoehorned in.”
    • “Was not a fan of the style of the game or the gameplay itself.”
    • “But clunky, frustrating gameplay with no real reward for playing dangerously, other than increasing your high score, leads to a very mediocre roguelike.”
    • “The gameplay is just kind of 'meh' though.”
  • graphics271 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and charming art style, described as colorful, minimalist, and psychedelic. However, some players noted that certain visual elements can clash with gameplay, particularly on Steam, where the graphics are perceived to be less polished compared to the Xbox version. Overall, while the visuals are often highlighted as a strong point, there are concerns about repetitiveness and a lack of variety in environments.

    • “Really love the visuals of the game, they're really simple yet unique, and the general vibe it gives off is great!”
    • “Fantastic visuals, audio, and gameplay collide into a wonderful sidescrolling roguelite in Gonner.”
    • “Gorgeous, engaging visual aesthetic, great music, intricate and subtle sound design, intuitive mechanics and a lighthearted but slightly morbid atmosphere come together to create a rewarding roguelike experience.”
    • “Funnily enough, the biggest problem with the game is the visuals.”
    • “Please don't get this game on Steam, the graphics are done dirty; on Xbox, however, the graphics hold up as intended.”
    • “The graphics are cute, but the environments and enemies lack variety... this game looks and feels the same very quickly unlike Isaac or Gungeon, whereby the variety keeps you going.”
  • music222 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its energetic and engaging soundtrack that complements the unique art style and gameplay. Players appreciate how the music evolves with gameplay, particularly during combos, enhancing the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is described as phenomenal, atmospheric, and a key factor in the game's charm and replayability.

    • “The music goes really well with the game's style, and I think it would be rather comfortable to hear alone.”
    • “The music, which builds in intensity as your combo goes up, complements the game really well.”
    • “Gorgeous, engaging visual aesthetic, great music, intricate and subtle sound design, intuitive mechanics, and a lighthearted but slightly morbid atmosphere come together to create a rewarding roguelike experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is almost silent when not engaging enemies, but kicks in as you fire.”
    • “Comboing adds a new stem to the music and every five more kills in a combo speeds up and increases the volume of the soundtrack.”
    • “The game is super hard, but not so much so where it gets rage inducing, the art style is amazing, and I practically had an ear-gasm when I listened to the soundtrack!”
  • story76 mentions

    The game's story is minimalistic and often vague, relying heavily on visual storytelling rather than dialogue or extensive cutscenes. Players appreciate the quirky and cute elements of the narrative, which fosters attachment to characters despite its simplicity. Overall, while the story may not be fully fleshed out, it complements the gameplay and art style, making it an enjoyable experience for those who prefer a more exploratory approach to storytelling.

    • “The game manages to tell a story and make you grow attached to characters without any dialogue and long cutscenes, which I think is hard to achieve.”
    • “The visuals are impressive, and the minimalistic storytelling coupled with a Tim Burton-esque 'cute but spooky' art style gave me an excellent first impression.”
    • “I also kind of enjoy the lack of words involved in explaining the story and items, and how the game opts to instead work with visuals to convey messages.”
    • “There's a story in the game, but it's presented in a kind of vague manner.”
    • “With all that said though, this being a roguelike with the look and feel of an arcade game, don't expect a fully fleshed out story or anything like that; this game puts full emphasis on the gameplay.”
    • “There's no dialogue or text past the menus, so you have to figure out the story as you go.”
  • replayability22 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it incredibly high due to tight controls, varied loadouts, and competitive elements, others criticize it for lacking substantial reasons to replay beyond personal enjoyment. Suggestions for improvement include adding more achievements, worlds, and randomized content to enhance the experience. Overall, the game offers charm and fun, but its replay value could be significantly boosted with additional features.

    • “This game has buckets of charm and replayability.”
    • “Tight controls make the platforming a blast, there's enough variety in the guns and loadouts to make replay value high, and the roguelite elements favor score-attack gameplay that doesn't feel overdone or shoehorned in.”
    • “Slick controls, steady difficulty curve, infinite replayability, cryptic story, awesome soundtrack.”
    • “Having little to no replay value means that even a price tag as low as 10 dollars seems a bit steep compared to many other games in its genre.”
    • “I wouldn't really classify it as a roguelike, but there is some definite replayability if you use different skull/item combos - but the problem is there really isn't much reason to unless you just feel like doing that.”
    • “If you enjoy fast-paced combat and shooting things, with the ever-looming threat of 'permadeath?' hanging over your every move and a lot of replayability, definitely pick up this game.”
  • atmosphere22 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its engaging visual aesthetic, distinct art style, and captivating soundtrack, which together create a unique blend of lightheartedness and darkness. Players appreciate the charming character designs and the way the music and visuals intensify with gameplay, enhancing the overall experience. The combination of beautiful graphics, intricate sound design, and a variety of gameplay elements contributes to a rewarding and immersive atmosphere.

    • “Aesthetic - the playful, minimalistic art style and animation along with the funky, mysterious soundtrack adds up to a really cool atmosphere, and the curious creatures/enemies you encounter are often charming and interesting.”
    • “It offers a lot of variety with its randomly generated levels, multitude of weapon/skull/backpack combos, and the art and sound design are both incredibly atmospheric and beautiful; I especially enjoy the character designs and how getting combos causes the music and visuals to become more intense.”
    • “It has a weird atmosphere, filled with darkness, death, and pretty colors.”
    • “Gorgeous, engaging visual aesthetic, great music, intricate and subtle sound design, intuitive mechanics and a lighthearted but slightly morbid atmosphere come together to create a rewarding roguelike experience.”
    • “Gonner is an engaging little side-scroller that nails a distinct atmosphere.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is noted as amusing, particularly in the chaotic situations where players can lose all their items after being hit, leading to a comical scramble to recover them. However, some players find the experience frustrating due to poor controls, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, many still appreciate the humor enough to continue playing.

    • “The only real gripe I have with the game is that in some levels, if you get hit and you're not using a skull that keeps your body together (most skulls have different attributes or skills attached to them, but make you fall apart if you get hit - so your body has to go collect your items while dodging or bouncing on top of enemies) you can completely lose all your items, which is actually hilarious, because you just have to git gud and either not get hit to begin with, or just bounce on enemies to the next area.”
    • “It's not funny to deal with bad controls, but I will keep the game anyway.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    Players express a mix of emotions regarding the game's narrative and character dynamics, particularly highlighting the charm of characters like Sally and Ikk, which contribute to a heartwarming experience. While the final boss battle offers a sense of achievement, the overall emotional impact diminishes post-completion, leading to mixed feelings about the game's lasting appeal. Additionally, the challenging mechanics can evoke frustration, detracting from the emotional engagement during gameplay.

    • “After beating the final boss in the game, it just feels rewarding. This game does have achievements, which can be difficult and easy to obtain. I think of this game more as a fun experience before you beat it, but after beating it, it feels less rewarding. My opinions are more mixed than I think the game is good. I have played the game's sequel on my Switch, and the sequel is okay. The difficulty is very hard, and it's disappointing to see in the sequel that Sally isn't an in-game character. In my opinion, she was one of the most charming characters alongside Ikk. She was always happy when Ikk got healed, which makes the game more heartwarming.”
    • “And what can I say? It's a gun, you shoot stuff, it's fun. There's a whale, they're best friends, it's touching, and the art is colorful. It tingles my spine how nice it is; I like it.”
  • character development4 mentions

    The character development in the game is praised for its interesting designs and the dynamic evolution of characters through gameplay, particularly as players achieve combos that enhance the music and visuals. The variety offered by randomly generated levels and diverse weapon combinations further enriches the character experience, contributing to an immersive atmosphere.

    • “The character development is interesting and adds depth to the gameplay.”
    • “It offers a lot of variety with its randomly generated levels, multitude of weapon/skull/backpack combos, and the art and sound design are both incredibly atmospheric and beautiful; I especially enjoy the character designs and how getting combos causes the music and visuals to become more intense.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game is transparent and aligns with its advertising, ensuring players know what to expect without any misleading claims.

    • “No misleading advertising there: the game is really like that…”
  • optimization2 mentions

    Players appreciate the ongoing optimizations and updates, indicating that these improvements enhance their overall experience and encourage continued engagement with the game.

    • “Even after large gameplay updates and patches, the optimizations keep improving the experience, and I'll keep coming back for more.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

Buy GoNNER

Play time

5hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
3-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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