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I May Be Biased…

Let me start this review by saying that I may be a tad biased when it comes to this classic arcade game. Growing up as a kid in the 80s, microcomputers were all the rage in the UK — pretty much every family had one. Many an hour did I spend at my friend’s house, playing games on his Amstrad CPC 464, and one of our all-time favourites was a home-computer port of Gauntlet.

Of course, this is a review of the arcade version of the game, but it may put into perspective part of the reason I’m so fond of this game. Released into the arcades in 1985, Gauntlet allowed 1-4 players to embark upon a perilous journey into a maze-like dungeon. In the vein of classic arcade games, there’s no final boss or objective to achieve. Just keep feeding it coins, racking up your score, and try to claim your place on the highscore table.

It’s actually possible to play this game indefinitely, given enough supply of coin. In fact, during one particularly boring, long internet outage many years ago, I reached the ‘end’ after beating level 100 on the Xbox 360 port of the game.

Of course, it doesn’t actually end there…

Into the Dungeons

The gameplay loop of Gauntlet is easy to pick up, but surprisingly addictive. Each player takes the role of one of the four heroes — Thor the Warrior (red), Thyra the Valkyrie (blue), Merlin the Wizard (yellow), or Questor the Elf (green). Each character has the same controls and abilities, but also differs in their attributes. Thor has the strongest melee attacks, Thyra has the highest defense, Merlin has the strongest ranged attacks, and Questor has the fastest movement speed.

Your view of the maze-like dungeon is from a top-down perspective, and you can move freely in 8 directions. Bumping into enemies attacks them in melee, while each character can also shoot projectiles. Consumable “potions” act as smart-bombs, destroying all enemies on-screen, though their supply is limited. As far as controls go, it’s delightfully simple — move, shoot, bump into enemies for melee, use potions. That’s it.

Your health slowly ticks down over time, though is of course also depleted by enemy attacks. Collecting food in the dungeon restores a portion of health, as does — naturally — inserting more coins. There’s a few other types of items and treasure you can collect in your travels, too. Any key will unlock any door, though is consumed in the process. Treasure, distributed liberally throughout the dungeon, increases your score. Potions, as mentioned above, can be collected and used as smart-bombs, or shot from a distance for a weaker effect. Other special upgrades, such as increased attack power, are generally rarer and better-hidden.

Delving Deeper

There’s a surprising amount of variety to be found in this game, and it’ll no doubt surprise you. The game consists of 100 unique levels, with more complex mechanics (such as traps or breakable walls) and more unique enemies (such as the terrifying, black-robed “Deaths”[1]) unlocking as you venture deeper into the dungeon. After beating the 100th level, the game continues by replaying the 100 levels again in a semi-randomized order.

While it’s a fantastic single-player experience, the game truly shines when bringing a friend along (or two, or three). Not only does the extra firepower help immensely, but it also adds a competitive element — trying to reach the treasure, food, keys, and potions before your comrades.

Gauntlet is sadly short in the music front, having only a simple title-screen jingle, of which a shorter version plays at the start of each level. It redeems itself on the audio front, however, with the inclusion of synthesized voice lines. As well as tutorial messages (“Save keys to open doors!”), the game will also warn when a player is close to death (“Wizard needs food badly!”) or sometimes taunt the heroes (“Try and find the way out!”). The rest of the sound effects are serviceable but unremarkable, so the inclusion of voice lines adds some much-needed charm. This was an uncommon inclusion in arcade games of the era, which adds to its unique appeal.

While far from perfect — and easily overshadowed by its sequel, Gauntlet II — the original Gauntlet is still an enjoyable and unpredictable experience… Especially if you bring along some friends and delve into the dungeons together.

The Verdict

Footnotes