Gear Gauntlet Demo

Punishing video games are not always as hated as one might assume, mainly because gamers like a challenge. However, the balance between challenging and frustrating is very important, otherwise people just give up and try something else instead. There are many brilliant examples out there when it comes to punishing games that enjoy the public’s adoration, but there are also many failures as well.

Gear Gauntlet is a unique video game when it comes to gameplay mechanics, but it also features an infuriating difficulty level. In short, you have to keep moving at all times in order to avoid death, as well as stay clear of the obstacles and use rapid key combinations to repel damage. It’s quite an experience, but it takes a long adjustment period before you are able to enjoy it.

To begin with, it is worth mentioning that you need a controller to enjoy the game properly, otherwise you might get too frustrated with the keyboard controls. The levels start pretty simple, although that’s not a very good idea in this case. After one or two stages that seem almost too easy, you get to the real challenge, and it becomes impossible to survive without lightning-fast reflexes.

In order to pass through the colored blocks without taking damage, you must change your color to match theirs. This is achieved by holding down the correct button, and there are a total of four colors you have to switch between, sometimes extremely quickly. While this sounds fun in theory, the gimmick is liable to cause countless rage quits, and probably a lot of damages in broken controllers.

However, all you need to do is get familiar with the color-changing mechanics, because they are the key to success. It’s actually quite simple to navigate the actual maze, but it takes a lot of practice to switch between colors as quickly as possible. Timing is important as well, because you need to switch at the exact instant you step onto a different color, otherwise you get damaged.

Gear Gauntlet is clearly not for everyone, but it has the potential to attract a rather big crowd of hardcore enthusiasts. Hence, if you do not mind losing for hours on end and you have plenty of patience in stock, this could certainly keep you busy for a while. Note: You can vote for Gear Gauntlet on its official Steam Greenlight page.