Shiny Gauntlet Demo

Dungeons are nothing if not full of treasure and scary skeletons, or at least that’s what role-playing games have taught us over the years. Roguelikes took the concept to a whole other level, since the looting and the survival are the main objectives, while the story is usually just noise in the background. Nowadays, procedural levels are the latest gimmick, and they are truly a godsend for the genre.

Shiny Gauntlet is a laidback roguelike RPG in which you have to recover a shiny shard, after you manage to defeat hordes of monsters on the way to it. There are multiple classes to choose from, each one of which has unique abilities that make every playthrough special. The levels are randomly generated every time you start a new game, so you basically have endless possibilities.

The classes are not as complex as in other games in the genre, but they do differ in key aspects. Mages and similar characters inflict damage on their foes using magic, while warrior classes are more effective with a sword or an axe in their hands. Naturally, the further you manage to go, more powerful weapons become available, as long as you loot the chests and kill the enemies.

One thing that very few roguelikes seem to take into consideration is the fact that dungeons are dark, which means that it’s rather hard to see. In Shiny Gauntlet, you are basically blind unless you catch and bottle a firefly, although torches also light up some of the rooms. You can also save the remains of your foes and consume them later, in case you are running low on health.

From a technical point of view, the game is certainly not a gem of engineering, and you can stumble into quite a few bugs. The visual quality is pretty basic as well, but the survival aspect makes everything seem less important. As long as you are occupied trying to defeat enemies and collect rare items, the graphics matter very little, as do the controls and the soundtrack.

While Shiny Gauntlet is still a bit rough around the edges, the challenge it poses has the ability to keep you glued to the screen for a couple of hours. Obviously, the rush of hunting for legendary items and battling huge bosses is what keeps you going most of the time, but the difficulty level is not as punishing as you would expect.