Gauntlet (NES review)

Developer: Tengen
Publisher: Tengen
Released: 1988

Gauntlet is a hack-and-slash game that was first released in the Arcade in 1985.

+ Plenty of secrets to be found and there are often several routes / exits in each stage that require careful key management.

+ Your steadily depleting energy metre ups the intensity and forces you to constantly think two steps ahead in order to survive.

+ Lengthy gameplay (including a handy password feature) with 100 stages that are unique in design vs. the Arcade version.

+ A wide range of foes are on offer and its impressive just how many sprites are displayed on-screen at once.

- However, the abundance of enemy sprites comes at a cost as slowdown is rampant, leading to unregistered button presses.

- Challenge is brutally hard within the first world and you'll struggle mightily unless you're willing to invest some serious time.

- Failing any combination puzzle on your first attempt leads to the final rooms being locked (making continued play pointless).