Gear Gauntlet Review

Gear Gauntlet Review Screenshot 1

Gear Gauntlet is a 2D action arcade game by Drop Dead Interactive.  It is a very challenging game that tests your reflexes and at times will be rage inducing but in a good way.

Gameplay wise gear gauntlet keeps you on your toes.  The idea of the game is that you control a gear that has to travel through a maze in order to reach the end of the level and advance.  The catch is the screen is always moving so you need to stay ahead while at the same time avoid and break through obstacles.  You control your gear using only the analog stick having to avoid moving and static obstacles to try and squeak through the maze crevasses before the screen catches you.  On top of that, there are four different coloured blocks within the maze that can only be broken through by pressing the correlated face button on your control.  Playing Gear Gauntlet made me feel like I was playing a mixture of Pac-Man and Guitar Hero.  They really blended these two gameplay mechanics together nicely.   As you travel through the maze you collect other gears to increase your score and you attempt to finish the level as fast as possible.   Once you have completed a level you are able to compare your score to your friends and to the leaderboards.  You are also given a letter grade based on how well you did.

Gear Gauntlet Review Screenshot 2

Each level has more than one way to complete it so you have continuous variety when replaying them. The level design, in general, is very well done they are fun to play and even more fun to beat. In total, there are four worlds and each world contains 10 levels.  Once you are done the game there isn’t much more to do other than to go back and try to beat your high score, collect some of the collectibles that are scattered throughout each level that you missed, or you can attempt to beat the levels on a different difficulty.

Graphically Gear Gauntlet is colourful and it runs very smoothly.  Smoothness in this game is very important.  Since playing Gear Gauntlet requires very precise and well-timed movements you can’t have frame rate drops and luckily Gear Gauntlet fully delivers.  You won’t feel any lag that will reduce the quality of the experience.

The backgrounds in each level provide a nice setting for the environment.  There is nothing here that will blow you away in the way it looks but it does justice to the type of game of it is.  The music in the game is not annoying which is very important because that would just add to the frustration you may feel throughout the game.  The music is upbeat and will keep you focused on trying to get through the level.

Gear Gauntlet Review Screenshot 3

Gear Gauntlet is the perfect game to pick up and play in small intervals. I found myself getting very frustrated at times when I had spent a long period of time playing because the more frustrated I got the harder it became to beat the level.  It is really the perfect arcade game that will scratch your gaming itch if you don’t want to focus on a long experience where you have to be invested in the storyline and characters.

Gear Gauntlet is £7.99 / $9.99 on the Xbox Store and if you are a fan of fast-paced challenging arcade games this is a game you should check out.  It may end up making you rage at times but it is well worth the fun.

Rating 8

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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