RoguedexPart 1 (Sep 2023) · #13 of 14 in that tierWatch the moment (0:56:04)
Exit the Gungeon
- Developed by
- Dodge Roll, Singlecore
- Published by
- Devolver Digital
$9.99
Exit the Gungeon is a small, spin-off 'dungeon climber' immediately following the adventures of the misfit Gungeoneers.
Consensus
D61.3/100
Steam players73.9% positiveMostly Positive3,765 reviews
Metacritic ↗67/100Users: 6.4/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈113K copies · ≈$781K gross
What creators say
What players say
A 2D vertical bullet-hell platformer spin-off of Enter the Gungeon where the Gungeoneers ride a collapsing elevator upward, with a blessed gun that keeps morphing into random weapons.
Exit the Gungeon is received as a competent but clearly lesser spin-off: critics land in mixed-to-decent territory (Metacritic 68 Switch / 67 PC, about 45% of OpenCritic critics recommending) and Steam players are Mostly Positive at about 74% across roughly 3,800 reviews. Most praise the chaotic arcade energy, art, humor and bosses, while criticising the forced random gun-swapping, cramped arenas and reduced depth versus Enter the Gungeon. It began life as an Apple Arcade mobile title (Sept 2019) before reaching Switch/PC (Mar 2020), and many negative reviews are really 'this is not Enter the Gungeon' complaints. A late content update (Hello to Arms, adding an Arsenal Mode with normal weapon pickups) softened the biggest complaint, but a Meowitzer boss softlock bug is still reported in recent Steam reviews. It is a cheap, often-discounted short-session game rather than a long-term roguelite.
Players love
- Frantic, nonstop arcade bullet-hell action with very little downtime and short runs that suit quick sessions
- Same Gungeon charm: humor, weapon designs, pixel art and animation, soundtrack and sound design
- Boss fights that remix the original's bosses into fusion bosses with new attack patterns
- Per-character elevator routes and a new vertical structure give it a distinct feel from the first game
- Unlockable hats, new costumes and small extras (Winchester and Loblina minigames, robot hearts now useful, Cultist playable without co-op) that completionists enjoy
- Cheap price and frequent sales make it decent value as a pickup-and-play game
Common complaints
- Constantly changing blessed gun means you rarely build toward anything; combo-based weapon quality still delivers junk guns at bad moments
- Meowitzer boss bug (boss turns invisible, softlocks or kills the run) is reported by many reviewers and persists years later
- Elevator arenas are small, flat and cramped, leaving little room for dodging or platforming; enemies spawn constantly
- Much less content and depth than Enter the Gungeon: no synergies, little new enemy/gun/music content, runs feel repetitive quickly
- Jump-immunity and dodge-roll spam can trivialise bullets and some bosses instead of rewarding skillful movement
- Stiff/odd controls and sometimes disorienting camera, cluttered visuals that hide hazards, and moving shooting platforms in later stages
- Feels like a simplified, mobile-origin spin-off rather than a true sequel; the most upvoted negative reviews are fans saying it is not Enter the Gungeon and forces blessed-style runs on them
Can feel tedious
- Forced elevator waves in early levels feel tedious and repetitive
- Random weapon swaps at bad moments, and combo reset on any hit, feel punishing rather than fun
- 100%-ing the game becomes grindy; reviewers describe it as dragging after the main content is done
- Repeated boss and enemy reuse and small gun pool make runs feel samey after a few characters
- Getting Meowitzer repeatedly and needing to restart runs because of the bug
- Levels feel flat and compact, with little platforming space, making later runs a grind of dodging spawn waves
What's unique
- Vertical elevator-climb structure instead of exploring a branching dungeon
- Weapon auto-morphs every ~30 seconds, with quality tied to a hitless kill combo (0-20)
- Jumping grants airborne invulnerability, making jump a core defensive tool alongside rolling
- Bosses are fusions of Enter the Gungeon bosses
- Hub (Underbreach) with NPCs and small minigames like Angry-Birds-style and pachinko-style games
- Began as an Apple Arcade exclusive and was designed as an arcade-style bite-sized spin-off
Players want
- Fix the Meowitzer softlock and other audio/visual bugs
- Offer more freedom over weapons by default (normal pickups/synergies) instead of relying on blessed guns; Arsenal Mode only partially addresses this
- Larger, more varied arenas with real platforming space and less spawn spam
- More new content (guns, enemies, characters, music) rather than recycled assets from Enter the Gungeon
- Tuning of blanks, hazards and weapon rolls so randomness feels less unfair
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
ArcadeActionIndieAdventureBullet HellPixel Graphics2DDifficultSingleplayer2D Platformer
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Exit the Gungeon is the spin-off follow-up to Enter the Gungeon, originally built with mobile in mind, so it is far more minimalistic. It is a side-on 2D bullet hell with cramped space, fast runs and randomly swapping guns. He finds the gameplay boring and dislikes the RNG design, and he beat it on his first run. Its gorgeous remodeled Gungeon art and characters save it from a low placement, and he puts it above Enter the Gungeon on the board.
Liked
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