A post-apocalyptic roguelite that uses twin-stick controls, Danger Gazers is composed of the most basic of visuals but contains typical, challenging gameplay. 

Like any rogue-based title, death is permanent.  Although the player can obtain a handful of items that unlock perks that are applied to each life, each attempt is new thanks to random generation and branching paths.  The initial stages can easily be cheesed due to the lower difficulty but then the challenge swiftly increases upon completing the first boss. Thankfully, there is a local co-op option so a buddy can help with the wild difficulty swings. 

If Danger Gazers had to summarized in one word, “simple” or “basic” could easily be used. Gameplay is nothing you have not played a million times before. Kill enemies, pick up the loot they dropped, use that loot to try and earn better equipment, die, rinse and repeat.  There is attempt to spice up gameplay thanks to accompanying companions, but these are rare and only skilled players will actually find them.  The main pistol weapon has infinite ammo but shoots with the speed and strength of a water pistol in comparison to the limited ammo-based shotguns and machine guns located in chests.  It controls well enough but the simple gameplay firmly extends into the visuals.  Each of the unlockable characters look like they were pulled directly from a South Park episode and all environments are composed of plain boxes.  Many stages contain wide open spaces that are filled with nothing and tediously take longer to traverse than they should. The soundtrack is also out of place and over the top. As it ripped right from ‘Splosion Man, the horns mixed with swing tones and tribal beats seem like they are trying to tear through your ears. 

If Danger Gazers put a little more emphasis on the bare bones visuals and tightened up some of the stage design, this could have been a better-than-expected twin-stick roguelite.  The branching path concept, sometimes allowing the player to participate in a mini-game, is interesting but loses appeal from the dodgy presentation. 

Not As Good As: Mana Spark (Switch)

Don’t Forget About: Akane (Switch)

Wait For It: the next Lara Croft top-down twin-sticker

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz