Gauntlet 1985

About

The players, up to four at once in the arcade version, select among four playable fantasy-based characters; Thor the Warrior, Merlin the Wizard, Thyra the Valkyrie, or Questor the Elf. Each character has his or her own unique strength and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the best armour and the Elf is the fastest in movement. Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within a series of top-down, third-person perspective mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortment of special items can be located in each level that increase player's character's health, unlock doors, gain more points and magical potions that can destroy all of the enemies on screen. The enemies are an assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, lobbers, sorcerers and thieves. Each enters the level through specific generators, which can be destroyed. While there are no bosses in the game, the most dangerous enemy is "Death", who can not only drain a character's health, but is difficult to destroy. As the game progresses, higher levels of skill are needed to reach the exit, with success often depending on the willingness of the players to cooperate by sharing food and luring monsters into places where they can be engaged and slaughtered more conveniently. While contact with enemies reduces the player's health, it also slowly drains on its own, thus creating a time limit. When a character's health reaches zero, that character dies. The character can be revived in place with full health by spending a game credit (i.e. inserting a coin) within a certain short time window after it died. This allows even the least proficient players to keep playing indefinitely, if they are willing to keep inserting coins.

Story

For ages, fool-hardy adventurers have been lured by promises of countless treasures in the depths of the Gauntlet, yet none have ever made it out alive. The corrupt wizard Morak conjures minions and devious traps against would-be champions and taunts them all along the way. But a new group of heroes looks to succeed where all others have failed. Warrior, Valkryie, Elf, and Wizard – each has their own reason for entering the Gauntlet but all four are bound together for one goal: to survive the Gauntlet and claim the ultimate prize!

What is happening now

Gauntlet is a hack-and-slash RPG released in 2014 that blends dungeon-crawling action with character-driven gameplay. The game emphasizes fast-paced combat and exploration across interconnected environments. Recent gaming news mentioning "gauntlet" reflects broader industry developments rather than direct updates to this title. Coverage has highlighted how the gauntlet concept appears in other major releases - Capcom's Onimusha revival incorporates an "Oni Gauntlet" mechanic as part of its swordplay-focused demon-slaying gameplay, while Riot Games introduced a "Gauntlet: Glitched" mode as part of VALORANT's 2026 patch cycle. These references underscore how gauntlet-style challenges remain a popular design element across action games.