The original Gauntlet is now a classic arcade title from 1985, a quarter-eater in the heyday of arcade gaming. It helped define the dungeon-crawling genre with multiplayer hack-and-slash combat, receiving two arcade sequels and, eventually, action-RPG Gauntlet titles on consoles. The original is now being remade in the form of a top-down RPG for PC, coming out this summer on Steam.
The remake is being developed by Arrowhead Studios, the creators of Magicka, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game will feature co-op RPG action, and you can play as the Warrior, Elf, Wizard and Valkyrie, each with their own unique abilities and play-styles. Gauntlet features Steam Machine and SteamOS integration with both local and online multiplayer. Here are more details from the press release:
"Players select from four classic fantasy-based characters: Warrior, Wizard, Valkyrie, or Elf. Each character has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior does the most damage in melee combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the most armor and the Elf moves the fastest. Distinctive play styles, procedural dungeons and an impressive art style keep the gameplay fresh.
Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within dungeons where the object is to fight through the chambers slaying evil creatures and completing challenges. An assortment of special items can be located in each dungeon that can restore the player's health, unlock doors, and shift the odds in the player's favor with magical relics which can aid the player in surviving longer in the Gauntlet. The enemies are a vast assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, spiders, sorcerers and skeleton warriors."
The original Gauntlet was followed up by two more Atari arcade releases, 1986's Gauntlet II and 1998's Gauntlet Legends. The franchise moved to consoles the next year with a Gauntlet Legends port for N64, PS2 and Dreamcast. Gauntlet Dark Legacy was released in 2001 for PS2, and 2002 on Xbox and Gamecube, offering the most features in a Gauntlet game yet with four new classes and five new level domains, as well as several secret characters. Check out the announcement trailer below for the upcoming PC remake.
Source: Kotaku