Blending the top-down action RPG combat of Diablo with a futuristic sci-fi setting, upcoming Steam roguelike game Gatekeeper is one I’ve had my eye on for a while. While its melee focused classes lean more towards the Blizzard ARPG in how they play, however, its newest addition feels much more akin to Helldivers – especially Arrowhead’s first, also top-down outing for that series – with a satisfying shotgun and the ability to call down satellite bombardments.
The satisfying, fast-paced combat of Gatekeeper sold me on its potential during a free demo of the game last year, and following the reveal of the explosive support character Pandora I’ve been eager to see what other classes might be coming our way for the game’s full launch. Developer Gravity Lagoon has built a very fun core, so seeing the options we’ll have to add more replayability such as the recently announced arena mode makes me curious how it will stack up to the best roguelike games on PC.
Newcomer Tech Hunter is certainly an interesting addition to the roster, then. His core weapon is a shotgun with a low initial rate of fire but a good spread. Each of the pellets is treated as a separate projectile, so I’ll be curious to see how his damage potential ramps up with a few upgrades under his belt. His passive ability also allows you to suck artifacts from defeated enemies to acquire new gear.
Also at his disposal is a vacuum grenade, which sucks in nearby enemies before detonating to deal damage in an area. Obviously that’s a great tool on its own merits, and doubly so when you’re dealing with a character that uses a shotgun as their primary tool. It should also synergize nicely with some of the other characters, such as Pandora’s ability that causes defeated foes to detonate powerful area-of-effect explosions nearby.
The real money maker, however, is his orbital strike ability. Mark any enemy or a location on the ground with it, and it will be bombarded with high-impact blasts from a satellite high above in true Helldivers fashion. That’ll only make his vacuum grenade even more useful, I’d wager.
Rounding out Tech Hunter’s arsenal is his mobility skill, something all characters have at their disposal to ensure you can get around efficiently. In this case, Tech Hunter can mark a specific spot and then immediately teleport back to it at a moment’s notice, meaning he’s well equipped to put himself in dangerous positions to lure enemies away or cluster them together before zipping out and unleashing devastation from above.
Gatekeeper is set to launch on Steam in April 2024. You can stay up to date with it in the meantime by adding it to your Steam wishlist.
Looking for more games to play with your friends? There’s no shortage of the best co-op games to keep you busy in 2024, along with the best games like Diablo if you love blasting your way through hordes of enemies in search of that perfect loot.
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