When comparing Eschatos vs Enter the Gungeon, the Slant community recommends Enter the Gungeon for most people. In the question“What are the best Shoot 'Em Up games on Steam?” Enter the Gungeon is ranked 1st while Eschatos is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Enter the Gungeon is:
Thanks to the roguelite aspects of the game, there is randomly generated levels, which means fresh gameplay each time the game is played. There is also 4 different characters available in the game, each of which has a different boss fight at the end of the game as well as different characteristics while being used. This also makes for a good bit of replayability for those that would like to see all the different bosses in the game as well as experience the different type of gameplay for each character.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easily accessible
Eschatos used to be an Import-friendly Japanese only title for the Xbox 360, but now it is fully localized and easily accessible by anyone on Steam. Runs well on lower end machines as well.
Pro Beginner Friendly
The learning curve starting from the easiest difficulty levels is very easy to follow. The bullet density starts off light and cranks up when you're ready to challenge yourself with a higher level of difficulty. This helps you learn about your hitbox. Also, 1UPs are quite plentiful, letting you play longer on one credit.
Pro Amazing Soundtrack
Both the original and arranged soundtracks for this game are absolutely fantastic and always a joy to listen to. This is very appreciated in a genre where you practice stages many times in order to improve your score.
Pro 2 Different Modes
Normal and Advanced modes play very differently. In Normal mode, your ship's power stays consistent through the whole game. Don't want to worry about powering up your ship? Normal mode is for you. Enjoy shifting between offense and defense depending on the situation? Advanced mode lets you do just that.
Pro Satisfying replayability
Thanks to the roguelite aspects of the game, there is randomly generated levels, which means fresh gameplay each time the game is played. There is also 4 different characters available in the game, each of which has a different boss fight at the end of the game as well as different characteristics while being used. This also makes for a good bit of replayability for those that would like to see all the different bosses in the game as well as experience the different type of gameplay for each character.
Pro Unique tone
The game is often silly with many humorous elements such as every character is based around being a bullet, that in turn own guns and fire other bullets. There is no mistaking that the game is about shooting, and the game is somewhat 4th wall breaking by taking advantage of this fact and hilariously throwing it into the players face.
Pro Easily stay in the action of the game
There are a few small features in the game that add up to making sure the player is never too distracted or pulled out of the action. Things like once a stage is cleared and all coins dropped by your fallen foes will be magnetically pulled to you, just to make sure time is not wasted running around picking up currency. Another is that each map has numerous teleporter nodes, which makes for fast and easy travel. And lastly there is a quick start in the main menu that allows the player to jump right back into the action the next time they start up the game. All these things add up to an ease of use that makes sure the player is never too distracted by the un-fun elements of play.
Pro Gameplay is balanced well
Often in a roguelite game there can be the chance of getting delt a bum hand on any particular run, luckily Enter the Gungeon does not suffer from this issue as there is a good balance of the gunplay mechanics that sees any death by you as your own fault of not playing to your max ability. Never is it some cheap shot or some item that was not able to be picked up this run, it is just your skill and awareness of wht is being shot at you that matters the most.
Pro Cool collection aspect
There are 190 guns available in the game that the player can collect through purchasing them in an in-game shop as they progress through the game. Most likely this will take multiple playthroughs with all four of the available characters, which means tons of playtime for those that like to collect everything in a game.
Pro SHMUP like gameplay
A lot of the shooting elements in this game revolve around SHMUP like mechanics. Players will need to doge a juke many bullets on screen at ones. Luckily there is a roll capability that allows the player to doge when in a precarious position. This roll feature though is not just some way to make the game easier but is a tool to be used as the game is specifically designed to need this roll in certain places.
Cons
Con Features unlocked slowly
Many different options are locked behind a cumulative score. If you're just starting out, things can take a long time to unlock. This includes stage select.
Con Scoring is unforgiving
Scoring is very simple to understand. By destroying enemy waves completely, you build up a multiplier. However, if you lose a life or let an enemy pass, your multiplier will drop by one. If a few ships make it through in a short time span, your multiplier can completely disappear which can be quite unforgiving for a single mistake.
Con Normal mode is very simplistic
For fans of more complicated systems, normal mode might be too simplistic. Your power doesn't change through the game, so you go through everything with a straight shot, a wide shot, and a temporary shield as well as bombs that drop from enemies. That's it - just 4 mechanics.
Con Co-op feels tacked on
Co-op in the game is only local (no online co-op at all), which limits who you can pay with. On top of this the way one has to go about starting a co-op game feels a bit unintuitive, which can be frustrating.
Stages can also feel cramped when in co-op mode, meaning players bump into walls and objects too much.
Con High difficulty
The game can be difficult, especially when first starting out. This may mean a lot of deaths and a feeling of no progressions due to having to start over a lot. While the game is not unmanageable for players who enjoy the games genres, it may be a bit of a turn off for newcomers.