When comparing Sanctum 2 vs Gauntlet, the Slant community recommends Gauntlet for most people. In the question“What are the best Online Co-Op games on Steam?” Gauntlet is ranked 14th while Sanctum 2 is ranked 52nd. The most important reason people chose Gauntlet is:
Gauntlet offers full controller support that actually works extremely well for an action RPG. This makes for a good game to play on a Steam Machine or living room gaming PC.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Well balanced campaign that allows for 1 to 4 players while keeping the difficulty scaled in order to keep the gameplay challenging
The campaign remains balanced regardless of how many people are playing. The difficulty of play scales very effectively to ensure the level of challenge is appropriate.
Pro Teamwork is not optional, each player needs to cooperate with their team in order to have any success
Since tower slots are limited, it's important to coordinate the layout of your defenses as a team in order to fend off the enemies.
Pro High amount of replayability thanks to a large selection of in-game buffs
You can buff the monsters in each fight with one of five different buffs, giving you five different playing experiences for each level.
Pro Automatic server hosting and port forwarding
Players do not need to set up dedicated servers or port forward. It is done automatically.
Pro Integrates well with Steam matchmaking, making it easy to find online matches
Sanctum 2 allows for players to use Steam’s built-in matchmaking, which makes it easy to invite your friends or to find others to play with.
Pro Reliable netcode allows you to enjoy the game without worry of laggy or dropped connections
The netcode used is stable and there have been very few issues reported, which is great as there is no ned to worry about losing you connection, dropping the match.
Pro You can easily play the PC game on a sofa with the included full controller support
Gauntlet offers full controller support that actually works extremely well for an action RPG. This makes for a good game to play on a Steam Machine or living room gaming PC.
Pro Bosses offer good bit of diversity to the gameplay thanks to requiring different strategy over the base gameplay
Different bosses require different tactics to defeat them. This creates a good change of pace from the regular hack and slash gameplay as differing tactics will need to be used.
Pro Good co-op options no matter if you want to play locally or online
Gauntlet has support for local and online 4 player co-op. Making for a game that works well for small groups.
Cons
Con Difficulty can spike from chapter to chapter
Con Boring
Con Tower defense games do not invite creative building plans
Con Boss models are reused too much
There is not a ton of variety in the boss battles; boss models are reused often. This can be repetitive for players.
Con Very repetitive gameplay
With a few exceptions, the gameplay and strategy is the same for the entire game. There is very little progression and very few new abilities. The game also seems to gets easier rather than harder, although the new Colosseum mode adds some challenge to the end game.
Con Locked camera
The camera is locked in a single position. This creates confusion while playing in a busy area, as the camera does not stay focused on the player’s character. While a locked camera made sense in the arcade or on home consoles, where only one screen was needed, it really doesn’t make much sense for online multiplayer.
Con Can be rather difficult
The difficulty level is way too high especially when playing with kids.
Con Requires controllers with XInput
You cannot play Gauntlet with PS controllers.
Con Wizard is complicated to use
The wizard character is complicated to use. He has nine spells that can be cast using a number of hard-to-remember button combinations. This results in very few people wanting to play as the character. For online matches, this means there are quite a few three-player games as no one wants to take the role of the fourth character: the wizard.