Desert Child
Desert Child
Game
Game2016
GoNNER
Developer Art in Heart
Gonner (stylized as GoNNER) is a roguelike video game developed by Art in Heart and published by Raw Fury. It was released on October 12, 2016 for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was scheduled for release on June 8, 2017, but was delayed to June 29, 2017. The game has been described as a "shooter" version of Spelunky. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
173 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Sep 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
62
Fresh
99 positive · 61 negative
95% range 54–69%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 99 | 61 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
531 of 683 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
63% recommend · 108 yes, 63 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 171 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,093 of 1,347 positive).
Players praise the unique art style and fast-paced, skill-based gameplay. [1][2][3] Some reviewers criticize the lack of tutorials and poor control explanations. [4][5][6] The Blueberry DLC is widely disliked for disrupting the game's flow. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
GoNNER was a fun game... until the Blueberry DLC. The new water level added by the DLC has got to be one of the worst-designed environments in any 2D game. Not only does it work against the play flow established by the design of the base game, it's also just ANNOYING due to how wonky the platforming is. On top of this, the new gun added by DLC can't even hit flying enemies, which is somewhat ironic since the DLC …
- [4]
I agree with the top review. Style over substance indeed. There is absolutely no context in the beginning for me to get a grasp of the game and its mechanics. I don't feel my progression, heck I barely understand my progression. Balancing is minimal and difficulty is all over the place. This is a bad design: bad concept and bad execution. It is carried by its visuals, but visuals don't make a game good. For example. …
- [1]
GoNNeR - A short unique 2D roguelike Another sleeper hit and a pleasant surprise during the last few days of this year! GoNNeR was sitting in my library for a long time and I was thinking to try it out for a while, due to it's unique art style and setting. What a surprise this has been! It took me around 8 hours to 100% (Mind you I have 2 hours extra on the clock from steam card farming). A roguelike at heart GoNNeR …
- [2]
more like GooNNER but in all seriousness, this game was surprisingly fun. Runs are quick, challenging, and rewarding, and the game’s unique visual style makes every moment stand out. While it can be punishing at first and doesn’t explain much, the rhythm of dying, learning, and improving quickly becomes addictive. If you enjoy skill-based roguelikes with personality and momentum, GooNNER is absolutely worth a …
- [3]
GoNNER goes as fast as you can and building up a sick combo gets my brain pumping dopamine like none other. At first you're slow and really dumb. It takes some time and thinking to clear an area with the tools you have but the enemies are predictable so it's really easy to build mastery. GoNNER always gives you the space you need to figure it out before you advance and you're going to want to do that at first. A few …
Summarised from 34 of the 185 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
63% of the 171 Steam reviewers we collected recommend GoNNER. The complaint that keeps coming up: no tutorial or key rebinding. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
GoNNER received positive reviews from reviewers. On Metacritic, the game has a score of 79/100 for the Nintendo Switch version based on 14 reviews, while the PC version has a score of 81/100 based on 5 reviews..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 173 · most liked first[CLOSED] [STEAM] Christmas Steam Key Giveaway -- Part 4. As before, please list up to 5 titles that you want, and I will do my best to make sure that everyone gets at least 1. Check [Part 1](https://lemmy.ca/post/35563409), [Part 2](https://lemmy.ca/post/35607838), and [Part 3](https://lemmy.ca/post/35685416) for previous giveaways (I'm going through the alphabet, if you couldn't tell). Occasionally keys may have already been redeemed, or be for the wrong game. Sorry about that, I've been…
neutral · AI labelView post →GoNNER was a fun game... until the Blueberry DLC. The new water level added by the DLC has got to be one of the worst-designed environments in any 2D game. Not only does it work against the play flow established by the design of the base game, it's also just ANNOYING due to how wonky the platforming is. On top of this, the new gun added by DLC can't even hit flying enemies, which is somewhat ironic since the DLC area is chock-full of them. It's kind of the bad cherry on top of the whole mess.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i am a gooner who probably gonna goon again lord forgive me
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GoNNeR - A short unique 2D roguelike Another sleeper hit and a pleasant surprise during the last few days of this year! GoNNeR was sitting in my library for a long time and I was thinking to try it out for a while, due to it's unique art style and setting. What a surprise this has been! It took me around 8 hours to 100% (Mind you I have 2 hours extra on the clock from steam card farming). A roguelike at heart GoNNeR has a combo system that rewards quick thinking. The art style is phenomenal…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very simple and unique game, it's fun but difficult at the same time. GoNNER 8/10 Heisen
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game has multiple terrible mechanics you can ignore. Getting hit drops you to 1 hp until you pick up your dropped items... unless you have a certain mask. Running out of ammo leaves you without a gun... unless you have a powerup the shoots bullets/reloads. So off the bat you are encouraged to not experiment with different setups. The game rewards you for fast kills with a combo meter… that has absolutely no impact on gameplay. Jumping on enemies and killing them releases huge clouds of smoke,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I agree with the top review. Style over substance indeed. There is absolutely no context in the beginning for me to get a grasp of the game and its mechanics. I don't feel my progression, heck I barely understand my progression. Balancing is minimal and difficulty is all over the place. This is a bad design: bad concept and bad execution. It is carried by its visuals, but visuals don't make a game good. For example. The first level has a tiny amount of enemies, and then they're just thrown at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →more like GooNNER but in all seriousness, this game was surprisingly fun. Runs are quick, challenging, and rewarding, and the game’s unique visual style makes every moment stand out. While it can be punishing at first and doesn’t explain much, the rhythm of dying, learning, and improving quickly becomes addictive. If you enjoy skill-based roguelikes with personality and momentum, GooNNER is absolutely worth a recommendation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel like this game was probably a good game for the time, as I like its visuals, and the gameplay doesn't feel abhorrent. But, the controls and what you can do just doesn't mesh well with itself, I get its a hard game, but the way you control just doesn't go with the gameplay. You can't aim up or down and if you get hit(with the base mask) you lose all your items including your health so next time your hit without the mask, you will die. The tutorial is also not great, because I get it's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really weird game. A nice platformer with simple graphics, but really annoyed me when i died and my body fell into the abyss and not on a platform, no item details you have to figure stuff out yourself.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GoNNER's questionable choices of mechanics and gameplay elements unfortunately wastes all its potential. While the shooting feels great, the recoil doesn't, needing ammo to reload feels tacked on since when you are about to be out of ammo every enemy you kill gives plenty of it anyways. Levels are too linear and you lack critical options that makes rogue-likes what they are. Although they look great, they lack depth. My biggest issue, when you get hit, you lose your head which makes you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No key rebinds, non-tutorial. Very slippery gameplay, do not recommend using a keyboard at all. A BIT up its own ass, you dont have to obfuscate the basic controls of the game just to keep the aesthetic of a non-gameplay element, just write the letters of the damn keys on the screen for the intro.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know when the dev changes a game to (GameName 2 Out Now!) it's really good. Nuff said.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not even kidding, the DLC is so bad it ruins the whole game - I want to like this game but it's just not even fun with the DLC. I played this on switch years ago before the DLC and it was good. Trash , refund immediately or suffer
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a fantastic game, and one that I totally suck at! The brilliant mix of lofi graphics and utterly unforgiving but tight gameplay makes this a magnificent example of games I adore, but admire from a distance. I honestly wish I could be good at this game so that I can experience firsthand the joys of helping Ikk bring Sally the landwhale her trinkets, but alas, it will be the death of me! This is a great game in the shooter/platformer genre and if you have an urge to go mad over a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kind of on the fence with this game. It's very simple and works well enough but it just lacks depth. Starts of like a fun arcade game but gets kind of dull after a while.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game can be really really fun, but it stutters too much for no reason. Add to that the poor hit detection on bullets as well as jumping, and it makes for a frustrating experience that I can't recommend. The dev has stopped listening to the community and there doesn't seem to be any plans to fix the issues. If you're considering buying it, try it before you do, or get a refund if you have the same problems.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately ended up agreeing with a lot of the negative reviews. Visually the game is awesome, and the soundtrack is cool. The gameplay is just kind of "meh" though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GoNNER goes as fast as you can and building up a sick combo gets my brain pumping dopamine like none other. At first you're slow and really dumb. It takes some time and thinking to clear an area with the tools you have but the enemies are predictable so it's really easy to build mastery. GoNNER always gives you the space you need to figure it out before you advance and you're going to want to do that at first. A few hours in you'll hopefully be zipping around making the whole thing look…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game! Totally worth checking out even though Gonner2 has released.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried this game with very high expectations, but after an hour of gameplay I found a lot of flaws. The tutorial is useless, the keys are not listed or explained , the rooms are always the same three or four alternating, items are few and far between, bosses are frustrating and boring. During a roguelike game run you will often get powerups that allow you to pass advanced levels, in GoNNER once you've found a starting loadout that you like, you'll probably mostly play with that only. There's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I LOVE GOONER AND I LOVE GOONING THIS GAME
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Press Jump To Die.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →really fun game, got it on sale
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be warned, the Blueberry update for this game effectively ruins the flow of gameplay. Still a great game but I don't know if I'll ever go back to it after the changes they made
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As musch as I enjoy the artstyle and music is not enought to look over the game play, other than spawning you in a room already surrounded by enemies thats an instakill sentence there are no other problems technically or mechanically, after about the hour mark the gameplay became very boring and repetitive more because death seta you back to the beginning with little room variation, i was getting the sence that more enemies were spawning with each room and my runs getting longer and longer, the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly but it's a "no" for me. I tried the game for a few minutes long ago. Apparently as i'm looking things up to write this, it was before the blueberry edition so idk how much it impacts my experience now and how much different the game was before. I don't remember much from the first time i booted up the game but i decided to give it a go again because... hell, my backlog is yelling at me from the background. So I can only speak of what i experienced as of playing today and i feel like it's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very disappointing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love having good run and thinking I'll actually progress through one more area just to get rekt by mobs or a new boss. For real though the game is nice, has an unique art style and soundtrack is nice too. After taking damage You lose Your weapon, skull (which gives You heart containers and random bonuses) and active item and You have to pick all the items again while being in 1shot form. It takes a bit to get used to and You can get some skulls that prevent that from happening.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm ♥♥♥♥ at this game but it's fun and simple!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Suffers from bad rng which plagues many procedural games but especially those with mobs of enemies. You have megaman movement minus the slide and you can't aim up with your first two weapons. Your first two abilities/powers are also underwhelming so you have a very boring grind which is one thing you don't want in a roguelike. It has a sequel, maybe that's better or maybe it starts getting better later but even then I can't recommend a game that takes long to get fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting artwork, gameplay is fairly unique, fast-paced combat, rewards you for improving your skill, very difficult. I enjoyed this game for the most part, but it's one of those games which relies on your playing over and over and gaining proficiency in order to win without giving you anything that really helps you along the way. There are a few different items for you to collect, but mostly you're going to find the load-out you prefer pretty quickly and just stick with that. Also, there…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game! This was the first game that i have ever bought without someones recommendation and i felt really pleased with the games atmosphere, colours and gameplay! I just bought it today, but i really feel that i will enjoy it everyday! Thanks to the people behing this game! It makes me really happy to support indie developers who make such cool games, cant wait for goNNER 2! <3<3 (Btw, if you enjoy games such as The Binding of Isaac, Hollow Knight, Nuclear Throne or Spelunki, then…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Top five game audio design of all time -- it's truly special. The visuals are unique and excellent, and the narrative hints at itself in a mysterious but charming way. The gameplay is tight and rewards you with punchy audio/visual juice as you chain kills together. Super fun and highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Your Fallen Idol has returned! Live for GoNNER only on Twitch!!! #Twitch #VTuber #IndieVTuber www.twitch.tv/maximilianbr...
neutral · AI labelView post →I've read somewhere that it's like "a shooter version of Spelunky". That's pretty accurate, though there's a bit less interactions with the environment and a it's more about execution than planning (unlike Spelunky). But hey, it's fun and it has style!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm happy to share I'm working on a game about speed called Phantom Spark! It's the first time I have done a racing game which has been a lot of fun! Music is by Joar Renolen who did GoNNER with me ✨
neutral · AI labelView post →its impossible to uninstall the game-ruining dlc
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →blast those little alien goons! PHSHEUUUUH!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic visuals and soundtrack. But clunky, frustrating gameplay with no real reward for playing dangerously, other than increasing your high score, leads to a very mediocre roguelike.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Could be fun if you didn't run out of ammo every 5 seconds.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the music and the art style are really cool very fun game and kinda tough too my only issue is that when your too close to enemies and shoot them it doesnt hurt them you have to be further away for the gunshots to register and i do not enjoy that one bit
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah no, giving you a gun that only shoots straight forward and then filling every room with flying enemies, including a boss consisting of three larger flying enemies and like twelve smaller ones rushing you in a tiny box, is not a good way to convince me I'm going to enjoy this roguelike.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have a soft spot for artsy games, but this really didn't hit that in the end. I watched a youtube run of this, and there wasn't even much content to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →please don't go :(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoy Noita! Have you heard of Baba is You? I believe its from the same developers of GoNNER and its a puzzle game, kinda similar to Dragonsweeper
neutral · AI labelView post →Starting in 10 mins #YouTube premiere of our previous GoNNER Twitch stream where I attempt to beat the game for the very first time. #VTuber #IndieVTuber youtu.be/16XEP_EjBlg?...
neutral · AI labelView post →looks like a lot of fun but as far as I can see theres no tutorial or any other kind of explanation of how to play so the mechanics dont make much sense
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is pure torture.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I pissed myself in anger playing this game. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonky hitboxes, clunky movement, generic enemies and uninspiring levels (I guess that's what you get with the procedural generation). The graphics are really meh, and get messy fast when fighting a lot of enemies.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super cool platformer. I love the style and it is in the smaller pool of Rogue-likes that i don't get frustrated by.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This took a lot longer than I would have liked. GoNNER is a Run-N-Gun platformer with elements of rougelite. The gameplay offers a lot of variety in the fact that you have 3 separate slots to fill with different stuff. A mask, a gun and a backpack item. Masks supply you with health, guns shoot things, and backpacks offer special utilities from a super jump to an AOE explosion attack. All 3 of these slots have different options that provide different advantages against your enemies,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really love the visuals of the game, they're really simple yet unique, and the general vibe it gives off is great! Gameplay, at least with the Steam Deck, is pretty intuitive and it plays nicely. I do recommend this game if you're into these types of games, sadly I'm really bad at shoot-em-ups so this game is just too hard for me. Still think it's a good game though!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh? Do you love the art style? I mean really love the art style? Because if not, there are at least a dozen other games that do exactly what this game does but better. I got the game for free in a bundle and I still can't be bothered.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most overlooked Roguelikes on steam
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →MY SHOTGUN BULLET PASSED RIGHT THROUGH A GRUNT AS I FIRED WHILE FALLING!!!! AND THEN I GOT HIT 1X SO OFC I DIED AND I WAS IN A BA SPOT WHERE ANY RESPAWN AUTO KILLS YOU CAUSE OF HOW THE GAME WORKS. GREAT GAME!! stupidest game ive ever played. doesnt explain how to play at alll....u gotta try and figure it out and when something weird happens like u change direction when falling.....u have no idea if its onpurpose or a bug in ur controller or what is supposed o happen....all u know is ur walking…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow. This game is absolute TRASH. GoNNER had been on my Wishlist for quite a long time. When I saw that it was on sale for $0.99, I decided to finally purchase it. For four quarters? Seemed like an easy-purchase. What a complete and utter mistake that was. I love rouge-likes/lites and procedurally-generated games, so GoNNER seemed like a no-brainer. It is even referenced in my perrenial favorite game Enter the Gungeon, so I thought, "This game has got to be AT LEAST medicore at worst." Boy,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The experience that GoNNER offers is quite short; with only 7 hours in it I have managed to fully complete everything, including all the achievements. Having little to no replay value means that even a price tag as low as 10 dollars seems a bit steep compared to many other games in its genre. Overall, I'd say GoNNER offers interesting visuals and decent gameplay, but is way too short and repetitive. Get it for the experience if you like the artstyle, but otherwise you should avoid it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played on Steam OS Window11 Awesome fun game nice on the eyes really good stuff here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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