Play Gauntlet on nes Online

Gauntlet on the NES came out in 1985, developed by Atari Games. It was one of those early attempts to bring a multiplayer arcade experience home, and it stood out on a system still finding its feet with action-adventure titles. You could feel the ambition, even if the hardware sometimes struggled to keep up.

You pick one of four characters: Warrior, Valkyrie, Wizard, or Elf, each with different strengths in close combat or ranged magic. Your goal is to survive a hundred floors of a monster-filled dungeon, collecting treasure and food while hunting for an exit on each screen. You fight constantly, shooting projectiles or swinging your weapon, all while managing a health bar that ticks down from both damage and hunger. The pace is relentless, the enemies respawn if you linger, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed without careful movement. It feels tense and claustrophobic, a real test of patience and quick decision-making.