I have a specific video game obsession.

I seek out games with difficulty that borders on torture. There’s a clarity that comes along with pounding my head against the metaphorical wall of a challenge. I seek these experiences out, reveling in the triumph and satisfaction that stems from overcoming a hard game. 

Sometimes you’ve gotta be cruel to be kind.

Enter the Gungeon is a twin-stick shooter that gives a polite smile as it attempts to kick you in the teeth. That challenge comes with a rewarding experience filled with unlimited amounts of charm, wonderful narrative and graphical design, and slick controls that made me feel like an action film star.

The game’s bullet-littered chambers offer a proper test of reflexes and strategy. There’s also moments of defeat and disbelief, when one wrong shot or roll can ruin an entire run. That may sound like the opposite of fun, but there’s a wealth of self-satisfaction in striking down an enemy that has shot you down multiple runs in a row.

The “just one more turn” nature of Enter the Gungeon plays into that catharsis. Running through levels filled with equal amounts of clever gun designs and brutal enemies allowed me to learn from my mistakes.

Correcting past mistakes is a key theme as the four playable characters have sought out the infamous Gungeon to “kill their past.” Legendary weapons fill this hole in the world, as well as a race of animated bullet shells known as the Bullet Kin.

There’s something poetic about using a gun called “The Silencer,” which shoots pillows, to kill walking, gun-toting bullets.

The arms found in Enter the Gungeon range from real weaponry, such as the M1 and magnum, to the ridiculous, such as a shotgun made of bones that shoots ghosts. The discovery of crazy weapons from sealed chests sets the tone for each trip into the Gungeon. A powerful weapon can raise spirits and turn the tide. A bad weapon can ruin 40 minutes of hard work.

This two-pronged difficulty based on the luck of the draw and skill is fair. Similar games, such as Nuclear Throne and The Binding of Isaac, lean too far in favor of one over the other and feel left to chance or reliant on pure muscle memory. Enter the Gungeon gives you the tools to survive a bullet-filled landscape, including the ability to flip over tables for cover and roll through waves of projectiles. I never felt once that there wasn’t a situation I couldn’t fight my way out of. 

New characters and shopkeepers saved from the dungeon’s depths also push the story forward. Each rescue reveals more information about the mysterious Gungeon while also providing new guns and items down below. Characters and weapons are just a small part of the smart narrative design. Each item has flavor text explaining the object’s place in this insane, gun-centered universe. There’s a wealth of witty writing and dialog found in the appropriately named “Ammonomicon,” the game’s all-knowing tome of knowledge.

I’d be remiss to not mention the great puns, including bosses named Gorgun, Ammoconda, and Cannonbalrog. It’s the kind of snappy writing that turns me green with envy.

The development team put a genuine effort into forming the world of Enter the Gungeon. The small details and absurdity are a large part of what makes such a hard game so easy to replay. I constantly found items, enemies, and lore on each run that kept up my intrigue and spirits.

I continue to find new and wonderful things after multiple hours with Enter the Gungeon. Few games have as many layers while still providing challenging, tight gameplay that never becomes boring.

Enter the Gungeon is the first genuine surprise of 2016, putting a smile on my face and an iron grip of frustration on my controller.

New ‘Ghostbusters’

Activision announced that two new games based on the upcoming Ghostbusters film are set for release this summer.

A third-person role-playing game titled Ghostbusters for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC will release on July 12 and feature cooperative play for up to four players.

The second game, titled Ghostbusters: Slime City, will release on mobile for iOS and the Google Play store in late July.

Ghostbusters is in theaters on July 15.

Contact Will Harrison at wharrison@theblade.com or on Twitter @DoubleUHarrison.

First Published April 21, 2016, 4:00 a.m.