To play GoNNER is to immerse yourself in the inky delirium of a bad dream that, somehow, feels good.

The dream logic extends to every aspect of this punishing, intoxicating blend of run-and-gun and roguelike. The platforms—are they bones? Or perhaps the scribbles of a disturbed child?—materialize beneath you like the proverbial track laid down as a train hurtles forward. You never see the entire procedurally generated space at once; as you explore, more becomes visible. 

But what you always see are the creatures. A menagerie of monochromatic fauna, some more malevolent than others. You blast through them with your loadout of choice: one of a dozen or so unlockable weapons; a Backpack enabling a special power, like a circular blast or insta-reload or turbo cannon; and a Head plucked from an underworld tree, each skull a unique power-up. Slinging ammo around and hopping on beasts keeps a combo going, increasing your score and earning you purple glyphs to buy a new life.



But such mechanical trifles don’t explain the feeling of playing GoNNER. 

Things squish. You scuttle through the gaping mouth of a giant worm to move between levels. Sound wafts in, a mix of ethereal and industrial, as if you’ve fallen asleep in a factory, the harsh metal-on-metal anguish intruding on your slumber. As you maintain your hit combo, a thudding heartbeat increases while the jittery screen ebbs and pulses into vivid nightmare etchings. Each munition hitting its target lends a propulsive beat to a sonic soundscape, feeling more like haptics than a score.

Keep the drumbeat of headshots and noggin-bops going for long enough, and the action explodes. The unlit caverns are now a psychedelic rave. Your score rises exponentially, but that’s the last thing on your mind. You’re in a flow state now. That is, until an errant hit from a demon sends your skull skidding along the ground. The lights go out.  At least in this dream, you can retrieve your head and put it back on. But hurry: If you get hit while decapitated, it’s game over. 



Also: Death is your mentor and your best friend is a space whale named Sally.

GoNNER was made by Art in Heart, a trio of Sweden-based indie devs led by the game designer Ditto, a pseudonym at odds with the inimitable style of his work. Together, the team created a game that feels like something Tim Burton’s contrarian child would make at a game jam with the blasé theme “adventure.” While a successful run may only take 30 minutes, you’ll likely die in two before you come to grips with its many secrets. But GoNNER gets its hooks in you fast; before you know it, you’ll have dreamed and died a thousand times.

Originally released in 2016, GoNNER came to Epic Games Store on February 27, 2020. The ensuing years have proven to be a different kind of nightmare. If you missed it before, now’s the perfect time to lurk through Art in Heart’s macabre masterclass of good pain.