Enter the Gungeon

Enter the Gungeon unlocks new guns that add variety, not power. Boss currency spent in the hub adds more guns to the random drop pool. None of them are stronger than the starting guns, so players feel progress while balance holds.

The unlocks widen what future attempts can offer. In the source's words, it "just adds extra variety to future attempts at the game."

Gungeon keeps every run's starting power flat, so a win proves skill. Like Spelunky, it always starts the player with the same health, bombs and money. Nothing carries over, so the only way past the final boss is learning the systems and practicing the controls.

A skilled player faces no barrier except their own ability and knowledge. The source says such games "almost exclusively reward player skill."

Gungeon offers no way to lower difficulty, which shuts out weaker players. Low-skilled players get no option to ease the game, so they may never reach the end. The design asks everyone to beat a very hard game in one go.

The source's verdict: "a low skilled player may never finish the game." It frames this as the cost of keeping difficulty flat, unless a design adds some form of help.