Gauntlet innovates on past titles while staying true to the brand's legendary format. Players select from four classic fantasy-based characters: Warrior, Wizard, Valkyrie, or Elf. Each character has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior does the most damage in melee combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the most armor and the Elf moves the fastest. Distinctive play styles, procedural dungeons and an impressive art style keep the gameplay fresh.

Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within dungeons where the object is to fight through the chambers slaying evil creatures and completing challenges. An assortment of special items can be located in each dungeon that can restore the player's health, unlock doors, and shift the odds in the player's favor with magical relics which can aid the player in surviving longer in the Gauntlet. The enemies are a vast assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, spiders, sorcerers and skeleton warriors.

The additional time was needed to fine-tune details in order to bring gamers an even more robust multiplayer experience.

As a thank you for all fans who pre-ordered the game, WBIE has added a special in-game item as a bonus: The Spawn of Kerthull, a special Wizard's Robe made from dead imps, who are children of the greater demon, Kerthull.

PAX Prime 2014 will feature a special opportunity for an early look at the game with "The Gauntlet" -- a four-day livestream event where notable Penny Arcade personalities and other gaming / nerd celebrities will go head-to-head in a special tournament. "The Gauntlet" tourney will be held outside the Main Expo entrance in South Hall, where attendees can also get hands-on time with the game during the show. Both the tournament and participant gameplay will be streamed to the official PAX Prime Twitch channel.

Participants in "The Gauntlet" tournament include:

• Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, founders of Penny Arcade and the PAX Tradeshows
• Bestselling fantasy author Pat Rothfuss
• Hosts and Web Sensations Morgan Webb and Graham Stark
• Webcomic creators Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub and Katie Rice
• Nerdcore rap artist MC Frontalot
• Musician-comedians Paul And Storm 
• Angry Joe Show's Joe Vargas
• YouTube gamer Jesse Cox
• GTNews' Andrea Rene
• IGN's Greg Miller
• Nerdist's Jessica Chobot
• Electric Playground's Jose Sanchez 

PAX Prime attendees and Twitch viewers can check out "The Gauntlet" tournaments at the below times:

• Game Preview and Tournament Pre-Matches: Friday (August 29) - 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
• Tournament Semifinals: Saturday (August 30) - 3:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
• Tournament Semifinals: Sunday (August 31) - 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
• Main Event - Tournament Finals: Monday (September 1) - 11:30am - 1:30pm PDT

Finally, the Gauntlet Food Truck will be making its PAX Prime debut! From August 29 to September 1, show attendees who need food badly can attack some delicious, enormous turkey legs on the corner of 9th Avenue and Pine Street. To find out when the food truck will be handing out these tasty treats, follow @playgauntlet on Twitter and the #NeedFoodBadly hashtag for the most up-to-date information.

Gauntlet will be available as digital download ($19.99) via Steam, offering full support for SteamOS, and the upcoming Steam Machines in 2015.