Whilst I'm enjoying the trend of retro-style FPS games (I loathe the term "boomer shooter" and refuse to call them as such), most of them have a very one-minded idea of what 90s shooters were like. The throwbacks are all games with hordes of enemies, hyperspeed action and mindless violence - and sure there was that back in the day too, but it's like saying that every 80s action film was Commando and ignoring films like Total Recall or Predator. FPS was a wide genre even back then too (arguably wider than now in terms of aesthetics), and there were a lot of different tones and approaches that these games could take despite sharing the first person view. Pop culture history has even started flanderising some of the prime examples of this: Duke Nukem 3D is now most often thought of as a brainless action fest with as much bombshell babes as it had actual bombs, but the reason it was so humongously influential - and why it was hailed as an instant classic at its release - was because of its intricate level design that hadn't been seen before in the genre.
Cultic seems to have flown under the radar compared some of the other recent retro shooters but it's been one of my favourite experiences of this new-old genre, and that's precisely because it's built as an all-around adventure and an experience rather than just a clickfest. It very specifically refers back to the Build engine (made famous by DN3D itself) in its overall visual design and that's not just a cute hyper-specific nod, it links it with the heritage of old FPS games that paid heed to level design and an overall gameplay experience where gunning down enemies to gibs was just one part of the whole thing. While it's built in a way that makes the high-speed run 'n' gun hijinks possible (including some more modern touches like sliding and fast-tap dodges), it's not what the game is built around. Instead it's a far more atmospheric journey, sometimes building up to moments of tenseness and horror that give the player space to wander and wonder in worrisome calm. When the action gets heavy (and it definitely does, especially on the last third), it's terrific fun and balanced excellently between the new and the old.
The gripes I have are mainly to do with the slight monotony that runs through the game's general design. Despite being centered around a growing supernatural threat, Cultic tries to keep things grounded and that sometimes doesn't quite leave space for variation: the guns are all realistic post-WW2 designs (the wildest the game goes is a flamethrower and a grenade launcher), the enemies are primarily cultists with different coloured robes and at one point I did an audible chuckle when I realised the game was railing me towards yet another trawl through another mine. But they're only gripes, because the game is always quick to swing itself back in action whenever it risks faltering slightly. Despite looking dull the guns all feel great and powerful to use (the sawed-off shotgun has all the OOMPH of a classic FPS shotgun) and the simple upgrade system allows the player to fine-tune the ones they like, the appearance of any non-standard enemies can feel genuinely dramatic and feel suitably different to fight against, and halfway point on the general level design starts stretching its legs nicely. The setpieces, as they are, are great and the MIDI tracker music deserves a special shoutout for beautifully setting the tone in certain places, particularly the more intense action scenes.
Cultic is a literal one-man project and it's really admirable how tight it is. It's a shame this hasn't had as much of a hype around it as e.g. Dusk or Amid Evil - both of which are great fun, don't get me wrong - because this feels more like the kind of gameplay experiences that got me into FPS games to begin with in the early-mid 1990s, and should get its accolades.
Cultic seems to have flown under the radar compared some of the other recent retro shooters but it's been one of my favourite experiences of this new-old genre, and that's precisely because it's built as an all-around adventure and an experience rather than just a clickfest. It very specifically refers back to the Build engine (made famous by DN3D itself) in its overall visual design and that's not just a cute hyper-specific nod, it links it with the heritage of old FPS games that paid heed to level design and an overall gameplay experience where gunning down enemies to gibs was just one part of the whole thing. While it's built in a way that makes the high-speed run 'n' gun hijinks possible (including some more modern touches like sliding and fast-tap dodges), it's not what the game is built around. Instead it's a far more atmospheric journey, sometimes building up to moments of tenseness and horror that give the player space to wander and wonder in worrisome calm. When the action gets heavy (and it definitely does, especially on the last third), it's terrific fun and balanced excellently between the new and the old.
The gripes I have are mainly to do with the slight monotony that runs through the game's general design. Despite being centered around a growing supernatural threat, Cultic tries to keep things grounded and that sometimes doesn't quite leave space for variation: the guns are all realistic post-WW2 designs (the wildest the game goes is a flamethrower and a grenade launcher), the enemies are primarily cultists with different coloured robes and at one point I did an audible chuckle when I realised the game was railing me towards yet another trawl through another mine. But they're only gripes, because the game is always quick to swing itself back in action whenever it risks faltering slightly. Despite looking dull the guns all feel great and powerful to use (the sawed-off shotgun has all the OOMPH of a classic FPS shotgun) and the simple upgrade system allows the player to fine-tune the ones they like, the appearance of any non-standard enemies can feel genuinely dramatic and feel suitably different to fight against, and halfway point on the general level design starts stretching its legs nicely. The setpieces, as they are, are great and the MIDI tracker music deserves a special shoutout for beautifully setting the tone in certain places, particularly the more intense action scenes.
Cultic is a literal one-man project and it's really admirable how tight it is. It's a shame this hasn't had as much of a hype around it as e.g. Dusk or Amid Evil - both of which are great fun, don't get me wrong - because this feels more like the kind of gameplay experiences that got me into FPS games to begin with in the early-mid 1990s, and should get its accolades.