(Played the PC port)
After playing Metal Gear Rising: Revengence I wanted to play the rest of the Metal Gear franchise, so obviously I had to start at the beginning – Metal Gear.
So how does a game from 1987 hold up? (If I could capitalize numbers, I would) There is no point in even asking the question. Of course, it doesn’t hold up. The only reason to play it is to just see where the legendary series started.
Still, I don’t hate it. At the end of the day, I did finish it. (With a guide) While throughout most of it, I was quite bored, there were some genuinely intriguing moments where I thought that, had I played it when it came out, my jaw would be on the floor.
Honestly play it. It's worth it to see just how far gaming has come.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
Apologies, I didn’t pay much attention during history class, so my Metal Gear lore knowledge isn’t that deep. I don’t know whether this game connects to the wider universe of the series.
You play as Solid Snake, a special forces operative, who is tasked with infiltrating the Outer Heaven to destroy a weapon by the name of Metal Gear. Getting déjà vu?
There isn’t much of a story, but there is still more than I expected for 1987, and it did surprise me at a few points.

𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲
It attempts to be a stealth game, and it only succeeds when you have the patience to take the “stealth” seriously. You see, the combination of multiple exploits, awful AI, and unexplained mechanics led to me becoming bored with trying to play as intended and just brute-forced the rest of the game.
The use of a guide is highly recommended. There is very little that is explained properly and unless you want the authentic 1987 experience of banging your head against a wall, look up the solution.

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬/𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
2D-pixel graphics were the pinnacle of quality back then, the same can't be said for today.

𝐀𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞/𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
There isn’t much of an atmosphere or immersion in Metal Gear. I do wonder whether the people who played it on release had a different experience.

𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤
Back then the hardware used to play such games could make many sounds as such the soundtrack had to accommodate that. This led to it being a bit hard on the ears. Still, it is better than I expected. My favourite part is “Red Alert”.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
As for my quest to complete the Metal Gear series, I stopped at Metal Gear Solid (the first) as I realized stealth games just are not for me. Maybe someday I will return.

(At the time of writing, the full game has yet to come out)
Incision is a boomer shooter. That’s it.
Out of all the games of this genre I’ve played, this one felt the most generic. While that is not a bad thing on its own, these days given how oversaturated the genre is, a game needs something for it to stand out from the rest. Incision unfortunately doesn’t have that.
Can I recommend it? Well, it’s not a badly made game – the weapons are good, visuals are OK – don’t come in expecting anything you haven’t seen before.

Story
As is tradition, there is no story. Perhaps there is some lore, but that’s it.

Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay-wise wise the game is fine. It follows the standard formula for a throwback shooter and doesn’t do much else. The only non-standard part is the use of lives instead of checkpoints, which is a negative more than it is a positive.
Weapons feel good to shoot and they are some unique ones. Level design can be quite confusing at times, but is generally OK. Enemies are also just OK.
It's hard for me to say anything because it's all just fine, there is nothing particularly bad or good on display in Incision.

Graphics/Artstyle
The graphics are what is to be expected from the genre – low poly, blocky, with textures of similar quality.
The aesthetic that the game is going for is technically unique, it is a metal/blood city with plenty of body horror. However, the way it is presented reminds me a lot of hell, which is the most generic setting for a boomer shooter.

Atmosphere/Immersion
I wasn’t that immersed, mainly because I was bored. Not enough to stop playing, but enough to not care that much.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack fits perfectly into the aesthetic of the game. It’s like listening to scraping metal. Unfortunately, I don’t have a favourite part.

Final Thoughts
✧ 🎀 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 :𝟥 🎀 ✧

(At the time of writing, the full game has yet to come out)
One of the classics from the 90s era of shooter is the game Blood. Due to its excellent atmosphere, naturalistic level design, unforgettable main character, and overall great gunplay it managed to stand out from the rest. Cultic takes those same elements and attempts (and succeeds) to replicate and improve upon the experience originally provided by Blood.
There isn’t much more to be said, it’s a really good shooter seeped in atmosphere that takes inspiration from the right places. If you played and enjoyed Blood or are just a fan of the genre, then I highly recommend Cultic.

Story
You are a detective who has dug too deep into a supposedly harmless cult, now you wake up in a pile of bodies and have to fight your way out.
It's not a story-focused game, but still, I was invested. The numerous pieces of lore scattered throughout the levels certainly helped.

Mechanics and gameplay
It’s the standard throwback shooter formula with some additions. If you’ve played any other FPS of this genre, you will know pretty much everything there is already.
Gunplay is solid, weapons feel satisfying to use, especially since headshoting is a thing. There are also upgrades you can get for said weapons. Level design is excellent, offering natural feeling environments and a smooth transition between levels.

Graphics/Artstyle
Cultic is by no means photorealistic. It pays homage to the 90s era of gaming while still looking like something that was made in this decade. The colour pallet chosen here gives a unique aesthetic that adds a lot to the retro feel.

Atmosphere/Immersion
The atmosphere is perhaps the strongest point of Cultic. It's not horror, but the feeling of playing Cultic is similar. This is due to the cult theme (men in robes, ritual circles, those kinds of things) the game takes on.
With a strong atmosphere comes strong immersion. This is definitely true in this case.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack is pretty good, it has the same cultish, horror theme that permeates throughout the rest of the game. My favourite part is “Abomination”.

Final Thoughts
No one-liners :(