Cultic, a modern-retro style first person shooter, takes inspiration from classics like Doom, Quake, Hexen, and Duke Nukem, but positions itself as something entirely its own.
Technically, I guess, there is a story, but it takes a backseat in comparison to the blast-filled action and exploration. Playing as some dude who awakes in a grave, it is your job to escape by murdering thrones of cultists and their demonic brethren. Simply put, creepy cult people, bad. Guns and explosives, good.
The thick atmosphere and purposely retro pixelated visuals are the stars of the show. The moment-to-moment set pieces look great at every turn, and the environment is packed with detail and secrets. In fact, the hidden passageways and how the game encourages exploration are easily one of the main draws and differentiators from other boomy shooties. For example, the player can easily identify a locked section of the building in the first area. At first, I was looking for a key to open the locked door. However, it wasn’t until I made my way around the building, jumped on a truck, then jumped onto a ledge I didn’t think was interactive did I realize what was happening. I then noticed a crack in the wall which then fell after chucking dynamite at it, granting access to this originally blocked path. There are secrets like this all over the place so it is strongly encouraged to look, jump, and interact with everything possible.
Speaking of the secret filled environments, this might lead to my biggest complaint – the lack of a good map system. If you pause the game, a 3D render of the area gets filled as you enter but the default perspective is always off center, doesn’t contain detail, and can’t be viewed in real time like in Doom, in comparison. While the narrative might start small and linear, it doesn’t take long before the world opens, incorporating multiple paths, and gets a little difficult to keep track of it all. Some might enjoy getting lost in the openness though, but I just wish it was a little easier to manage.
When you are not looking for secrets within these large, detailed environments, you will probably be busy shooting creepy hooded dudes in the face. Gunplay is full of fun, explosions, and multiples way to approach each encounter. Want to go in guns blazing? No problem. Feeling the need to sneak around and attack enemies from behind? Go for it. Want to throw an eyeball from the exploded head of the last encounter at the next cultist? You can do that too. In time, lots of weapons will be available. Sure, standard pistols and shotguns are available, but the experience gets interesting thanks to the inclusion of explosives and a lighter. Melee combat is also thoughtful thanks to the dash/slide/boot kick. Combat was clearly designed as a focus, and it shows. On top of that, weapons can also be upgraded in meaningful ways, but only if you explore and find upgrading materials. I sort of wish weapon upgrades were available sooner because there is some entertaining stuff here.
Besides the lacking mapping system, I just wish it incorporated a few more modern features, specifically online co-op. I hate to say it, but a game of this quality should be shared and enjoyed by all so not having a dedicated multiplayer mode seems like a missed opportunity. Maybe one day this will be patched.
Cultic comes easy to recommend thanks to the dripping atmosphere, secret-filled stage design, and higher level of polish. Fans of classic Duke and even Star Wars Dark Forces should firmly put this on their wishlist.
SCORE: 8.5/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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