Blood brother
Cultichas really good headshots.
Cultics headshots are sensational.
You know.Its also kind of great.
What more could you want from a retro-inspired FPS, really?
Cultics combat is crunchy.
Guns fire with a satisfying crack and bullets connect with a pleasing bite.
There are no shrink rays or room-clearing BFGs to be found here.
Instead, there are hatchets, rifles and rattling machine guns.
These weapons feel brittle and old, savage in an unknowable sort of way.
Alongside gratifying weaponry, Cultic features a surprisingly fluid movement system that makes fights enormously entertaining.
Combat forces you to manage your distance between enemies.
Cultists come in various shapes and sizes.
Hulking titans of flesh and bone.
When you do finally fell them, thats when the blood starts to pour.
Those headshots I mentioned up top arent a rare occurrence.
Cultic is gory, basically.
Fights devolve quickly into a raucous cacophony of splashing blood, cracking bone and squelching viscera.
Absolutely - brilliantly - disgusting.
It helps that Cultic is presented in a visual style that can only be described ascrispy.
Despite the rusty vibes, Cultic is sort of beautiful in a way.
Theres just something about it that is both deeply menacing and strangely peaceful.
The way the light falls on an abandoned car.
The skybox a sea of stars that hangs disinterested above the violence below.
2D enemy sprites are paired with fully 3D objects, enhancing the surreal nature of the world around you.
Its a neat decision, and alongside the art direction makes Cultic feel wholly singular despite its obvious influences.
Is this where I mentionBlood?
I guess this is where I mention Blood.
Its really hard to see screenshots of Cultic and not be reminded of Monoliths 1997 horror shooter.
The whole waking up dead thing.
It would be easy to look at Cultic and assume this is the inevitable retro-inspired FPS retread of Blood.
And, honestly, you wouldnt be wrong.
Its crunchier, snappier, and more tactile.
From what I can tell the game is set around the mid-1950s, although thats a total guess.
Story is not the concern here, at least not one thats explicitly communicated to the player.
Thankfully, one of Cultics strongest elements is its exceptional sense of place.
From thickets to asylums, mineshafts to cathedrals, Cultics world feels believable.
As believable as a crypt full of skeletons wielding shotguns can feel, anyway.
Levels are structured practically, in a way that makes logical sense.
I particularly liked how Cultic alternates between wide-open areas and tightly designed labyrinths.
Cultic is not a scary game, but in these moments it certainly gets close.
The only thing holding Cultic back right now is a few cases of fiddly platforming.
Nothing on the critical path, mind.
Moreso secrets that are hidden behind a gauntlet of rickety platforms that I found borderline impossible to overcome.
I hope its something thats smoothed over in the future.
After all, more chapters spell more headshots.
What more could you ask for?
