Cultic
3D Realms couldn’t really not take part. When called Apogee, it bloody invented the genre (no, I’ve decided it’s true. I don’t care about some weird vector game from 1984 or whatever. Like how all prehistoric lizards are dinosaurs now, it’s also true that Wolfenstein 3D was the first first-person shooter. Amend Wikipedia), and then as 3DR, made Duke Nukem 3D. So, in whatever peculiar bastard form the company exists today (it’s really Interceptor Entertainment in a Halloween costume), it is at least publishing more entries into the retro-FPS field.
Cultic: Chapter One is a Build Engine game, as was ol’ Duke, although this bears more similarity with Monolith’s 1997’s FPS, Blood. Jasozz Games’ boomer shooter is a spiritual successor, but also very much its own modern take. Its heavy leanings into axe murdering horror often make it feel more like an exploratory adventure, before reminding you of its true origins as the screen fills with enemies.
Cultic is also utterly beautiful, which is perhaps not a word too often associated with the Build engine, whether in the ‘90s or its modern incarnation. But the aesthetic choices here are incredible, the color palette creating absorbing subtlety, and the 3D art decorating what’s essentially a 2.5D game helping create a deep sense of place.
Chapter One is now out of Early Access, and comprises a full 10 expansive levels. Chapter Two will be added as a paid DLC at an unspecified point in the future.
