Project Warlock is an upcoming first-person shooter from Crunching Koalas and Buckshot Software. The game is already available on Steam and has won itself a bit of a cult following already, given its tight gameplay and old-school leanings.
I've recently been through some of the game's early levels, and I quite honestly struggled to put the game down just to write this. It's bloody spectacular.
Old school sensibilities
Project Warlock uses a combination of 3D environments and 2D sprites to create its world, which clearly takes stylistic cues from the early DOOM and Wolfenstein titles of yesteryear. 2D sprites always face the camera, and the 3D environments are pixel-style with winding corridors and tons of secrets.
The game is pretty light on story, continuing that old-school tradition. You play as an unnamed Warlock, traveling across various dimensions of space and time to vanquish a cabal of evil entities. You're armed to the teeth with a variety of modern and esoteric weaponry, including spells, staves, and enchanted daggers. Each dimension is split into several smaller levels, some taking only a few minutes to complete, tasking you to wind through a maze of rooms and halls filled to the brim with a surprisingly large variety of monsters, demons, and Cthonic abominations.
The first area takes place in a medieval setting, filled with classic demons like Succubi, whereas the second takes place in an Antarctic research facility, crammed with mutated creatures clearly in homage to John Carpenter's The Thing. While short, the levels are numerous, keeping the action rapid and frenetic throughout.
Beyond the brevity of the levels and the visual stylings, Project Warlock also leans on an old school lives-based system. However, casual difficulty lets you respawn infinitely if it's not your bag. For "Normal" difficulty and above, you'll be given a total of three lives (although you can earn more via secrets), and if you lose them all, that's it, Game Over, in the very classical sense. You have to start from the beginning, losing all of your progress.
This punishing stipulation felt archaic at first, but after my first retry, I found that it adds a sense of urgency and vulnerability modern shooters have lost in recent years. Also, the gunplay is so tight and rewarding, that starting over doesn't feel that bad anyway. It's fun to go back through an area armed with fresh knowledge and experience, as you learn where enemies spawn and where to find health, ammo, and so on.
Feels so good
Project Warlock may be old school when it comes to art and design, but it feels modernized when it comes to gameplay.
Project Warlock still has modern precision ballistics for gunshots and collision, and full 3D views (complete with optional crosshairs, if you don't want to go too old school). Blasting enemies into chunks with magically-enhanced dynamite, or zapping them with a lightning staff feels as satisfying as it does in any other modern shooter, spreading giblets and viscera across the walls and floor.
There's a vast arsenal of upgradeable weapons to choose from, including DOOM's iconic sawn-off shotgun, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, machine guns, magnum pistols, and much more. There are also plenty of magical abilities, with a spell staff that can fry enemies with lightning or freeze them in place, and spells that utilize your existing weapons, turning them into enhanced versions. One spell lets you enchant your grenades or dynamite ammo, turning them into explosive projectiles rather than throwing weapons. The results can be spectacular.
Source: Windows Central
The game is as rapid as any modern DOOM-style shooter, with a satisfying flow of strafe-and-shoot, as you wind around hunting down health kits and ammo. There are tons of secrets to uncover throughout levels, too, hidden behind destructible walls or secret switches, giving you additional consumables or EXP items, which you can use to enhance your character. I tend to dump all of my stat points into health, given that losing a life in this game can be one step closer to Game Over.
Keep an eye on this one
The game is already available on Steam if you have a capable PC, but it's launching on Xbox on June 12, and is available for pre-order already.
Fans of DOOM, whether classic or modern, definitely need to check this game out. It feels great to play, has a ton of variety, and is cheap as chips at just $15.
Go old school with this magical DOOM-like
Project Warlock is magical in more ways than one, giving you dark powers in a DOOM-like shooter.
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