Cultic – Review
Nighttime Cultic play is not recommended, as I recently discovered. Those who are easily frightened by chainsaws and the supernatural will find Cultic to be a worthwhile scare. For a change, it’s nice to see a boomer shooter that embraces the horror genre. Cultic is a well-made, original shooter that demonstrates that there are still new approaches to the increasingly stale boomer shooter genre, which is always a plus.
Cultic is a game developed by Jasozz Games and published by 3D Realms in which the player investigates mysterious towns full of cultists and supernatural beasts. Cultic emphasises the simulation aspect by including a wider variety of gameplay elements, such as larger maps with interactive objects and multiple strategies for approaching combat when you’re low on ammunition.
Lucky me, I got to try out Cultic multiple times before its release, and each time it got more and more intriguing. In the opening sequence of the first level, the player awakens in a mass grave. You have nothing with you but an axe, and soon you’ll be slogging through a cult camp in the middle of nowhere. The first level is realistic enough that you won’t have to fight alongside any outlandish cultists. You start to see that there’s more to Cultic than meets the eye toward the end of the first level, and this is true in both the demos I played and the final release.
My spine tingles at the thought of bodies dangling in a dank cave and a crazed killer armed with a chainsaw. After a while, you’ll have to deal with more cultists, as well as skeletons, possessed armour, psychokinetic ghosts, and even fleshy horrors. In a first-person shooter, I find it particularly satisfying when the atmosphere gradually becomes more unsettling or outlandish as you play. A journey from the towns in the countryside through a network of mineshafts, an asylum, and finally a dig site full of surprises awaits you.
Cultic is exceedingly gritty and creepy with its graphical style. The game’s predominant use of browns and greys creates a gloomy atmosphere wherever you go. An asylum you explore near the second half of Cultic’s campaign lacks a lot of lighting and results in one of the eeriest FPS levels I’ve played this year. The interior of the asylum looks like it has been abandoned for some time; there are broken furniture and trash everywhere. Darkness and the interior’s obvious age create an unsettling atmosphere. Since the level design and atmosphere of Cultic are reminiscent of immersive simulations, it is no surprise that the game is so moody.
The fact that the game’s soundtrack was composed by a single individual came as a surprise, given that it was created by a single developer. It’s rare to find a developer who can pull off making the game’s gameplay, visuals, and music all on their own. This is not the first time we’ve seen exceptional skill pay off; ConcernedApe of Stardew Valley fame is a prime example, and Jasozz Games follows in those footsteps. It’s difficult to put into words the range of emotions evoked by the score, but it works well with the film’s heavy, depressing tone. As you venture further, notes tinged with despair and dread linger, but the score doesn’t shy away from more tense songs when the action heats up.
Instead of the usual dozen or more guns found in boomer shooters, a smaller selection of weapons is used here. The rapid-firing, close-range STEN submachine gun is ideally suited for one situation, while the long-range FG42 sniper fills a different role in the same army. You can find upgrade components to improve your weapons, such as by increasing their damage output, reducing their recoil, or even giving you access to an alternate fire mode. The shooting is crisp and brutal, and no weapon feels weaker than any other.
Cultic also features some interactive simulation elements. Even though you have a kick (a must-have for any good immersive sim), you won’t need it very often. Nonetheless, if you find yourself without ammo and armed with only your axe, it could come in handy. Lanterns come in a variety of shapes and sizes, serving both as a source of illumination and a weapon (they can be shot to create infernos, setting enemies on fire) and, in some cases, as a throwable projectile that can be used in place of bullets.
Cultic has a lot of toys, such as exploding barrels and breakable boxes. Level one seems to put a lot of emphasis on immersion by letting players roll explosive barrels upon enemies from a high cliff and providing plenty of lanterns, but as the game progresses, I found fewer and fewer instances where this could be done. In spite of the fact that Cultic is now available in its entirety, the content it currently features is only the first of several planned chapters; I hope Jasozz Games will add more opportunities to manipulate in-game objects in the future.
The shooting mechanics in Cultic aren’t the worst part of the game, but they can be lacking at times. Unfortunately, the AI in Cultic is pretty dumb. Many times, AI would try to chase me down, only to get stuck trying to avoid an obstacle. When I’m in a room, AI often walks straight into the wall rather than leaving. They could get to me by leaving the room and strolling down the hall. This happens so often in Cultic, and it really takes away from the experience, which is surprising because I’m usually pretty forgiving of AI that makes mistakes. When everything else is well done, the AI’s apparent lack of intelligence stands out even more.
When reviewing Cultic, I usually play at the “Normal” difficulty level to get a feel for the average player’s experience. Normal could be too simple here. I’ve played my fair share of boomer shooters, so I know a few tricks, but the AI makes a lot of the encounters easy. Cultists make up the vast majority of your enemies, and they’re relatively easy to take out with just a few well-placed shots. Bigger enemies are more difficult to kill, as they take more bullets to kill and require more careful planning, but they are rare enough that most can be cheesed by taking advantage of the game’s poor artificial intelligence. Even the confrontation with the game’s final boss was unchallengingly simple. About three times during the entire campaign, I lost my life because I was careless with explosives.
On the other hand, Cultic has great shooting skills. Cultic’s larger, relatively open-ended levels never made me feel like I was being forced down a specific path. The tight controls and balanced use of each weapon make for satisfying gunfights. The vibe and ambiance of Cultic are positively eerie. Cultic’s release in October is no fluke; the month is perfect for a shooter with a touch of terror.
