So we've got this guy, this one absolute madman named Jason Smith who one day said to himself "You know what? f*** it! I'm going to make my own game and do 95% of all the work my damn self!" And so he did, and a legend was born.
CULTIC absolutely slaps. Imagine Resident Evil 4, smear a coat of Blood-hued paint overtop of it and make it as chomky as is theoretically possible, and you've got about 1/3rd of an idea of what kind of absolute thrill-ride CULTIC is.
The art direction is stunning. A creative vision utilising old-school style graphics with an intentionally limited color-palette, sprite-based animations and a freight-train supply of voxels.
The gameplay loop is as gripping as a barbed fishhook covered in gorilla glue. Methodical and masterfully paced environments that show the sheer amount of dedication to crafting a unique experience in the wake of very stiff competition. Combine that with an arsenal of grounded-yet-impactful weaponry (except the hatchet it suuuucks) to be used against a roster of fanatical mass-murdering psychopaths and you've got yourself a good time. Oh, and the weapons can also be upgraded too, so there's a hearty selection of tools for murder and mayhem that makes me feel as giddy as a Build Engine protagonist in a gun and candy store.
The music is the perfect mixture of atmospheric pieces and relentless pounders that honestly reminds me of the best of John Carpenter. I've bought the OST and I can't help but play it full volume during my daily commutes. Yes, Jason Smith also did the music as well. Can this guy not be so damned talented? He's making the rest of us look bad.

In terms of criticisms, I don't have much. The minor gripes are how all the environmental bodies are made of voxels but the actual enemies you fight are sprites, so it feels a little inorganic in places. There are a few platforming sections and mercifully CULTIC doesn't ask you to do them too often outside of a few instances of secret hunting, but when you do have to do platforming it is painful because the protagonist's shoes might as well be coated in vaseline for how slippery it is.
And minor spoilers/controversial take here, but I did not in fact enjoy the cathedral level. The game up to that point was a measured and evenly-paced survival horror experience until the game decided it wanted to be an arena shooter for a brief period. So holding out in a clustered arena with endless waves spawning while fighting a static boss didn't do it for me fam.

In conclusion: Play CULTIC. If I had to make a tier-list of throwback FPS games, then CULTIC would be smack-dab easily in the S tier, tucked comfortably between DUSK and Prodeus.

So we've got this guy, this one absolute madman named Jason Smith who one day said to himself "You know what? f*** it! I'm going to make my own game and do 95% of all the work my damn self!" And so he did, and a legend was born. CULTIC absolutely slaps. Imagine Resident Evil 4, smear a coat of Blood-hued paint overtop of it and make it as chomky as is theoretically possible, and you've got about 1/3rd of an idea of what kind of absolute thrill-ride CULTIC is. The art direction is stunning. A creative vision utilising old-school style graphics with an intentionally limited color-palette, sprite-based animations and a freight-train supply of voxels. The gameplay loop is as gripping as a barbed fishhook covered in gorilla glue. Methodical and masterfully paced environments that show the sheer amount of dedication to crafting a unique experience in the wake of very stiff competition. Combine that with an arsenal of grounded-yet-impactful weaponry (except the hatchet it suuuucks) to be used against a roster of fanatical mass-murdering psychopaths and you've got yourself a good time. Oh, and the weapons can also be upgraded too, so there's a hearty selection of tools for murder and mayhem that makes me feel as giddy as a Build Engine protagonist in a gun and candy store. The music is the perfect mixture of atmospheric pieces and relentless pounders that honestly reminds me of the best of John Carpenter. I've bought the OST and I can't help but play it full volume during my daily commutes. Yes, Jason Smith also did the music as well. Can this guy not be so damned talented? He's making the rest of us look bad. In terms of criticisms, I don't have much. The minor gripes are how all the environmental bodies are made of voxels but the actual enemies you fight are sprites, so it feels a little inorganic in places. There are a few platforming sections and mercifully CULTIC doesn't ask you to do them too often outside of a few instances of secret hunting, but when you do have to do platforming it is painful because the protagonist's shoes might as well be coated in vaseline for how slippery it is. And minor spoilers/controversial take here, but I did not in fact enjoy the cathedral level. The game up to that point was a measured and evenly-paced survival horror experience until the game decided it wanted to be an arena shooter for a brief period. So holding out in a clustered arena with endless waves spawning while fighting a static boss didn't do it for me fam. In conclusion: Play CULTIC. If I had to make a tier-list of throwback FPS games, then CULTIC would be smack-dab easily in the S tier, tucked comfortably between DUSK and Prodeus.