With a massive freedom of approach for any playstyle, gritty aesthetic, exciting music, and creative enemies, “Cultic,” a retro-styled first person horror shooter, is an addictive and immersive game with much to offer any fan of the shooter genre and is only $9.99 on Steam.

“Cultic” is set in the fictional town of New Grandewel where the player assumes the role of a disgraced detective fighting his way through a compound overrun by murderous cultists and terrifying monsters.

The game was developed by Jasozz Games. Jason Smith, the founder and sole member of the studio, created the game using the Unity Engine.

The game begins with the player waking up on top of a pile of corpses. Immediately, the tone is set with such shocking imagery and is punctuated by tense, energetic music. Throughout the ten levels, the atmosphere is dark and gritty. The player will encounter horribly violent scenes around every corner, including various cultists, monsters, and horrors which occupy various dilapidated and creepy environments full of secrets and carnage.

There are notes and journals scattered throughout the map which provide a greater context to the world surrounding the game and allows the player to slowly uncover the mystery of what motivates the cult.

The game plays and looks much like the 1990s “DOOM” series with fast paced movement, an emphasis on exploration, 2D sprites, powerful weapons, and most importantly: excessive gore and gibs.

In terms of weapons, the game provides the player with handguns, rifles, machine guns, explosives, and an ax which they can use in ranged battle, close-quarters combat, or for clearing groups of enemies at once. Additionally, the player can upgrade their arsenal at the weapon benches with better ammo, magazine capacities, and accuracy.

The gunplay itself is very satisfying with well-made and responsive shooting accompanied by grungy sound effects and sleek animations. Moreover, when critical hits are placed on enemies the player may experience a brief slow motion effect where they can quickly take down more enemies.

Though the game has a predetermined route and story to tell for the player, the gameplay is open-ended and gives them a litany of tools, mechanics, and weapons to use tactically in their approach to any area.

The game also features the ability to throw or kick objects such as chairs, lamps, and explosive barrels which can be used in tandem with weapons for engaging combat that allows for creativity and greatly raises its replayability.

Most levels consist of traversing various areas, clearing out enemies, and searching for key items to progress, though it never fails to become monotonous as you are constantly given new weapons, unique environments, secrets, and monsters to play around with.

In terms of difficulty, I would recommend playing on hard mode or higher as the game is not particularly challenging and the increased punishment for getting injured or not playing intelligently allows for a more satisfying experience.

The story bears some striking resemblance to H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” short story, as the cultists running the compound have been driven insane by a mysterious god-like entity which they worship and kill for.

Cultic is chalk-full of interesting and fun features and enemies. One of the most interesting enemies, who is introduced in the second level, is a ghost which is a man dressed in white cloth and bound with rope. If the ghost is present anywhere in the area, objects such as barrels and lamps will begin to levitate and are thrown at the player and when the ghost is seen it begins to warp the player’s vision and slowly damage them.

In an interview with Heaaaps O Games, Smith said that his main inspirations for the game were first person shooter from the 1990s and “Resident Evil 4.”

According to the game’s Steam page, Smith is currently working on an additional chapter for the game

There is so much to enjoy about this game:. the dark tone, open-ended gameplay, and mystery all culminate in a great game that anyone who is a fan of horror or old school shooters can enjoy.

Rating: 8/10