Cultic: Chapter One review — They only play the hits

pcinvasion.com:

Familiarity is kind of the end goal for a lot of retro first-person shooters. Cultic: Chapter One could be described as a more explicit spiritual successor to Blood, whereas Dusk was more “what if Blood had a full 3D sequel that was good?” The thing is, Cultic: Chapter One doesn’t have as much of a unique identity as Dusk. However, this is still a mostly killer throwback with a good amount of meat to it in spite of a few balance issues and the obvious fact that this is only the first part of the game. At least it’s priced accordingly.

You’ve probably already guessed the story from the game’s title. There’s a cult worshipping some Lovecraftian being that is up to some grisly business. You’re on the trail of a journalist who gets wrapped up with said cult while searching for a missing person. The cult members themselves are very reminiscent of Blood‘s, but, surprisingly, are even more reminiscent of the cultists from Ion Fury, down to having cultists in brown robes be the simplest fodder and cultists in red robes posing more of a threat. Similarly, it has an obsession with grisly headshots atop the sprites you’re facing.

The visuals in Cultic: Chapter One are intentionally dated, with textures and sprites designed to be extra chunky and lower in resolution than you’d imagine. Somehow, this aesthetic combined with the art direction is kind of gorgeous. The game almost looks like a watercolor come to life at times, especially when you can see the striking nighttime skybox that mesmerized me whenever I glanced upon it. However, the game’s color palette is all too fond of a spectrum of earth and rust. The environments are often a different shade of brown, whether you’re in a mine, out in nature, or indoors. It gets monotonous.