These past few weeks I have realized that I have bought a few old-school FPS games. I will be honest, most of the games that I buy are sketchy at best but a lot of them turn out to be really amazing games and this week’s game is no different. I played the demo, watched Kaos_Wolf run it in AGDQ 2023, and now I get to play it. This week I am finding out why a bunch of people have gone missing, with the help of bullets. This week is Cultic.

Cultic is a retro-inspired First-Person Shooter from Jasozz Games and published by 3D Realms. The game was released in October 2022 for the PC and retails for $10.

You play the role of an investigator who is searching for persons who have been reported missing over the years. Upon stumbling upon a lead, is catches himself and has to fight to get out of the hands of a crazed cult hell-bent on compiling and releasing an ancient monstrosity.

Cultic is a run-of-the-mill doom clone. The player is running around in a 3D environment shooting bad guys that are 2D. The only difference here is that I am 100% sure that Cultic is faster-paced. With the inclusion of the slide mechanic, Cultic’s gunplay and movement are on par with some of the best. When you slide, movement speed is increased. So when you get a hang of the sliding, you will literally be speeding through areas, past enemies, and gunning them down with the surprisingly large array of guns Cultic provides.

A pistol, a double-barrelled shotgun, a grenade launcher, dynamite, a sniper, and so much more are available to the player. The shooting is crisp and clean. Hit enough shots in the head and the most satisfying crunch/splat sound comes afterward. There are upgrade stations where you can make guns reload faster and deal more damage, and finding secrets is the main currency in upgrading.

There are a lot of different enemy types littered through each level and incredibly large. Lots of gunfights and traversal can happen on some levels. There is a level where the player has to traverse down an enormous hole that leads to a cult camp then that leads to a zombie-infested mine.

The level design is top-notch. Open areas are supplemented with close quarters and, towards the end of the game there are even tighter corridors that are spookier. Toward the end of the game, the player actively switches between a light source and their guns to stay alive.

HARK! Cultic is inspired by old-school shooters, but with the upgrades in technology for physics and lighting, Cultic shines on its own. Some things are incredibly satisfying, like the pop sound after shooting an enemy enough times in the head. The soundtrack is something special too as it plays at times when the gunplay is most chaotic.

Cultic is an absolute blast to play. I finished in about four sittings and it took me about four hours to complete. There are a bunch of secrets to find and notes to read to expand the cult’s plot and ideologies. The shooting is great, the movement, especially the slide mechanic is excellent, and the game looks great. I had so much fun just learning how the slide works so when you hit the apex, it gives you a small boost in speed. With that boost, you can just slide around enemies, take them out, and continue on like nothing happened.

Cultic is an all-around all-star video game, and for $10 Cultic is an absolute steal.