Dread Templar

My favorite shooters are DUSK, White Hell, Left for Dead, Cultic, Overkill, Hard Reset, Swat 4, Duke Nukem, Doom 2, and now Dread Templar as well. It's got a ton of weapon variety (as you can change out your upgrades/sidegrades at checkpoints easily) it reminds me of a much expanded version of the system from Project Warlock (or Mario Wonder lmao). If you enjoy DUSK you will probably love this. PS Yes the dash cooldown starts high (maybe 8 seconds?) but *SPOILER* you can get perks to lower the dash time or straight up increase your movement speed. I never bothered with either and leaned hard into the slow time mechanic.

This game should be good on paper, but it just feels off. Movement is floaty but slow. The Guns feel underpowered even when upgraded. Enemies tend to be bullet sponges. Projectiles fly too fast. Your boost and bullet time powers are too weak or rather too infequently usable. In short, a very unbalanced game. The level design was, all in all, a pleasant surprise, though. It gradually became more and more fun and aesthetic, except for maybe the last three levels, which were needlessly spacious. Sound design and music rock. They straight up rock, and it's a shame that the booming sound effects don't reflect in the effect the weapons have on the enemies. A little less synth, and a little more real instruments also would have made the soundtrack even nicer than it already is. I found myself bobbing my head to the tunes almost constantly. Regarding your Arsenal, and the visual styling overall, all i've got to say is, that this is a 90's teen edgelord's dream, and i kinda love it for that. Mall Ninjas rejoice! If the game had better balance, i would give it a 4 in a heartbeat, but as it stands, this is a slightly strong 3.

I've been trying to pull myself away from this game long enough to write a review for the last few days but I haven't been able too because it's just so much fun. I want to gush about it for paragraphs and go into extensive details and spoil everything but I don't have that much time because I want to play some more. The level design is masterful. These are without hesitation some of the best fps levels I have ever played. There is intense focus put on the player's experience and the knowledge the creators have can be felt through this. Every nook and cranny and hovering eyeball monster is deliberately placed to play with your attention. The weapons are fantastic and a lot of fun to use, all useful with little to no overlap. Things like the bow and throwing sword I expected to be excess but fit in perfectly to the flow of combat. Enemies are likewise specifically designed to fill roles and are used well to that effect. They respond well to your weapons and you can really get a feel for the damage you are doing and receiving. The soundtrack is very hard and heavy and great. The visuals are high fidelity with heavy pixels on the textures, feeling at once clean and grimy. The story and voice acting are forgivable for an indie production and charming in a way. It's a great game. Count me in the camp that likes it more than all of it's peers. I haven't played any of those in months but I'm going back now for more Dread Templar!

A few levels in, having lots of fun. Controls and movement feel tight, nice oldschool mazey levels, love the aesthetic. Weapons create a nice range of utility, and most are pretty #satisfying. Wouldn't mind a little more variety in the buttrock-ish score, but it knows what it is. =)

Pros: -great art direction -good sound track -fun wepons/upgrades -basic but overall good level design Cons: -terrible hitboxes especially on enemy aoe attacks -bad damage feedback on player -enemeis would often spawn behind the player with no sound leading to unnecessary deaths -bad enemy placment TLDR; if you like boomer shooters you'll get something out of it but its nothing special