Prodeus

I backed this game on Kickstarter, which described itself there as "Prodeus takes the look and feel of the iconic 90's shooter and reforges it in the crucible of Moore's law. More action, more explosions, more blood, and more over the top visual effects. At its core, Prodeus is a fast paced action shooter with lots of environments to explore and secrets to discover." While a little silly, this is a very accurate description. This is a Doom/Quake-style FPS, freed from the hardware contraints of the day (both visual and gameplay-wise) and a few MINOR modern elements (like a very light an upgrade-system) which are put on top. Featuring a pseudo-story, this is a classic gameplay-first experience. It plays great, it looks and sounds great. It is fast-paced fun and lots of it. It also runs great, much better than the Early Access versions (so "-Nachtmahr-" here on GoG should update his/her review). Nitpicks to complain are limited: A few of the weapons are very redundant in the arsenal, there is no split-screen multiplayer or coop (online works) and some people may consider the amount of effects on screen to be overwhelming at times. For me, it does not beat the "Dusk" due to that game's superior atmosphere (which does count as storytelling in my book) but it certainly comes very close to taking the retro-shooter crown from that game. "Prodeus" is a fast-paced, bload-soaked action FPS, a power-fantasy first and foremost. It is not interested in delving into other genres, mechanics or atmospheres, this is a slaughter fest. You against the hordes. And that is, as Doom showed us so many years ago, timeless if done right. And "Prodeus" does it right. TLDR; => If you like old-school shooters, there is no reason not to buy this game. Aka, BUY it and HAVE FUN.

I'm having tons of fun with this game! It's certainly the best 'boomer shooter' I've recently played. Prodeus copies several gameplay mechanics from Doom '16 and Doom Eternal, and mixes it with the excellent level design of 'Knee-Deep in the Dead', the first episode of the original 1993 Doom. The pixelated graphics look great and the moody electro-metal soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult kicks ass. The over-the-top gore in this game can be compared to the Brutal Doom mods: Enemies explode into fountains of blood and guts when hit. Every weapon packs a punch and has a secondary fire mode. What I don't like is that you have to buy certain abilities like the double jump to get access to secrets that you can't reach without it. The devs are basically making you replay the levels you've already finished to get all the secrets and ore. Not having this ability from the start is kinda BS if you ask me. The save system is weird. It uses a checkpoint system in the form of Nexus Points which are spread throughout the level. If you happen to die you'll get spawned at the latest Nexus Point. What they don't do is save your progress. Prodeus only lets you save when exiting the game, but then you'll have to play the whole map from the beginning again. It's not a big problem since the maps aren't that big, but nineties shooters let me save anywhere and the maps in Doom '93 aren't that big either. This is more of a nitpick than a real problem, but when I boot up the game I have to click through 9 screens (1. Photosensitivity Warning 2. ProNet 3. ProNet Log in 4. Main Menu 5. Campaign 6. Episode Select 7. Continue 8. Map overview 9. Map Info 10. Play) until I can finally start unloading bullets into hapless monsters. This isn't very conductive when you are already suffering from RSI. All in all, amazingly fun shooter, but it still drops the ball a bit here and there.

New Doom

This is one of the best boomer shooters of recent years, if not the best. You get lots of diverse weapons, all have a 2nd fire mode, and they all feel punchy! The levels have cool layouts, many secrets, and the overworld map makes it easy to replay any of them. The graphics are also great. The style strikes a very good balance between resembling shooters of the olden times (the shader that turns actual 3D models into pixelated sprites is perfect!), but also having drastically improved visuals (e.g. lighting) Honestly, I didn't finish the game yet, but I often come back to it!

If you enjoyed Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and any other fast paced shooter with awesome weapons then Prodeus is a no-brainer! Get it!