This game absolutely delivers the nastalgia and vibe of playing older titles like doom and quake with modern quality of life improvements. The gameplay is a faithful successor to the titles mentioned above and others in the same vein. I can not stop playing it. This is a game I would play $40 dollars for. I bought it on sale for $6 and can not believe how excellent it is.
If you liked Arcane Dimensions, you'll probably like this. Where as I think AD has more varity, it didn't have a more realized setting. It kind of reminds me of Mortal Shell... Further more, the soul tethering I think was an interesting idea, espcially for the hardcore player. base I don't have the highest-end PC and haven't experienced a single hiccup. Easy recommend! Especially if it's on sale.
This game feels like what would happen if Quake, Turok and Daikatana had a lovechild.
The two downsides are sometimes a little slidy controls when the player wants to precision jump to a secret or shortcut etc. and the game doesn't have unlimited saves.
There are a few scarcely scattered checkpoints throughout the world and there also are items that let the player set a quicksave point.
(update: Don't know if it's been patched in later but the options menu does offer unlimited saves)
Enemy designs, gameplay, secrets, sound ... all super fun.
If this game gets finished (plus some polish and rebalance), then it might be worth a title of "true Quake 1 sequel". First notable thing is good visual design. The devs didnt use "old-school" excuse to slack out (looking at you, Dusk), and created truly badass looking guns and enemies' models. Try to examine a gun-wielding "grunt" up close or wield a Fang Spitter the first time and you'll see. The level design is impressive as well, both snow-covered cemetery and a swamp filled with enormous dead trees and weird towers. Gunplay is decent (yes, they got The Shotgun right), with meaty sounds, blood splatter and even dismemberment. Weapons are traditional (pistol, shotgun, automatic "rifle" (Fang Spitter), and "grenade launcher"), the one that stands out is the melee blade that lets you dash with a charged alt attack. Enemies, while being inspired by Quake, all have unique gimmicks such as "rage mode" at low health.
Now to the negatives. The game is early access, so, while bug-free, it only offers 2 levels to play (excluding the hub area). Buying right now can be risky investment. There are weird attempts of "modernization", mainly limited saves (you have to use a consumable to save a game, and only a single save slot is available). I do not nessessary mind it (finished the available content with a pile of those "soul tethers" laying in my inventory), I just think that the idea of limiting saves makes the game more "hardcore" is silly. All it does is to bloat the game time artifically. You cannot save progress without makng progress first. To use the afforementioned consumables ("artifacts") you need to re-select the item from a menu every time, since the game doesnt remember your choice. Movement feels floaty at times, often resulting in falls from ledges because of inertia. Finally, I felt like level design discourages any playstyle other than holding choke points, any attempt of pressing forward is punished by enemy spawns or enemies placed behind corners.
Wrath feels like a true Quake spinoff or sequel. There are many throwback FPS game out there, but Wrath is the only one that feels authentic to me. Other games, such as Dusk, attempt to emulate the magical simplicity of 1990s shooter games but really fall short. I am very excited for the full version. Shooting feels meaty, chunky, messy and absolutely brutal. GIBS GALORE!
Admittedly, all the weapons are unoriginal. One gun is exactly like the nailgun from Quake and another is exactly like the grenade launcher from another 3D Realms game: PREY (2006). But they feel great and look nice, so who cares?! Some of the enemy desings are ripped straight from other classic games. For example, one enemy is basically a Cacodemon from Doom.