After a three-year wait, the phenomenal FPS Cultic is finally done, with creator Jasozz Games and publisher 3D Realms releasing its second episode on Steam for $10—the same price as Episode One.
I’ve loved Cultic since before launch for its art style: Severely dithered and with a limited color palette that calls to mind ’90s CPU-rendered 3D graphics, but has its own look quite unlike anything else I’ve played. You take control of a private dick investigating a kooky cult out in the countryside, and things naturally take a turn for the cosmic and horrific—who knew there were so many primordial stone catacombs under Anytown, USA?
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The boomer shooter vibe, dudes in robes, and bundle of dynamite-as-grenade all harken to the classic shooter Blood, but I’ve always thought Cultic takes at least as much of a page from Resident Evil 4. It has that same autumnal vibe as RE4, these dark forests and abandoned townships calling to mind the ones I explored in Spain a lonely and rural part of Europe.
Cultic also boasts a simple, but gratifying weapon upgrade system like RE4’s, and its variety of encounters also reminds me of Capcom’s opus. Cultic is always surprising and exciting in this classico action movie way, lurching from one memorable set piece to another. You can go from wide open cultist base clearing amid sniper fire, to being hunted by chainsaw minibosses in a hedge maze, to exploring a claustrophobic asylum—and that’s all in one level.
I don’t think I was the only one out there who was confused about Cultic’s release plans: It was never explicitly an early access game, but it was pretty much early access as far as the end user was concerned. Instead of paying $20 upfront and getting part of the game, then the rest later, like you would with a New Blood shooter, each half of Cultic is $10, with Chapter Two categorized as DLC on Steam.
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Six of one, half dozen of the other, and Episode One was a great value already, taking me about seven hours to beat the first time, and that’s having missed a ton of level secrets. 3D Realms has said that Episode 2 is even bigger, more than doubling the size of the game.
Over email, a 3D Realms representative didn’t rule out the possibility of a third chapter, but said the publisher is viewing this as Cultic’s effective 1.0 version, and the bundle of both episodes on Steam is the “complete edition.” I’ve started a new playthrough from Chapter One to review the full monty, but I can already heartily recommend Chapter One—and its bifurcated structure means you can get the first half just to try before committing to the full $20 purchase.
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