Review: CULTIC

The Retro Horror That Turns Every Hallway Into a Trap

Few games manage to recreate that feeling of playing a classic for the very first time without simply copying the past. CULTIC does exactly that. From the very first minutes, it's clear that the game draws heavy inspiration from the great FPS titles of the 1990s. Instead of merely repeating familiar formulas, however, it uses those influences to build an experience with its own identity.

Right from the beginning, you're thrown into a world overtaken by a violent religious cult with very little explanation. You play as a detective who survives an execution attempt and begins hunting down those responsible while uncovering the secrets behind the organization. The narrative doesn't rely on lengthy cinematic cutscenes. Instead, it's told through exploration, documents scattered throughout the maps, and the environments themselves, leaving much of the interpretation in the player's hands.

This approach fits the game's design perfectly. Rather than constantly interrupting the action to explain its story, CULTIC allows each location to speak for itself. Abandoned asylums, churches occupied by fanatics, isolated farms, and hidden laboratories all work together to create an unsettling atmosphere from beginning to end.

But if there's one thing that immediately stands out, it's the game's artistic direction.

Its visual style instantly brings classic 1990s shooters to mind. The sprites, lighting, over-the-top violence, and map design all evoke games like Blood, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D. I don't see that as a flaw. Quite the opposite. That inspiration becomes one of the most enjoyable aspects of the entire experience.

Many objects scattered throughout the environments can be destroyed or interacted with during exploration, making every location feel alive. Despite its retro aesthetic, the game manages to create richly detailed maps that constantly encourage players to explore every corner.

GAMEPLAY

If the visuals trigger nostalgia, the very first firefight makes it clear that CULTIC has no intention of being just a museum piece for old-school FPS games.

Combat is incredibly fast-paced and brutally violent. The initial feeling is very reminiscent of Doom, especially because of how quickly battles unfold. At the same time, resource management plays a much larger role. You can't simply run forward and shoot everything in sight.

Using your weapons wisely makes a huge difference. Headshots eliminate many enemies almost instantly, explosives can wipe out entire groups, and every bullet wasted may be sorely missed just a few minutes later.

Dynamite, for example, becomes one of the most entertaining tools in your arsenal. It can be used both to eliminate large groups of enemies and to interact with parts of the environment. During my playthrough, I often found myself wondering whether explosives could open certain blocked paths, although they didn't always work the way I expected.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the variety of weapons.

Every new firearm genuinely changes the way you approach combat. Once the shotgun becomes available, for example, the pace shifts dramatically. Combat feels even closer to Doom thanks to the sheer aggression it enables. That's far from a criticism. On the contrary, this constant evolution of your arsenal prevents the gameplay from ever becoming repetitive throughout the campaign.

The game also displays small instructions whenever a new mechanic is introduced. It's a simple touch, but one that prevents confusion without disrupting the pace of exploration.

Speaking of exploration, this is perhaps one of CULTIC's greatest strengths.

Most levels are built around the philosophy of classic FPS games. Hidden passages, secret doors, optional areas, keys scattered throughout the environment, and numerous alternate routes are everywhere. On several occasions, I completely ignored the main objective just to investigate seemingly insignificant hallways, only to discover additional resources or uncover another secret.

And there are certainly no shortage of secrets.

During one stage, I managed to find only one secret out of a total of eleven hidden throughout the level. That alone demonstrates just how much content the maps conceal for players who enjoy exploring every corner.

This design philosophy strongly resembles Duke Nukem 3D and other classics of its era, where discovering hidden areas was part of the fun and significantly extended the length of the campaign.

Not everything works perfectly, however.

Camera movement was one of the aspects that bothered me the most throughout the experience. Even after lowering my mouse sensitivity to the minimum available setting, I still struggled to find a speed that felt comfortable. The camera response never quite behaved the way I wanted it to.

This issue directly affected some of the more intense encounters, especially when I had to react quickly to enemies attacking from multiple directions.

Curiously, this annoyance became much less noticeable once I switched to Casual difficulty.

It may sound strange to recommend the easiest difficulty to players who are already experienced with FPS games, but that's exactly what happened in my case. Even after spending years playing the genre, I found Casual to be far more balanced, allowing me to enjoy the rest of the experience without turning every encounter into an excessively punishing battle.

On the default difficulty, the sheer number of enemies is impressive. It's common to fight dozens of them within a single area. Many carry weapons similar to your own and are strategically positioned to ambush you whenever possible. Traps scattered throughout the environment further reinforce the constant feeling of danger.

There are moments when the level design itself seems to warn you that an extremely difficult encounter is about to begin. At other times, the message is almost the opposite: fighting isn't worth it. Just run and survive.

This constant alternation between intense combat and desperate escapes does an excellent job of keeping the campaign unpredictable.

VISUAIS E SOM

If there's one department that rarely disappoints, it's the audiovisual presentation.

Visually, CULTIC does an outstanding job of blending modern technology with a visual style inspired by the 1990s.

The sprites evoke the genre's greatest classics, while dynamic lighting, particle effects, physics, and a variety of modern visual effects ensure that the game feels like much more than a simple nostalgia filter. Nearly every environment has its own personality. Each map possesses a distinct identity and perfectly conveys the atmosphere it's aiming for, whether through its architecture, lighting, or the absurd amount of blood splattered across every location.

The soundtrack is another major success. It knows exactly when to make its presence felt and, more importantly, when to disappear. Throughout much of the campaign, I was often surprised by moments where almost no music played at all. The silence makes you imagine that some horrifying threat is waiting just beyond the next doorway.

This combination of sound design and atmosphere makes many sections far more tense than they would have been through cheap jump scares alone.

ACHIEVEMENTS

For players who enjoy earning 100% completion, CULTIC offers an extremely enjoyable achievement list.

Many of the achievements encourage players to experiment with mechanics that would likely be ignored during a normal playthrough.

There are challenges involving highly precise shots, creative kills using environmental objects, clever use of explosives, and even a few unusual situations that are guaranteed to bring a smile once you discover them.

The game also includes exploration-based achievements that require finding every secret hidden throughout the chapters, along with objectives tied to weapon upgrades, survival, specific combat challenges, and extra game modes.

What makes the achievement list especially satisfying is that it rarely feels like a repetitive checklist. On several occasions, I had the impression that the developers were deliberately encouraging players to approach each situation in completely different ways.

The only warning is for completionists aiming for the full 100%. Some achievements require a considerable amount of skill, especially those tied to the highest difficulty, no-damage runs, and finding every secret hidden across the game's maps.

TRAILER OFFICIAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqhM9qeBbA0

FINAL THOUGHTS

CULTIC is a love letter to classic first-person shooters while confidently introducing plenty of ideas of its own.

Its outstanding artistic direction, exceptionally clever level design, countless secrets, brutal combat, and survival horror atmosphere come together to create an experience that stands apart from most modern shooters. Anyone who plays it will almost certainly remember the "chainsaw guy," though probably not for friendly reasons.

My biggest criticism remains the camera controls, which never felt completely comfortable to me despite trying several different sensitivity settings. Fortunately, this issue became much less noticeable after switching to Casual difficulty, which I believe is the best way to experience the campaign for the first time.

I also loved the way the game rewards exploration. Finding secret passages, uncovering new routes, and revisiting older areas never feels like wasted time. Quite the opposite. That constant sense of curiosity is exactly what makes CULTIC feel so much like the genre's greatest classics.

If you're looking for a modern FPS packed with cinematic storytelling, you'll probably find better options elsewhere.

However, if you miss the creativity, exploration, and unapologetic brutality of 1990s shooters, CULTIC absolutely deserves a place on your list. It's one of those rare games that fully understands its inspirations and successfully transforms them into something that remains just as fun today.

SCORE: 8.9/10

 Review by Gamertag: Scoulz