Everyone has things they like. Some people like pineapple, some people like pizza. Some people like their favorite things combined with their other favorite things, like pineapple on pizza. Me? I really like Blood, the cult (haha) classic action horror shooter from 1997. I also like Resident Evil, and while Resident Evil 4 was never my favorite, aesthetically speaking it's got a lot going for it. Cultic, the sleeper hit shooter developed by Jasozz Games and published by 3D Realms, is a lot like a mashup of Blood and Resident Evil 4; unlike pineapple on pizza, though, the combination is an enhancement, rather than ruining both.
It is late 1963. The small city of New Grandewell, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, has been suffering an enormous surge of violent crime and disappearances over the past year or so. The police are struggling to make headway, the cases are piling up and one of the police force's best detectives was forced to turn in his badge just as he started to get close to some answers. But not having police authority didn't stop him; he drove off to track down a lead at an abandoned asylum.
The game begins with you waking up in a mass grave, not far from the asylum. You are in the shoes of the Detective, known to his enemies as the Outsider, known to the game's fans as CulticGuy. Faceless, almost voiceless, and dressed a lot like Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 4, CulticGuy in the player's hands will take down a cult that seems to dominate the entire county if not the state, and the myriad abominations they've created.
Cultic is split up into two chapters of ten and twelve maps respectively, with a short interlude level in between. Development of the game was somewhat piecemeal, with a long time difference between the first chapter and the second. This results in the rather annoying situation of half the game being locked up behind a DLC, causing the game to have a somewhat misleading price tag on Steam unless you go in for the Complete Edition, which some people might mistake for a "collector's edition" with extraneous DLC as is common practice with bigger games. Nevertheless, the Complete Edition is in fact complete, with both chapters, the interlude, and even some bonus maps such as a non-canon Christmas-themed level.
Gameplay in Cultic sits somewhere between the frenetic pacing of a traditional boomer shooter and the methodical nature of Resident Evil 4 and similar games. Level design takes after classic Build Engine games (like Blood, natch) with its emphasis on realistic spaces but combat is frequent and brutal, with headshots actually mattering, creating an overall gameplay loop that feels like the best of both worlds. Like all the best boomer shooters, CulticGuy amasses an arsenal that, over the course of both chapters, includes shotguns, two types of sniper rifle, an Old West-style lever-action rifle, a revolver and a Mauser C96 handgun (out of place, but an apparent Resident Evil 4 reference), a World War II-era SMG (the Sten, specifically, and it's not the only weirdly out-of-place World War II-era weapon in the game), an anachronistic China Lake grenade launcher, and of course the requisite flamethrower for when you absolutely must set every last motherfucker in the room on fire. You also get dynamite and Molotovs, and you can even combine them to make a proper firebomb. Surprisingly, all of it is useful, even though some of it seems redundant (is the revolver better than the lever-action, with which it shares an ammo pool? I couldn't really tell.) Weapon kits can be used to upgrade your weapons, though there isn't nearly enough to upgrade everything and you lose all your upgrades between chapters anyway, so you'll have to make some tough choices.
Most of your enemies are some kind of cultist. As in Blood, they come in a variety of different colored robes, with what weapon they're packing indicated by color. Elites wear armor and are more heavily armed. Chapter Two introduces cop cultists, most of whom pack revolvers, but SWAT guys are unquestionably the heavy hitters of the cultist ranks, second only to flamethrower goons. There are also a number of less-than-human enemies, from not one but three different types of zombie, ghosts that are just a floating dude in a cloak who telekinetically throws stuff at you and causes line-of-sight psychic damage (and, in one notable moment, will make you outright hallucinate), a few large and angry undead mini-boss types including one with a chainsaw, and a couple of outright boss enemies. It's a strikingly varied rogue's gallery, though a lot of them don't actually show up until Chapter Two, which combined with the a third of the weaponry also being exclusive to it sort of makes it feel like a classic shareware shooter.
Jason Smith designed the entirety of Chapter One, and it's clear that his map making skills were still being developed. Chapter One isn't bad, but it does rely heavily on linear underground corridors, often quite dark; I was reminded of Leon's chapters in Resident Evil 6, which in my opinion were pretty disappointing given Leon's fan-favorite status. (I actually like Resident Evil 6 as a whole, however.) By Chapter Two, he had recruited Nick Palsmeier (who also developed the MARROW expansion for Blood) to split mapping duties. I couldn't tell you who worked on what, though you can find Nick's signature sometimes, including in the super-secret Severance easter egg. I think Jason's design skills definitely showed improvement, and combined with Nick's own experience, Chapter Two is overall much more interesting and varied, while also an order of magnitude more difficult, though I didn't really have much trouble outside of a couple of spiky points, namely the "Old Town" arena shootout and the final boss. (Disclaimer, I played on Standard. I think some of the complaints I've seen about difficulty have been from tryhards who insisted on maxing out the difficulty and getting their ass handed to them. Sorry babes, but pretending the hardest difficulty is the only difficulty doesn't make you cool. But what do I know, I play Doom slaughtermaps for fun, so even "Old Town" clicked for me once I got its rhythm down.) Among other locations, you'll shoot your way through a small city, a mall, a renaissance faire, and even a creepy old manor a la Resident Evil. I wish we could have seen more of the city, but ah well. (As an aside, the aforementioned Severance secret makes me wish for more corporate horror.)
Cultic has a very striking aesthetic. The base look can be a bit hard to read, with its palette somewhere between that of Blood (which leaned heavily on browns and greens) and the 70s giallo horror filter that came with the 2014 remaster of Resident Evil 4. You can of course use additional palettes, one of which I vaguely remember being the default look of the game during development; these make the game an order of magnitude murkier; you'll want to adjust your brightness and lighting settings to offset it. For my playthrough, I thought the game looked fine in the default palette, which evokes a 1960s-1970s grindhouse feeling that fits the game well.
I liked Cultic a lot. Blood is one of my favorite games, and while it's been seeing a recent resurgence, I'm glad to see it's still influential on creators. Cultic has the juice: in an era where we're quite blessed with a boomer shooter revival, Jason Smith's game really stands out on aesthetic and gameplay.
C1M1: The Grave
You start off in a mass grave at the edge of an old asylum ground. Now, you might be thinking, most of the level is going to be in the asylum, but in fact you're only exploring an outbuilding; the bulk of the mission is set in a series of encampments and an abandoned mine system, at the bottom of which is a sinister lair inhabited by a madman with a chainsaw. Groovy.
C1M2: The Shipyard
The centerpiece of this map is the cargo ship currently berthed at a small, clandestine dock, with a number of decks with their own little surprises. Getting into the lower levels of the ship rewards you with some scary stuff, but wait'll you head into the cave across the cove!! The level's back third has some funky weather going on, too...
C1M3: The Mine Town
The opening of this reminds me of one of the later acts of Afraid of Monsters; you're deep in a dark forest. Depending on your lighting settings it might be pitch black out here, but you're alone... until you grab an item you need, at which point the headlights of the nearby abandoned truck die and zombies swarm you en masse. The bulk of the level is in a little mining camp, home to more zombies (and the hapless cultists fighting them off.) Frankly, it's a terrifying map.
C1M4: The Mine
Reminiscent of "Bowels of the Earth" from Blood, C1M4 is a lengthy, mostly-linear journey deep into an old anthracite mine. It seems fairly standard fare, but there are a couple of notable moments, such as dropping deep into a flooded chamber populated by zombies, riding horizontal lifts and keeping your balance on rickety scaffolding, a maze of tunnels that are unmarked on the map, and the introduction of adepts, armored cultists dual-wielding shotguns and SMGs to perforate you but good.
C1M5: The Crypts
The last mineshaft takes you up to these decrepit crypts, pitch-black, maze-like, and half-flooded; the good news is, you get a flashlight (at least if you're playing the most recent version; in earlier versions of the game, the flashlight wasn't available until C1M8!) You'll need it, because these tunnels are dark and dank, and seemingly deserted save for the occasional zombie and a ghost or two. But once you grab the key, you'd better prepare for the skeleton war. The bony bastards who now rattle around these tunnels act functionally identical to their fleshier cultist brethren, but the good news is, headshots still do the job.
C1M6: The Chapel
You've finally crawled your way back up to the surface. You're in a chapel in a small cemetery. The place seems deserted, but before long, cultists assault the chapel en masse. You fortunately have access to a large armory, which you'll need because after you've killed enough cultist goons, an entire-ass tank busts through the front gate. The good news is, it's stuck there. The bad news is, it's blowing up all your cover.
C1M7: The Asylum Grounds
This is a long level that starts you out dodging sniper fire in a series of forest encampments; eventually, you wind your way all the way back to where the opening cutscene ended. Mourn your ride and get ready to clear the asylum grounds, which are teeming with cultists. The hedge maze is closed for a reason, the nearby maintenance building reeks of the ever-growing army of the undead and flamethrower dudes will pop up sometimes to ruin your day.
C1M8: The Asylum
By far the creepiest level up to this point, C1M8 has you exploring an abandoned asylum. For a place that's only been under cultist control for maybe a couple years, the facility is quite dilapidated. The first half is very low-key, with the occasional ghost, a shower room full of undead, and so on. But the back half is where things heat up (literally so at the end) as crowds of glowing-eyed cultists start gunning for you. The only way out is down...
C1M9: The Excavation Site
Deep beneath the asylum is this well-organized excavation site, the stone walls shored up with concrete blocks and steel. At the bottom of this pit is what appears to be an ancient temple — ancient enough to raise questions about the origins of the cult — and the source of whatever antediluvian evil is behind all this... maybe. The actual excavation site is pretty open, but as you get further into the temple it takes on a somewhat more linear character, mostly resembling similar levels in Blood.
C1M10: The Ritual Chamber
The big finish; it's just two rooms. One is a small chamber where you can load up; the other is the boss room itself, with the boss occupying the far wall. It's a pretty straightforward fight, though sometimes goons show up to take potshots at you from above.
C2M0: Interlude
Now for someone completely different. "Interlude" was released sort of as a teaser for Chapter 2, which had been delayed. It sets the action two months after the end of Chapter 1, and it is now winter. You play a rookie cop who was working the records office when the cultists stage their takeover of the police station... and, it seems, the city itself. It's you versus a horde of cultists from top to bottom, save for the parking garage, which has a particularly good jumpscare, and the lobby, where something that looks like a really angry walking tank comes after you.
C2M1: New Grandewel
Wake up, you're not dead. Maybe. You're back in the boots of CulticGuy, and whatever went down the night of "Interlude" was some time ago. The police station is dark and silent; step outside and find that Christmas is canceled, the cultists are everywhere, and they've taken the city. You'll be taking it back, block by block, shooting your way through backstreets, side alleys, an apartment building with poor lighting and creepy neighbors, and even an abandoned bar where you can play a round of billiards (good luck.)
C2M2: Newbrook Shopping Center
It's one of my favorite types of levels: the mall. This is a big one in a roughly U-shaped pattern, though the first part of it has you looking to get the power on in the basement, which is a hair-raising experience in itself. At large, though, the map is an action-packed thrill ride: have a little Condemned-style fun with the mannequins in the department store, take in a familiar-looking movie at the theater, or greet the chef at the Italian restaurant; it's fun for the whole family!
C2M3: The Swamp
After a brief showdown with an attack chopper in the mall's parking lot, you descend down a river into a blood-choked swamp. The waters are extremely toxic, and the bulk of the level is taken up by a large cultist encampment, the escaping of which involves finding some explosive charges and making your own exit. The encampment is a dangerous place, with lots of bad guys shooting at you from all around; meanwhile, a new type of rotting zombie is chasing after you in swarms. Hectic level.
C2M4: The Slaughterhouse
Welcome to the killing floor. You'll infiltrate through the sewers, but once you get up into the facility proper you'll be dealing with a lot of long thoroughfares and open spaces. Getting out is a classic keycard hunt, in which you'll need to find not one but two, one of which is a lot harder to get hold of than the other. Fortunately, if you happen to find the facility key in the main office, it'll open a lot of doors for you, allowing you to get around the complex that much easier.
C2M5: The Farm
After a lengthy mountain road sequence you'll come into a sprawling open area, the dilapidated grounds of an abandoned farm. Like the swamp camp, the objective is to find some explosives scattered around the level. Highlights include the makeshift fortified bunkers with pitch-black tunnels connecting them, the little mini-swamp hovels swarming with cultists, and the incredibly creepy farmhouse.
C2M6: Old Town
It's hard to tell whether this was legitimately once a forgotten little frontier town or if it's a tourist trap, but either way it's the site of what's probably going to be the toughest fight you've had so far: an arena with buildings on two sides and a large saloon in the middle, hosting multiple waves of enemies, starting from most varieties of the robed cultists, to the undead guys and chainsaw dudes, to cops, to the return of that attack chopper, who'll call in backup after you've knocked off some of its health. There's plenty of weapons and ammo laying around to help you, though ammo is tight, so try not to die.
C2M7: The Fairgrounds
Big level. You're on the county fairgrounds, which has been set up in a sort of medieval theme park. Attractions include a haunted dungeon, a mage's tower, a real tavern, and of course, the gift shop. In addition to the usual assortment of cultist bastards, knights show up again (of course) and this time some of them have flaming crossbows! The level is absolutely sprawling, and you'll need to throw four switches before you can enter the castle itself, which is another large area culminating in a firefight in the courtyard. It's definitely one of the biggest levels in the game — took me about 80 minutes, not counting reloads. Whew, I'm exhausted.
C2M8: The Arena
Don't think you can leave the fairgrounds just yet — that helicopter is back, but not as you remember it. The good news is, this biomechanical monstrosity can't fly anymore; the bad news is, it's huge, it's heavily armed, and it's really, really angry at you. You have a big open space to deal with it in, and you'll need it to dodge its homing missiles and machinegun fire. There's some heavier weaponry laying around for you to use, but for the most part it's something of an endurance contest. Ground this thing for good and the level ends.
C2M9: The Train Station
Farewell to the fairground. This is another long, multi-part map that has you first clearing out a train station, but don't think that's the end of it: you'll fight your way across multiple trains (with a brief stop at an abandoned freight station) before finally having a big showdown in a massive trainyard... as the Rookie from the Interlude, who has been busy in his time offscreen and now carries an armory of tricked-out weapons for which to obliterate the enemy with.
C2M10: The Manor
Welcome to the world of survival horror. You wake up, in some kind of torture chamber deep in the bowels of a decrepit mansion, and all your gear is missing. The place seems empty, if not abandoned... at first. Cultists start showing up once you find your way outside, and you'll have to carefully manage your ammunition while going on some classic ridiculous fetch quests. While I was expecting more zombies, the opening minutes are really creepy, with a distinct sense that you're being followed...
C2M11: The Bunker
The penultimate level of Cultic is appropriately epic; it's a sprawling, multi-sectioned bunker complex that could almost put Black Mesa to shame. The way forward is cut off; you'll have to explore both wings, both of which go pretty deep and take you to some pretty dark places, both literally and figuratively. Poke around in some drainage pipes and you'll gain access into a completely different kind of cult, but ultimately you'll have to get back on track and fight not one, but two very angry tank monsters.
C2M12: The Gate
The final level is pretty much just an arena fight. You get a warehouse full of goodies and then you step out into the arena proper, with a boss that in some ways feels very Devil May Cry. Bring him down and enjoy the sunrise. And that's it for Cultic!
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