Project Warlock is a classic FPS (first-person shooter) game developed by Jakub Cislo, who is a game developer at Buckshot Software. The publishers of this game are the Gaming Company. The game released on June 9, 2020, for PlayStation 4. It is also available for multi-platforms like PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One.
The story behind the creation of the game is that Jakub, who was an eighteen-year-old made this game to revive the type of shooting games available in the 1990s. He had spent his early childhood on these types of games and had a wish to relaunch this one with some improvements from his old favorite ones. Jakub had played Hexen, Doom, Heretic, and some other FPS titles and he intended to combine them into a game that refreshes that old madness for FPS. All he wanted to do was to make some improvements to the old major titles by fusing the design structure with aesthetical design. Jakub started a fundraiser on Kickstarter and after multiple attempts, he managed to get support as well as recognition to form a team, now Buckshot Software. The idea then turned into Project Warlock and after a successful launch on PC, they had decided to launch it for PS4 too, and here it is!
Project Warlock is considered in the list for past fused series. Instead of coming with a new idea or bringing an update to an already developed old title, which could ruin the main goal, Buckshot Software decided to submerge many characters from the 90s FPS like Doom or Hexen, and then implement them into a new story including some updates.
The game managed to keep the theme as close as possible to the original games. The story of the game is that there is a warlock, which in this game is the “hero”. He aims to remove all evil elements that try to act as hindrances. He uses some sort of magical charms along with nowadays weapons. The hero in this context is you. Buckshot successfully put up the new story with no deviations as things would have ruined in that case.
As you level up through the game, you instantly find yourself in your childhood. The game has the same combat mechanics such as off shooting enemies and the roaming. The shooting also doesn’t have any sort of vertical uplift, just as same. The movement mechanics match just like that of the game Wolfenstein. The map looks very exact with pixelated yellow, red and blue doors gating process. They look alike to the motions present in the PS4 port of Doom 64.
Project Warlock differentiates itself from other first-person shooters due to configuration accessibility to the player. At the start, the game is very tough. Its difficulty is indeed cruel. Some players said that it seems if they are continuing from a skill set saved file off Heretic, as it was also an intense game. You are provided with inadequate weapons which include an ax, throwing knives, and a beaming staff that uses a rare item as ammunition. Imperfect! Right? These weapons are extremely weak and don’t inflict any heavy damage to the opponent. Due to this, it becomes difficult to win any initial fight with enemies. Using melee also leads to quick expiration. However, the best part is that this evaluation doesn’t stay long. During the game progress, we start seeing new weapons like revolvers, shotguns, pistols, and SMGs. After the initial gameplays of knife etc., the game tends toward providing proper weaponry to take out enemies because they add in number. This doesn’t make it a piece of cake but brings the possibility to combat them whatsoever. For control, Buckshot has provided with a right stick use for free aim mode, meaning to say no aim assist. The thing is that it is set as default, and you can change it up to your preferences from the settings by locking vertical viewing.
Project Warlock is a representation of the classic theme of FPS in the 90s, and it doesn’t lose any chance of not being one. Except for the casual mode, you are in the void having less than 3 lives, and you got to survive at any cost. You would be facing 10-12 tiny levels that increase the difficulty level as you proceed with the game. If you see your health bar empty, it’s an end for you as you would emerge to the start of the level you are working hard to clear. Difficult? Indeed! You would have many reasons for your interests. One of the major ones is the unavailability of a constant weapon which does a ‘medium’ damage, but it doesn’t work like that. In each upcoming stage, you would unlock some perks which in turn help you in enhancing the most essential powers of your character. You may also find utilities for different weaponry firing patterns and better spell implementation. Before getting a hold, you would die numerous times, but that helps a lot in getting perfect.
Every game does come with some gray areas where they should have worked better, and this is the case for Project Warlock too. Some players with early access found issues in the use of weapon wheel while changing weapons in case you finished the ammunition of one of your guns. It turns the weapon to dynamite sometimes, which when thrown in enclosed areas gives the enemy and the player, a lot of damage. And we don’t want that because of the health loss we get inflicted by, we can’t take a risk. This wheel also has some response time issues with it. Buckshot has listened to the issues and responded to the problem by a patch update soon.
If you are here for a mouth opening story, or some overdosed fiction, as other titles nowadays are trying to approach, this is not the case here. There are a lot of types of enemies to fight, creating combat variation. It shows Buckshot’s way of doing things, simple and rock solid. Each level has its own set of monsters to fight with dissimilar perks at each one. Along with punchy gameplay comes the beautiful graphics implementation. That same pixel style showcased neatly along with smooth visuals and some powering instrumentals. Each level of the game shows its existence whatsoever. Buckshot has also delivered amazingly in the art department as the enemy creatures are very well designed, not usual! This game reflects their creativeness maintaining the promise to those who have spent their childhood playing these types of games.
In summary, Project Warlock has a good grasp of the punchy gameplay with enough tweaks to make the game going without losing its charms. The implementation of modern aspects in an old game is beautifully implanted. Variety in enemy powers and types exponentially increases the fun. The enemy occurrence at a certain level can be a little annoying sometimes. Game is very difficult to play at the beginning. And some issues of weapon wheel etc. need to be resolved, which Buckshot would do by releasing updates. Overall, you would love this!