CTHON is a roguelike Wolfenstein 3D-esque FPS with excellent presentation, featuring a very creepy and ambient soundtrack and strong spriteCTHON is a roguelike Wolfenstein 3D-esque FPS with excellent presentation, featuring a very creepy and ambient soundtrack and strong sprite work, and even some good writing: A rarity in the genre. It features an inventory-based progression system that allows you to increase things like health, weapon damage and movement speed via finding or purchasing upgrades. I am especially fond of how equipping some upgrades alters the appearance of your weapons and hud. The creator did alot with what I imagine to be limited resources. The atomsphere combined with your low starting health made the game feel genuinely tense- although maybe more then I'd like.
However, I can't say this game is finished, and I mean that in a nice way. As it stands the low price is very reasonable, but with some more work this could easily be a ten dollar game. Aside from a nasty crash that ended my first run which I know is being worked on, I think some changes to the mechanics are in order. In particular, the highly restrictive nature of the progression system means you are limited not only by inventory space but by power consumption, ensuring you will not be able to pick up every upgrade you come across, and of the ones you do, you will not be able to use them all. Getting the most of your items necessitates finding secret areas, and despite a hint from the dev to check dead ends, I found only one secret out of seven. Some kind of visual tell, like the cracked walls in Ziggurat or the slight discolorations you would see in Doom would be nice. Overall, the inventory system makes the game feel harder then it actually should be- otherwise, the combat feels pretty good. I see the reasoning behind a three-weapon system with three corresponding classes, but given the sheer variety of weapons sprite-shooters typically had, some more guns might be in order.
CTHON is faithful to its roots and worth the five bucks if you like 90s FPSes and wish to invest in the future of a promising entry in the genre.…Full Review »