GamingBolt’s Shunal Doke took on waves of eldritch monstrosities in their review of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, the dark fantasy horror FPS powered by the original Quake engine from publishers 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing and developers KillPixel Games and Slipgate Ironworks.
Doke began their review praising the game’s art direction writing:
“Quite clearly inspired by horror shooter games like the original Quake, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin features a heavy emphasis on dark cavernous levels with sharp contrast offered up by environmental lighting. For example, some of the upper levels of the map will have gigantic glowing crystals in its walls offering up much of the lighting in the stage, and the sewers will similarly feature bio-luminescence for its moody atmosphere. This combination of lo-fi visuals along with more modern visual techniques leads to a game where the atmosphere is spot on.” Later commenting further on the game’s environments and structure, “The crowning glory of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is quite easily its level design.”
They went on to write, “…Wrath: Aeon of Ruin doesn’t simply copy the styles of these older titles; it builds on them by making use of modern techniques that make impressive use of lighting, as well as more modern hardware and software allowing for enemy numbers that just wouldn’t have been possible back in the day. The fact that all of this was achieved while the game uses the modified Quake engine makes things even more impressive.”
The review was concluded by praising the game’s level design and its use of retro structure, “Wrath: Aeon of Ruin wears its inspirations on its sleeves. Its use of old software technology to do incredible things is especially impressive, and the pedigree of the game’s level designers is constantly at full display. The game also has a well-rounded arsenal of weapons that, while far from unique, never feel dull to use. All of this is wrapped up in a boomer shooter that manages to look surprisingly unique in this day and age by tapping into classical art styles with its own flair.”
Doke’s full review can be read on GamingBolt.
Reaching the 1.0 milestone on February 27th, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin carries the spirit of iconic first-person shooters in a literal sense as the game was built upon the same technology used to make Quake, injecting classic tools with modern game development philosophies to create something special for FPS fans. The game was first playable through Steam Early Access in 2019, steadily seeing episodes and content expansions during that time. The 1.0 release marks a celebration of the action title. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is available now on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.
More information can be found on the official website or by following the game’s X account or Facebook page.
