Wickland is a breath of musty putrid air for those who think modern arena shooters are too bright and glossy. If you long for the dark labyrinths of Hexen you'll feel at home here. Wickland is strictly oriented around competitive multiplayer dueling in the spirit of Quake; no single player campaign to be found here, although there may be bots eventually. The weapons are a crazy mix of unreal and quake, with an alternate fire mode for some interesting combos, but retaining the fundamental balance and simplicity of the quake arsenal. The game runs very nicely in the unreal engine, and they've incorporated a wall-jump movement mechanic that feels simple and unique compared to the manic bunnyhopping of some other games. The result is there's less tricks to learn and you can jump right into the dueling metagame, which is where Wickland really shines.

They've put a twist on the classic duel ruleset, where players fight for control of armor and health; in Wickland each weapon is its own monster with armor and doesn't respawn on the map until it is "killed" off your opponent. The winner is not the person with the most kills, but simply who manages to frag the base human character first. It's amazing how fresh this mechanic feels, and also how much more accesible it makes AFPS dueling which is notorious for its difficulty. Perhaps the best part about it is if you are hopelessly outmatched by your opponent, the game will simply end and you wont have to sit through the 10-15 minutes of humiliation that turn so many off to dueling.

Although they have borrowed elements from other shooters, Mad Ram cite real life duelling sports like Kendo as their inspiration. Players expecting over the top free for all combat may be dissapointed. Also, there are only three maps right now, which is a good thing since you'll need to know them inside out. Wickland is as close as you can get to a pure distilation of duel culture--where reflexes are only a means of executing a sophisticated mental game, and the ethos is relentless self-improvement. Whether it's chess or martial arts or Quake, if you enjoy the intensity of competitive one-on-one sports, Wickland is for you.

Wickland is a breath of musty putrid air for those who think modern arena shooters are too bright and glossy. If you long for the dark labyrinths of Hexen you'll feel at home here. Wickland is strictly oriented around competitive multiplayer dueling in the spirit of Quake; no single player campaign to be found here, although there may be bots eventually. The weapons are a crazy mix of unreal and quake, with an alternate fire mode for some interesting combos, but retaining the fundamental balance and simplicity of the quake arsenal. The game runs very nicely in the unreal engine, and they've incorporated a wall-jump movement mechanic that feels simple and unique compared to the manic bunnyhopping of some other games. The result is there's less tricks to learn and you can jump right into the dueling metagame, which is where Wickland really shines. They've put a twist on the classic duel ruleset, where players fight for control of armor and health; in Wickland each weapon is its own monster with armor and doesn't respawn on the map until it is "killed" off your opponent. The winner is not the person with the most kills, but simply who manages to frag the base human character first. It's amazing how fresh this mechanic feels, and also how much more accesible it makes AFPS dueling which is notorious for its difficulty. Perhaps the best part about it is if you are hopelessly outmatched by your opponent, the game will simply end and you wont have to sit through the 10-15 minutes of humiliation that turn so many off to dueling. Although they have borrowed elements from other shooters, Mad Ram cite real life duelling sports like Kendo as their inspiration. Players expecting over the top free for all combat may be dissapointed. Also, there are only three maps right now, which is a good thing since you'll need to know them inside out. Wickland is as close as you can get to a pure distilation of duel culture--where reflexes are only a means of executing a sophisticated mental game, and the ethos is relentless self-improvement. Whether it's chess or martial arts or Quake, if you enjoy the intensity of competitive one-on-one sports, Wickland is for you.