Let's say hypothetically, you wanted to kick ass? And for the sake of argument, you wanted to chew bubblegum. Is it not reasonable to say you ran out of gum? Well, the ass kicking part of this game is fully there, but if you run out of some of that precious gum and you will have to restart.

Played as part of my personal crusade to get through all the boomer shooters, well as many as I could muster, I found Project Warlock going in my library and deciding to give it a go. First of all, the game has some absolutely stunning pixel art, with some gorgeous effects you can add, going beyond the usual scan lines with stuff like integrated jitter and wobble options. So visually there is nothing to complain about.

The game functions fundamentally as a roguelike, however due to it's length and life system you will probably not game over after the first episode unless you are playing on the harder difficulties, which i cannot vouch for since I only played it on Standard. I did try a "Casual' run beforehand but got my save file deleted midway through, I do not know if that's a once-in-a-lifetime glitch or a feature but it left me very annoyed.

The game's weapons are fun to use, all besides the starting knife and one late game weapon having two mutually exclusive upgrades you can purchase. Personal favourites include the Akimo SMG, Autoloader Shotgun, Flak Cannon and Napalm Launcher. There are definitely some red herrings like the Flare Gun, but otherwise the arsenal is very well balanced.

What really lets the game down though is it's level design, outside the first episode there are almost no landmarks to speak off. you get easily lost, either by not knowing where to go, where you are or a combination of the two. While not a definitive deal breaker it's something to keep in mind.

Also the final boss, which can only be described as Bavaria Incarnate is such a bullet sponge that running out of ammo is a bigger concern then actually dying to him. In general the game has a problem with distributing ammo, giving you pistol ammo far past it's usefulness.

In conclusion this game is a great game bugged by poor level design and ammo management. It's definitely a recommendation for if you are in to the genre, just keep that in mind.

Let's say hypothetically, you wanted to kick ass? And for the sake of argument, you wanted to chew bubblegum. Is it not reasonable to say you ran out of gum? Well, the ass kicking part of this game is fully there, but if you run out of some of that precious gum and you will have to restart. Played as part of my personal crusade to get through all the boomer shooters, well as many as I could muster, I found Project Warlock going in my library and deciding to give it a go. First of all, the game has some absolutely stunning pixel art, with some gorgeous effects you can add, going beyond the usual scan lines with stuff like integrated jitter and wobble options. So visually there is nothing to complain about. The game functions fundamentally as a roguelike, however due to it's length and life system you will probably not game over after the first episode unless you are playing on the harder difficulties, which i cannot vouch for since I only played it on Standard. I did try a "Casual' run beforehand but got my save file deleted midway through, I do not know if that's a once-in-a-lifetime glitch or a feature but it left me very annoyed. The game's weapons are fun to use, all besides the starting knife and one late game weapon having two mutually exclusive upgrades you can purchase. Personal favourites include the Akimo SMG, Autoloader Shotgun, Flak Cannon and Napalm Launcher. There are definitely some red herrings like the Flare Gun, but otherwise the arsenal is very well balanced. What really lets the game down though is it's level design, outside the first episode there are almost no landmarks to speak off. you get easily lost, either by not knowing where to go, where you are or a combination of the two. While not a definitive deal breaker it's something to keep in mind. Also the final boss, which can only be described as Bavaria Incarnate is such a bullet sponge that running out of ammo is a bigger concern then actually dying to him. In general the game has a problem with distributing ammo, giving you pistol ammo far past it's usefulness. In conclusion this game is a great game bugged by poor level design and ammo management. It's definitely a recommendation for if you are in to the genre, just keep that in mind.