Reviews

Project Warlock review for PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Platform: PS4
Also on: PC, Switch, Xbox One
Publisher: Crunching Koalas
Developer: Buckshot Software
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: M

I have a couple of very vague memories of playing Doom back in the mid-?90s at a friend?s house. (It may well have been Wolfenstein, for all I know.) I was terrible at it. Needless to say, it didn?t leave a lasting impression, nor did it engender in me a sense of nostalgia for that whole genre of early first-person shooters.

As such, there?s not a lot about Project Warlock that speaks to me, since the whole game is built around hoping that not only do people desperately want to play Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem, et al, once again, they?ll play this instead of playing any of those classics, most of which are still easily available even today (and generally at much cheaper prices).

It?s not that Project Warlock is badly made or anything, because it?s not. Between the 3D pixel art graphics and the over-the-top gore (not to mention the insane difficulty level), this game very faithfully evokes all its 25+-year-old influences. You could put it alongside any of its forebears, and you might not be able to tell the difference. I mean, you probably would, since Project Warlock looks like a modern game trying to look retro, but you?d at least have to spend a moment or two thinking about it.

But that?s kind of the problem with the game, too. It?s so wholly indebted to the past, it never tries to do anything new. Sure, it looks a little cleaner, and I suspect the controls are a little smoother, but there?s nothing here that suggests it?s aware of any developments in gaming post-1995. There?s barely even a story holding it all together — it?s just all nostalgia, all the time.

Obviously, if that kind of nostalgia speaks to you, then you?ll probably find plenty to enjoy in Project Warlock. But if you want anything more than reheated Doom, you?re better off looking elsewhere, because you won?t find it here.

Crunching Koalas provided us with a Project Warlock PS4 code for review purposes.

Grade: C
Matthew Pollesel

Recent Posts

Get some Minecraft bling with the PDP REALMz Minecraft – Diamond Print Wireless Controller featuring Steve

Finally Jack Black in controller form…what, no? It’s not him? Oh man…

16 hours ago

Victrix Pro KO Leverless Fight Stick lets you execute 720s without taking up too much space in your bag

A fight stick without a stick…what a wild time we live in.

16 hours ago

Whee!! RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is building towards a December 5th Nintendo Switch drop

A quarter of a century after the original game's launch, Atari is re-releasing one of…

17 hours ago

Hannah review for PC, Xbox

Hannah looks great…right up until you start moving.

22 hours ago

ININ Games acquires the publishing rights for Shenmue III

To celebrate the 3rd game's 5th anniversary and the original's 25th (!), YSNET has transferred…

22 hours ago

Nintendo eShop Update: Stray, Critter Café, Tiny Cats

One of 2022's best games is slinking onto the Switch in this week's update.

23 hours ago

This website uses cookies.