We are in the midst of a revival of classic style FPS games, often referred to as Boomer Shooters, and it is getting hard to stand out now among the many big names. You need to have a good look and good premise if you are to succeed in the genre, and many attempts just seem to not land. One game that is making an impact that is Byte Barrel’s Forgive Me Father, which combines a comic book aesthetic and Lovecraftian horror to create something special.
The art style of Forgive Me Father instantly makes the game pop as its comic book style goes deeper than just a look. Attacks on enemies will leave sound effects for one thing, and the style helps emphasize the horror you will experience as the game goes on. The game is a 3D world with 2D character sprites and manages to combine the two styles with the comic book aesthetic to both mimic the early first-person shooters, and also make something that is completely different and like a comic book come to life.
The plot sees you take control of one of the last people left sane in a world overrun but eldritch abominations, and to survive, the character will need guns, a crucifix and other religious iconography. Forgive Me Father is a ’90s-style action FPS with two playable characters, who have some similarities but where they differ is the skill trees. Forgive Me Father incorporates RPG elements in the FPS action by giving both characters skill trees to advance and grow and one character will focus on offence and the other on defense, even if there are some crossover aspects.
As for the weapons, they have a heavy weight to them and manage to feel like you are really making a difference even with the smallest weapon. It helps that the weapons are upgradable as part of the game’s RPG elements, and there is a lot of customization options that give the game a nice hybrid feeling between the old guard of FPS games and the new. You both feel really powerful at times, yet you need to work for it.
What affects that powerful feeling though, is the game’s take on sanity effects. As madness increases its effect on you, you will randomly be dealt boons and debuffs, that can make you super strong and weakened based on what is given. It really is a decent use of the sanity factor of Lovecraftian horror and a clever twist on how it works in video games.
The game’s art style also comes into play when depicting the horrific monsters and sanity effects, as the madness will change how the visuals appear and affect the music to create more tension. The monsters themselves are all hand-drawn and have a suitably grisly appearance that makes fighting them extremely satisfying. The combat in this game is so well thought out, that it feels less like a Boomer Shooter and more like a modern shooter simply using a different style.
If there are any issues, it is the voice acting. It is not that it is bad, but some of it can really drag down the experience due to how off it sounds. Another issue would be the fact that the game kind of peters out towards the end, especially after a strong start. It is still a vast improvement from the early access days of the game, but it is clear that more work needs to be done to fix things.
Overall, though, Forgive Me Father is a wonderful FPS that combines new and old sentiments, with an art style that helps create a new type of horror experience. Even with the shortcomings, there is so much fun to be had here, and an enormous focus on action that one will have plenty to do before any sort of boredom begins to set in. And with the devs continuing to work on the game, Forgive Me Father is easily a game that can be recommended to any FPS or horror fan, especially those who like RPG elements in their games. This is very much a good one.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Reviewed on PC via Steam.