Wrath: Aeon of Ruin has been a long time coming. This gory retro shooter started development way back in 2017, first launching in Early Access in late 2019. Danish studio KillPixel has crafted their blood-soaked love letter to 90s classics like Doom and Quake on the original Quake engine itself. After years of tweaking and content updates, Wrath finally saw its full release on PC in early 2023.
Wrath definitely shows its old school shooter influences plainly. It’s fast and frenetic, with hordes of demons between you and your goal. Movement is slippery and quick, letting you zip around levels with ease. The arsenal seems familiar too – shotguns, nail guns, and the like. But Wrath puts its own spin on things too. Guns have alt-fire modes with surprising new effects. Levels have secrets and side paths to uncover. It modernizes some antiquated designs while keeping the classic feel.
If you cut your teeth on shooters in the 90s, or just enjoy intense and challenging retro adventures, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin channels that spirit well. It may have taken a while to come together, but this blood-soaked quest is a solid and frenzied throwback to FPS glory days. Grab some guns and get ready to paint the walls red.
Zippy Movement Mixed With Chaotic Combat
Moving around in Wrath feels sublime thanks to that original Quake engine. You can zip around levels at breakneck speed, jumping, strafing, and circle-strafing to dodge attacks. It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of air control and bunny hopping, you’ll be blowing through maps with ease. The controls are tight and responsive – no input lag to get in the way of the chaos. This is where Wrath really channels that intense, high-octane feel of old school arena shooters.
Of course, moving fast is only half the battle. You’ll need to put that mobility to good use against the shrieking hordes of enemies flooding your way. The arsenal covers all the bases, from up-close shotgun blasts to rapid-fire fang machine guns for range. Each gun has an alternate fire with a unique effect too, like the shotgun charging up a fiery blast that knocks back enemies. This keeps combat feeling fresh across the good 15+ hours of campaign.
Speaking of enemies, Wrath doesn’t hold back with twisted demonic creatures hungry for your blood. Grotesque spiders, ogrish brutes, even ethereal banshees will swarm your location frequently. While more enemy variety would’ve been nice, each type poses their own threat to counter. Prioritizing targets becomes key, as a mob can quickly overwhelm the unwary. With three difficulty options though, players of any skill level can find the right balance between engaging and approachable.
In terms of deaths and checkpoints, Wrath uses a consumable save system reminiscent of old survival horror titles. You’ll find Soul Tethers in levels that let you set a respawn point on use. Since Tethers are limited, you have to use them wisely when tackling large arenas or right before major fights. It adds some fun risk vs. reward decision making to the mix. With hordes gunning for you, those save points become lifelines.
The core of Wrath’s chaotic clashes and high speed movement feel spot-on for boomer shooter fans. While expanding the enemy roster more over its long dev time would’ve helped, moment to moment play still captures that intense, non-stop action of FPS classics like Quake.
Sprawling Maps With Hidden Secrets
Wrath’s 15 levels across 3 episodes take you through a nice variety of gothic environments. You’ll traverse grim castles, warped caverns, misty boneyards, and more on your quest to take down the Guardians. Visuals stay true to that retro pixelated style, but some locations like an arctic cliffside chapel still impress. The draw distance could be better for avoiding ambushes though. And with no in-game map, traversing these winding multi-layered stages gets confusing fast.
Most levels are maze-like spirals of corridors and courtyards, stuffed with hordes around every corner. They capture the non-linear feel of classic shooters well, with side paths to explore and secrets to uncover. Hidden levers might open new routes, while colored keys unlock subsequent doors. Retracing your steps is often required and backtracking gets tedious though. Stages drag on too with 500+ kills each, taking 40+ minutes apiece. Enemy density starts feeling more padded than tense.
The addictive thrill of discovering goodies like new weapons or artifacts keeps exploration rewarding. But the claustrophobic corridors still suffer from repetitive visuals and some blind corners that spawn enemies right on top of you. This combines with wonky enemy placement that feels more cheap than challenging at times. There’s definitely fun replay value in finding all Wrath’s secrets, if you can push through the pacing issues of overlong slogs through similar rooms.
Wrath nails that throwback level design initially by capturing the spirit of sprawling, winding 1990s shooters. But some progression flaws like backtracking fatigue and copy-paste environments make stages overstay their welcome. Condensing map size in favor of more unique locales could have helped capture that old school vibe while modernizing pain points.
A Pixelated Bloodbath That Runs Smoothly
It’s clear Wrath is built on some ancient tech, but the pixelated visuals have a certain grungy appeal rather than feeling dated. Gothic textures and hellish lighting set an appropriately dark mood too. However, some areas are too dim to navigate easily, requiring gamma tweaks. A brighter toggle setting could have helped. The splatter effects are glorious though, painting levels red as you dismember snarling horrors. It really captures that visceral, brutal vibe of 90s shooters.
On the audio front, Wrath’s meaty gun blasts and shrieks of dying enemies sound gruesome. But the soundtrack fails to pair suitably heavy metal riffs with the action too often. The calm, ambient tunes create a bit of dissonance tonally. More fittingly aggressive music would better complement slaughtering armies of demons.
Despite building on that aging Quake engine, Wrath runs remarkably smooth. On a mid-tier rig I saw 400-500 FPS easily with nearly no slowdown. The framerate keeps up even when the hordes close in. I only had one crash right at the start and some occasional stuck inventory items. But otherwise Wrath proves stable and polished after its long stint in Early Access. The team clearly ironed out most bugs.
For all the splatter and speed on display, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin has surprisingly few technical hiccups. Visuals and controls feel true to its old-school inspirations. Though mood lighting issues and a mismatched soundtrack undermine the experience at times, smooth performance and those glorious gibs capture the essence of FPS classics nicely.
Bloody Blast From The Past
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin had massive shoes to fill, trying to capture the magic of beloved retro FPS classics. While flaws like repetitive environments and questionable enemy placement undermine aspects, Wrath still succeeds more often than not. Zipping around gore-soaked maps dismembering demons with unique arsenal feels so right thanks to that original Quake foundation. There’s just an intangible quality to the kinetic movement and gunfeel that takes you back.
Of course, modern boomer shooters like Dusk or Amid Evil have set a high bar for level variety and design too. Next to those, Wrath’s maze-like maps blur together at times. But there’s something special about slaughtering hellspawn on literal 90s tech. The team clearly set out to channel the essence of the era. For fans pining for more fast, frenetic FPS chaos in that throwback style, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin scratches the itch while injecting some distinct ideas into the mix as well.
At the end of the day, if you came of age bunny-hopping around deathmatch arenas, few modern games capture that specific nostalgia like Wrath does. It may be more of a supplemental palette cleanser for boomer shooter fans over a revolution. But Wrath: Aeon of Ruin still showers you in demon blood with some wicked guns, hitting the core elements that count.
The Review
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
For fans of fast and frenetic retro FPS action, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a bloody blast that nails the core combat and movement that made 1990s shooters so memorable. Minor issues hold it back from true greatness, but the slick engine and kick-ass weapons make demon slaughter a gruesomely good time.
PROS
- Smooth, fast-paced movement and gameplay
- Awesome arsenal with unique alternate fires
- Captures the essence of old school shooters
- Great gibs and gore effects
- Higher difficulties offer a challenge
- Surprisingly bug-free
CONS
- Environments are too dark at times
- Levels can feel repetitive
- Questionable enemy placement
- Excessive backtracking during stages
- Underwhelming soundtrack
