Cultic PS5 Review – A Modern Classic Drenched in ’90s Horror Vibes
Cultic is a game that was on my radar for years; its visuals and gloomy demeanour calling to mind Monolith’s monolithic macabre magical masterpiece Blood, a title that is never far from my mind! Comprised of two lengthy chapters, Cultic is an FPS set in the 1960s in the town of New Grandewal. You play a detective who follows leads to an asylum whilst investigating local disappearances and gets knocked out and assumed dead. Waking up in a grave, you continue your investigation into a strange cult. So far, so Blood...so... good!
Let’s not beat around the bush, Cultic is a fantastic game, and it grabs you by the BUILD Engine from the get-go, with a drudgy, moonlit colour palette that’s rich in darkness and groove.
The audio melds with the muted visual tone in an almost incomprehensibly golden blend that had me literally hanging around and staring at trees with a flickering brazier in the distance just to drink in the ambience, or perhaps linger in a darkened corridor with buzzing electrical lights; the mood is HEAVY and punishingly beautiful – consistently so.
As you make your way through the stages, all of which flow into the next in a way that directs the narrative further into the dimmer reaches of humanity – and beyond – to create an enthralling and immersively bleak experience.
The combat itself feels explosive in that the way the cultists and enemies discover and swarm you is almost hive-like, whilst the pure satisfaction of the weapons on offer – complete with alt-fire modes – means that there are usually multiple ways to approach each skirmish, and a tense all-out firefight can be just as exhilarating as a well-placed dynamite bundle or explosive barrel shot, leaving to you walk the path through to the next encounter with a pleasingly full pocket of ammo.
There really is something about the way in which solo developer Jason Smith (joined by co-level designer Nick Palsmeier during the development of Chapter 2) created Cultic that feels rooted in the ‘90s, but with an eye on modern tastes that is oddly entrancing, culminating in a game that will very much appeal to fans of games such as Blood, although Cultic is a more accessible and sensibly designed game that writhes in the dark side of the psyche whilst keeping a firm grasp on logical level design, enemy placement and firepower that doesn’t feel weighted against the player beyond the fact that they are a single detective outnumbered by myriad bonkers folks.
There really is something about the way in which solo developer Jason Smith (joined by co-level designer Nick Palsmeier during the development of Chapter 2) created Cultic that feels rooted in the ‘90s, but with an eye on modern tastes that is oddly entrancing, culminating in a game that will very much appeal to fans of games such as Blood, although Cultic is a more accessible and sensibly designed game that writhes in the dark side of the psyche whilst keeping a firm grasp on logical level design, enemy placement and firepower that doesn’t feel weighted against the player beyond the fact that they are a single detective outnumbered by myriad bonkers folks.
SUMMARY
If Cultic was co-op, I’d be writing this article with my trousers most definitely removed and burning beside me in a ritual that would most certainly result in the more conservative members of our readership pushing their glasses up their nose, or at the very least clearing their throat, uncomfortably.
A huge thumbs up from me, and a welcome inclusion into the pantheon of truly great horror FPS titles.
9/10
🧊ICE COOL🧊
(also available on Xbox X/S, Switch 2, PC)
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