Wrath of Early Access

If you’ve yet to play Wrath: Aeon of Ruin and you’re a fan of 90s FPS’ like Quake, then it’s a game that you’ll probably what to check out. Set in a dark fantasy world, Wrath is actually powered by the original Quake engine. So it’s retro for real.

It’s been in Early Access for a while now, which is Steam’s way of letting gamers play games before they’re ready for official launch. One other thing that Early Access offers is constant refinement, since again the games are not done yet.

To that end, Wrath has expanded. The game now has added a new level with The Gardens, complete with a new enemy to battle, and a new artifact to find.

The Gardens, a sprawling ancient facility once known for bountiful harvests, lays in rot. Massive rusted iron domes hide terraces of decomposing vegetation and fissured aqueducts now rife with creatures hellbent on tearing Outlander apart. This new level hosts a number of new secrets to plunder, including a new enemy and Artifact.

A devastating foe known as the Wretch skulks within the putrid garden. This fast, muscular creature utilizes a massive energy cannon stitched through the core of its body. Move quickly and strike true or suffer the consequences.

To even the odds, Outlander has a powerful new Artifact: Confounding Attar, a small vial of bewildering oil capable of pitting foes against one another. Take advantage of the ensuing chaos as they tear themselves apart and rend the enemies’ mottled flesh with the Ruination Blade.

3D Realms

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is available only on Steam’s Early Access right now, but will be landing on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One later this year.

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Blast from the past

3D Realms is known throughout the industry for their games. Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein, Rise of the Triad, Max Payne, Prey; 3D Realms were amongst the big boys of first person shooting for a long time. So you can imagine the excitement upon hearing that they are not only working on another shooter, but that it’s available on Early Access.

Now, I disagree with Early Access on principle, but you’ve all heard why it’s bad, so I won’t waste your time. I also won’t give away the story of WRATH: Aeon of Ruin. Mostly because I never found out about it, but also because I don’t want to ruin it (hehehe) if it turns out to be a good one. No my friends, today we will be talking about the true meat of the game. The very thing that brings all of us to this medium in the first place. The Gameplay! Also, the audio and visuals, but mostly gameplay!

Gore-soaked gameplay

Alright, so let’s get this out of the way first. WRATH is very fun. It’s cathartic, fast paced, weapon swapping, monster killing fun! If I was more into this stuff, I would waste hours just running around killing monsters with big scary guns. Unfortunately, I personally prefer to have a reason to murder demons, but even a foppish story fop like myself can enjoy the gameplay in this. That’s how fun it is. One must never forget, however, there are always problems.

My first big problem with WRATH came from playing the game a few days later. I unfortunately live in a country ravaged by power outages, but some gaming time finally came up and WRATH had an update. Fully updated and ready to jump back in, I found out that any save made before the update was no longer compatible. All of my work was suddenly gone, which is a poor restarting point.

The next big problem is the game’s constant issue with hit tracking. I shoot a demon in the face, and it dies. Good. I’ll shoot the same demon in the face two rooms later, expecting it would die, only to have it rip my nipples out for suggesting the very notion. Not good. I first thought it was a matter of range, but it doesn’t make sense when a chest shot from across the room kills the hellspawn, but a chest shot at point blank range doesn’t.

There is a bit of a gliding problem, like there is with almost every game from this era, which isn’t too bad but can make jumping onto things suck. The game also boasts good and bad surprises. Bad in the form of the cheapest jump scares money can steal, good in the form of monsters doing weird stuff in the right conditions. I shoot a creature’s head off in a supposedly new way, it’s shoulder blades unfurl into arms to attack me! Brilliant!  

There is a weird sort of customization to this game, that comes in the weaponry. The era of gaming that WRATH is recreating here is known for being unforgiving, and the weapons start off being mostly about efficiency. The next weapon you pick up tends to have more of a punch than the last, until the shotgun. After that, you get a machine gun that shoots fangs, that doesn’t seem to do as much damage or even shoot as far. I kept using it on the assumption that it would help against some new enemy, but nothing cleared rooms quite like my shotgun so there was no reason to use it.

I suppose it might affect one type of enemy more, or maybe it hits for less but trades off by having more hits? Regardless, it seems like a style choice more than anything. Which is cool! Don’t get me wrong, I’m an efficiency person in most games, but if I see something cool that doesn’t do too much worse it’s my go to from then on. Doing damage is fun, but these games are almost about the spectacle as much as they are about the catharsis. Like they say, you eat with your eyes first.

A vision of a bygone age

Speaking of eating with your eyes, I’m glad to see that 3D Realms brought not only the gameplay from the 90s, but the graphics as well! It’s uncanny how much WRATH truly looks like an expansion to Quake sometimes, and it makes you wonder, why? Doom got rebooted recently with new graphics, and it only enhanced the experience, so what is the reason for the old look? Well, nostalgia, obviously. Old 3D Realms is trying to slip a fast one past us, get those extra bucks by tugging at our memories.

That’s not to say that the visuals are awful, just old. Not even a Shovel Knight kind of old where they replicate the colour pallet and style of an old system, it just looks like another old game. I had to check that I was actually playing a new game more than once, which is a bit pathetic. Surely 3D Realms has the capital for some better graphics by now. While I’m dreaming, can we stop making this about demon killing? We all accept violence in games now, so you don’t have to appeal to the nutcases with your super edgy games anymore. Let us have some fun and colour in these games, please!

On a more professional note, the first level of the game is set in a snowy cathedral/graveyard with what seem like catacombs. It’s kind of…boring. There’s really nothing else to it. The demons sometimes spawn with these red swirly bits, but basically everything else is grey and white. It’s just kind of lame and takes away from the fun. Here you are, shooting demon heads off with your double-barrel death stick, and it feels like you’re being filmed by a pretentious art major.

Finally, the sound design in this game is weird. Running into icicles sounds like breaking a window, crackling fires sound like dripping water, all of the monsters scream at you like you’re a casting agent for Hell’s Idols and this is their big shot. The only good part of the sound design is the gunshots, which are loud and proud baby! They give the weapons a good weight and make them pretty satisfying to use.

So far, so decent

I would recommend WRATH to anyone who enjoyed old school shooters, or anyone who wants a cathartic demon killing experience. When I mentioned not knowing the story earlier, as a funny joke, I truly had no intention of finding out. Playing this game becomes all about the gameplay and all ideas of story really seem pointless.

So, buy WRATH, but I’d advise wait for the full edition. You never know what they might change in the end. This is Early Access after all. Hopefully they will make the environments more interesting, ramp up the graphics and fix the sound design. Even if they don’t though, the game is still just plain fun!

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
Release date: November 22nd, 2019, in Early Access
Platform: PC
Publisher: 3D Realms, 1C Entertainment
Developer: KillPixel

The post WRATH: Aeon of Ruin (PC) Preview appeared first on BrutalGamer.

Back to the 90s

Very quietly, 3D Realms has been producing some of the most purely fun FPS’ around. Not that long ago, we got the awesome Ion Fury, and now it’s time for Wrath, from KillPixel Games.

The game transports players into a universe loaded up with demons, monsters, and more gibs than you can shake a boom stick at. And as of right now, it’s available on Steam’s Early Access.

Once adrift upon the Ageless Sea, Outlander finds himself on the shores of a dying world.  A radiant figure draped in white, the Shepherd of Wayward Souls, burdens Outlander with a harrowing task: journey into the sprawling gloom and slay the fallen Guardians who have plunged this world into darkness.

WRATH launches in Early Access with the first of three non-linear Hub worlds and two unlocked levels. Annihilate the horrors lurking within the ruins of the Old World with an arsenal of devastating weaponry and mystical artifacts. Early Access will continue to receive content updates that add even more levels, enemies, weapons, artifacts and music by Quake Champions composer Andrew Hulshult.

3D Realms

If you’re a 90s FPS fan, it’s tough not to like what 3D Realms is showing off. Quite frankly, Wrath looks like it’d be right at home in 1997. And while this is just the first playable look at the game, you can definitely get a solid taste for what’s coming up here.

The actual finished product will be hitting some time next year, along with both PS4 and Xbox One editions. As for the Early Access PC game, that’ll cost you $24.99 USD.

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Wrathful classic

The Old World has passed away. Amidst the ruins lurks an ageless fear. Outlander, once adrift upon the Ageless Sea, finds himself on the shores of a dying world. From the consuming gloom emerges a figure cloaked in white, the Shepherd of Wayward Souls, who burdens Outlander with hunting down the remaining Guardians of the Old World. 

Traverse ancient crypts, sunken ruins, corrupted temples and howling forests with nine weapons and ten artifacts of dreadful might. Traditional firearms such as the double-barreled shotgun lay waste to foes and all have alternate fire abilities. The Retcher and the Fangspitter transform the cysts and teeth ripped from the corpses of enemies into death-dealing projectiles. Do not underestimate the adversary, for they grow great in number and power. Keep both mind and blade sharp to survive the dangers ahead.

3D Realms press release

I think I need to play this as soon as possible. That Quake engine might be ancient by gaming standards, but wow does Wrath both look and sound awesome.

It’s not all retro either. While it is rooted in the past, Wrath also has some interesting new ideas built in. The game’s save system is apparently limited in use, and it also features a semi-open world.

The first 2 areas are open from the start, but you can unlock the others to gain access to a total of 5 worlds. Though it’ll have action to spare, the game’s campaign also touts “exploration-heavy non-linear play” as well.

So it’s retro, but with some nice-sounding modern ideas thrown in as well. All in all, it sounds pretty terrific and I can’t wait to get a better look. It won’t be too terribly long till we can get just that either. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is coming to the PC and Mac this summer, with console editions (including Switch) landing in 2020.

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