On top of the nearly four hours of excellent early access levels is a mind-bogglingly robust level creator baked into the game. The keycard hunts from DOOM have been transformed into natural breadcrumb progression without sacrificing any of the sophistication that made those levels so great. It’s hard to put into words, but while playing it feels like magic. The masterful combination of geometry, lighting, and enemy and item placements come together to expertly pace the action while simultaneously moving things forward. They elegantly guide the player like the banks of a river from locale to locale, looping back on themselves effortlessly.
Not once during my time in these labyrinthian levels did I feel lost or confused. The train leads me back to the start of the level, and with a new keycard, I open the way to the exit. Next, I fight my way through a narrow train, using the high-powered railgun that was beaming down on me moments ago to slaughter lines of enemies. I fight through the trainyard, up the tower, and dispatch the gunmen. The cliff opens onto a trail-yard where the snipers’ tower is a mere stone’s throw away. I duck into side rooms, arenas, and corridors as I make my way closer to their vantage point. I navigate along the chasm opposite the spire, hiding behind cover as the gunners take aim. The spire cracks open in puffs of smoke, and its face opens, revealing energy shields and two railgun snipers perched within. Take, for example, “Marksman.” This level begins overlooking a chasm of acid pits, in the distance a broad spire looms. Prodeus has some of the most inspired FPS level design since DOOM. I do wish the team had strayed just a little further from their influence, but they come together to make such interesting fights that it’s easy to see why innovation may have proven unnecessary. There are pinky equivalents, cacodemon equivalents, imp equivalents, pain elemental equivalents, and archvile equivalents. Enemy designs might be my one gripe with Prodeus, because while varied, they lack surprise. Things start slow, with some standard fireball-shooting demons and zombies that lurch about, but more interesting and challenging foes are sprinkled in throughout the campaign. Prodeus towers above that experience with more satisfying weapons (including one of the best chain guns I’ve seen in a shooter), great level design, and some eye-popping art.
#PRODEUS UPDATE MODS#
I play a Frankenstein’s monster version of classic DOOM, loaded up with all sorts of mods that make it punchier, grosser, and smoother. There’s no denying that Prodeus leans hard on the likes of DOOM for inspiration, but is so well-designed and fun to play that I can hardly criticize it for that. Vistas and setpieces start coming, and they do not, in fact, stop coming. Guns provide an audial feast as they light the room with each pull of the trigger. Demons explode into viscous globs of jammy blood that paints the walls, floor, and ceiling. If you thought Brutal DOOM was a little too corny but still appreciated the gibs, Prodeus is here to fill the void.Įnemies are sprite-based, and textures are merely suggestions in this dark sci-fi shooter born from the best of the late ’90s classics. READY.” I warily continued, worried the lean-in to community goodwill and memes was a front for a half-baked effort to jump on the retro-FPS wave. The first early access stage of Prodeus begins with a sequence of neon lights that flashed along a long corridor.
#PRODEUS UPDATE SOFTWARE#
Prodeus is being developed by Michael Voeller and Jason Mojica of Bounding Box Software who have a combined 25 years FPS development experience, along with talented freelance artists and designers.įull details on the latest status of the game, how you can give feedback and report issues can be found at. Tons of difficulty and game modes with online high score support
Infinite blood and a satisfyingly gory dismemberment systemĭynamic heavy metal soundtrack from Andrew Hulshult Over the top visual effects (Explosions! Blood! Gore! Oh My!) This is the Boomer Shooter you’ve been waiting for.Īn aesthetic mix of high-quality 3D art and retro rendering techniques
The game features a hand-crafted campaign from industry FPS veterans, a fully-integrated level editor, and a built-in community map browser for instantaneous action with nearly limitless levels to play. It reaches the quality you expect from a AAA experience while adhering to some of the aesthetic technical limits of older hardware. Prodeus is a first-person shooter of old, re-imagined using modern rendering techniques.
Purchase only if you are comfortable with the current state of the unfinished game. It may or may not change over time or release as a final product.