CULTIC Reviews
Cultic delivers the brutal and fast paced action that boomer shooter fans love all while presenting itself in a vintage style though lacking enemy variety and a thin plot hold it back.
Honoring classic FPS tropes while incorporating modern elements, CULTIC is a fantastic choice for fans of intense gunplay. Its high-quality audiovisual presentation creates a palpable sense of tension that complements the gameplay, pitting the player against both dangerous humans and monsters. A wide array of resources is at the player's disposal, including various weapons, items, and movement mechanics to navigate the levels. Despite some minor issues, it is an excellent pick for fans of engaging and entertaining shooters.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Cultic is a great, yet very safe game, which eventually evolves into a very experimental yet frustrating Chapter 2. It's an impressive feat for the really small team, which started as a solo effort during Chapter 1. Unfortunately, the game is afflicted by a terrible pace and frustrating enemy placements towards the end, which left a bad taste in my mouth when all was said and done.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
CULTIC is a love letter to classic first-person shooters while confidently introducing plenty of ideas of its own. Its outstanding artistic direction, exceptionally clever level design, countless secrets, brutal combat, and survival horror atmosphere come together to create an experience that stands apart from most modern shooters. Anyone who plays it will almost certainly remember the "chainsaw guy," though probably not for friendly reasons. My biggest criticism remains the camera controls, which never felt completely comfortable to me despite trying several different sensitivity settings. Fortunately, this issue became much less noticeable after switching to Casual difficulty, which I believe is the best way to experience the campaign for the first time. I also loved the way the game rewards exploration. Finding secret passages, uncovering new routes, and revisiting older areas never feels like wasted time. Quite the opposite. That constant sense of curiosity is exactly what makes CULTIC feel so much like the genre's greatest classics. If you're looking for a modern FPS packed with cinematic storytelling, you'll probably find better options elsewhere. However, if you miss the creativity, exploration, and unapologetic brutality of 1990s shooters, CULTIC absolutely deserves a place on your list. It's one of those rare games that fully understands its inspirations and successfully transforms them into something that remains just as fun today.
Cultic shows how the term boomer shooter can be both a love letter and a disguise for a surprisingly modern project. While embracing the gritty look and brutal spirit of ’90s shooters, Jason Smith layers wider level design, creative weapons and real verticality onto that old-school frame. It’s not flawless — reused assets, occasionally unfair enemy aggression and the lack of Italian may bother some players — but anyone seeking an FPS that blends nostalgia with fresh ideas will find Cultic a perfect companion for getting their hands dirty again. And for us boomers, well… it feels a bit like coming home.
Review in Italian | Read full review
CULTIC is one of the best modern examples of the genre. Despite its well-known references, the game has enough personality that it doesn’t feel like a mere imitation. The combat is fast-paced, brutal, and varied; the level design rewards exploration; and the art direction creates an oppressive and memorable atmosphere. The minimal storytelling, the platforming sections, a few forgettable bosses, and the excessive length of certain maps don’t detract too much from an overall enjoyable experience. Considering that most of the work was done by a single developer, the result is even more impressive. For fans of retro FPS games, horror, and over-the-top violence, CULTIC is practically a must-play.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Agile and violent, Cultic is a shooter that delivers well on its premise by drawing inspiration from the greatest boomer shooters across all console generations.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Cultic is deliberately not as fast-paced and chaotic as some of the most beloved 90’s classics, and it plays into that angle with an excellent horror aesthetic, marvelous level designs, interesting puzzles and a combat that requires some reasoning, not just fast fingers on the trigger. It’s probably not for everyone, but if it scratches the right itch for you, it can be a stellar shooter.
CULTIC: Chapter Two is worth your time. If you've got even a shred of love for the boomer shooter genre, this is the one. It's creepy, it's brutal, and it's stylish as hell, a perfect homage to the RE franchise. Three years was a long wait, but it was worth every second.
CULTIC: Chapter One, with its horror themes, retro art design, beefy gunplay and well-designed levels is hands down the best old-school inspired shooter released this year. There is so little to complain about the game that are not on a technical level. It’s crafted with so much love and care that it’s easy to envision CULTIC becoming one of the, if not, the best throwback FPS ever made by the time all the chapters are released. Kudos also goes to the publisher for launching the game with a fair regional pricing.
Cultic: Chapter One is quite honestly my favorite horror experience of the year, with some of the finest booming and shooting I've done. In a year that's also presented Turbo Overkill and Metal: Hellsinger, that should show you just how highly I think of the game. I only have two real issues with the game. The similar feel of the levels in nature is one of them. The only other is the episodic nature of the game leaving me I'm chomping at the bit to get Chapter 2, especially after the way this one ends. Aside from those, Cultic: Chapter One is an essential purchase for horror and shooter fans alike. It's up there with the absolute best games of 2022.
Today’s glut of “boomer shooters” is largely inspired by just a handful of classics from the original golden age of roughly 1993 to 1997. Any new game runs the risk of seeming too similar to one of these icons, of lacking its own identity. At first glance, Cultic seems sure to fall into this trap, given its evident similarities to Blood. In fact, Jason Smith’s fantastic first project uses Monolith’s 1997 game as a jumping-off point – and ultimately delivers one of the best retro shooters in years.
I wish Blood 2: The Choosen had been like Cultic.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
CULTIC is off to a great start, with Chapter One being an assortment of excellent combat, familiar enemies, and sometimes samey levels. It’s perfect to dig into for this Halloween season, and has a really great atmosphere that can’t be beaten. I’m eager to return to this when Chapter Two is released, as this is only half the story, making it feel a little incomplete. Chapter One of CULTIC offers a Nu-Blood experience, lots of replayability, and tons of memorable and emergent gameplay moments.
Cultic is a fantastic shooter that encourages experimentation with how you approach combat. Its vast arsenal and movement mechanics allow for various viable options against many enemy types and bosses. With top-notch presentation and horror aesthetics, Cultic does enough to stand out in the heap of excellent retro-style shooters.
Cultic is an astonishing achievement for a one-man studio. It has the creepy, sinister atmosphere of the finest horror titles, packed with the cathartic carnage of the best FPS games. It’s an odyssey into the heart of darkness, with the path blasted open by dynamite. Far more than just a worthy spiritual successor to Blood, Cultic is a descent into pure madness that you won’t want to miss.