Prodeus

I did not know beforehand, but this first-person shooter is very much an original Doom clone in terms of... everything. Pretty much every monster I've seen has its Doom equivalent. Almost every weapon is the same. Gameplay is the same (but with mouse look). And the atmosphere is similar. For story, it's still basically non-existent with a forgettable paragraph of text. However, it's an incredibly well made clone. Its main strength is probably how well it controls. I don't recall a mouse-look combo in a FPS that felt smoother and better, and that's from the start without adjustments. It's a joy to move around those dreary places. The environment graphics look good, similar to original Doom, but not quite as pixelated. The levels are well designed, initially short but getting more complex later on. They're improved by modern effects and lighting. However, weirdly, the very pixelated monsters look worse than original Doom, especially up close. Still, they do the job and are easy to distinguish. The weapons are crunchy and satisfying to use, and I like the alternate modes (with right mouse button). There are extreme amounts of liquid red blood whenever an enemy gets shot, even a "dismemberment" system. It's an interesting choice, but it tends to go overboard when sometimes you don't even see the targets anymore (those who did not die yet). Prodeus might not be original one bit, but it's super fun.

[b]Prodeus[/b] is the video game equivalent of drinking three cans of Monster energy and headbanging to a heavy metal cassette tape from 1993. It is a love letter to the classic "boomer shooters" of the DOOM and Quake era, but built with a modern engine that makes everything feel incredibly smooth. The developers clearly asked themselves, "How much blood is too much?" and then completely ignored the answer. [h3]The Aesthetics are God-Tier:[/h3] The game uses this genius visual style that blends modern, dynamic 3D lighting with chunky, retro 2D pixel-art enemies. It creates this gritty, CRT-monitor vibe that just looks incredibly cool and the gore system? It’s completely over-the-top. Painting the walls, floors and ceiling red isn't just a metaphor here, it’s practically a game mechanic. [h3]The Combat:[/h3] This game understands that a retro shooter is only as good as its shotgun and the weapons in Prodeus feel wonderfully heavy and punchy. You aren't managing stamina or worrying about stealth, you are sprinting at 60 miles per hour, dual-wielding SMGs and turning chaotic alien demons into a fine red mist while an absolute banger of an industrial metal soundtrack blasts in your ears. [h3]The Catch:[/h3] If you're looking for a deep, engaging story, you're in the wrong place. The plot is basically just an excuse to point you toward the next room full of monsters. Also, the campaign can start to feel a little repetitive if you play it for too many hours in one sitting, as the "find the colored keycard" formula doesn't change much from start to finish. But honestly, the built-in community map browser gives you endless levels to play once the main campaign is done, which makes up for a lot of its shortcomings.

With many games like this they can easily fall into the 'Doom-Like' category as they used to be called back in the days before the FPS genre got it's own pathway, and this is game is reminiscent of that sort of terminology or categorisation, and no doubt you can see the heavy inspiration taken from Doom. Nevertheless it's an enjoyable game and the fact that it runs on my Mac, that has to certainly earn some bonus points for this review. With FPS games like these, it can become somewhat repetitive going through each level, but it doesn't require you to keep playing everyday to know what to do, or what you was doing, you can come back whenever and continue just as you left off and pick it up whenever you feel like it and that I guess is the beauty of such games. With Prodeus there's no specific story at all but the campaign was nice to just play through, and as a Doom fan, I really did enjoy just playing through it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good old FPS without any extra fluff taking away from the action, especially with that blend of old school graphics with a modern touch up. Even on an old 2010 system like this, it ran very well, and although I never played with the Unlimited Levels option, that's something unique for someone who might. Overall, it's a 7.5 out of 10.