Developed by Byte Barrel, Forgive Me Father has just been released on console, and it brings classic Doom-like gameplay to current times. Published by Fulqrum Publishing, it creates an amazing and picturesque gaming experience that not many have dared chase after.

You begin this story by going to meet your cousin, but everything changes when he doesn’t show up, and you begin your journey to find out what happened to the people of the city, fighting to find clues and figure out the truth. We’ve already done a review for the PC version, which you can find here, so I’ll be providing my thoughts on the Xbox Series X version.

The gameplay of Forgive Me Father is beyond amazing. You start by choosing between two characters; a Priest and a Journalist. They each have different abilities, but both begin with an old-fashioned Western-style pistol and a machete.

Soon after, you unlock your first of six perks, a lantern to light the path, before making your way through the game and unlocking more weapons to use, such as a shotgun, a machine gun, and much more.

Weapons can be upgraded throughout the game via the skill tree, providing different upgrades to each weapon, but also cutting off other paths. It gives the game great replayability by allowing try new builds, but it also gives you a strong edge over the enemies, whether you’re fighting off the annoying grunts that run after you, or the corrupt mages that fire magic at you, amongst a variety of others.

Graphics in this game push next-gen and retro to the limits by using absolutely stunning hand-drawn graphics designed to maintain a distinctive comic book look. It draws you right into the scenes before tormenting you with a madness effect and showing horrific details like blood and gore, and a loss of colour gives you an eerie experience.

Sound really gives this game its edge, with music that matches what you see and changes for each level you play, or some banger music that kicks in when you’re being chased by a group of enemies. There’s also a variety of gory sounds, like when you shoot and stab enemies, and the sounds of movement bring everything to life.

The Xbox controls felt a little touch and go, so I don’t know how Redgrave was able to play this on a keyboard and mouse. Movement speed is heavily influenced by the position of the sticks, with movement being almost uncontrollable and jarring when pushing it all the way forward. It takes some getting used to how sensitive this felt, but once I did, I was quickly and easily popping off repeated headshots on my opponents.

Forgive Me Father brings an amazing and unique experience to the playing field. Though the controls can take some getting used to, the eerie music and intense gameplay will keep you entertained for hours, and the amazing hand-drawn graphics bring an edge like no other. It has great appeal to classic retro gamers, and it’s definitely a game to remember.

Written by: TypicalCambieAU