This is the throwback to the ’90s when all we wanted were those fast-paced, action-packed, first-person shooters, we all learned to love. ‘Supplice’ is the perfect mixture of fast-paced action and colourful environments and those beautiful retro-style graphics which we all loved in titles like ‘Quake’ and ‘Doom’. The developers Mekworx and the publishing team over at Hyperstrange have made this title an ode to the past almost perfectly.

Supplice will take you on an adventure to the far corners of the universe as humanity has outgrown itself and you have joined a terraforming team. It’s been made your mission to find and prepare a new location to get it prepared for colonisation. Unfortunately, someone has unleashed biomechanical which you now find yourself in constant gun battles with. The story was interesting enough to match with fast-paced gameplay.

W, A, S, and D keys got smashed in this title based on how quickly it was running and the mouse was constantly being switched from left to right to make sure I’m smashing the horde of enemies that are coming to attempt to kill me. Gameplay will involve you mostly maniacally dodging and dashing around shooting everything that looks at you the wrong way with your drill gun.

The controls were so basic which is great in counteracting the pace of gameplay. You didn’t need to find more buttons to press apart from things like healing up from items found throughout levels, which are all labeled well. Unfortunately, the game itself is very short, I just needed more, perhaps more weapons or upgrades to just prolong the experience.

Like all energetically created first-person shooters you expect an awesome soundtrack and plenty of noise from the weapons and this game does not disappoint in the slightest with what you would describe as heavy metal backing music.

The throwdowns of bass really complimented the ripping and tearing gunplay. The sound effects from the weapons and grunts and howls that came out of the enemies when you destroyed them were so fitting for the style of gameplay, definitely something you would expect from a 90’s era first-person shooter. The sounds all sounded nostalgic but didn’t sound old enough to feel like it was a copy of an ancient asset found vaulted somewhere.

The art style in this game was by far my favorite part of this title. There is nothing better than jumping into a brand-new game that feels and looks retro and the developers did a fantastic job of recreating this tried and true style. Everything has that classic pixelated look and the blood squirting out in those little squares we all loved back in the day is such a nice nod to the past.

The different environments were packed with detail, corridors, and features to investigate that keep you searching for ages for pickups. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled though as those hidden doors were sometimes a little harder to find.

If you love titles in the genre of ‘Doom’ then Supplice is the title created just for you. It’s a fast-paced, beautiful looking, 90’s feeling first-person shooter that keeps you on your toes and keeps the adrenaline built up ready to go from start to finish.

Written by: Hayden Nelson