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0 Supplice is a retro style FPS now available in Early Access. In development by Mekworx with publishing by Hyperstrange (Jupiter Hell, Frozenheim), this throwback to the mid 1990’s is heavily inspired by Doom and its mod community. You can pick it up today only on Steam.
Supplice Throws Doom Into the Modern Day
There have been many games like Doom since it debuted 30 years ago. From the original Quake and Rise of the Triad to modern entries like Dusk and ULTRAKILL to name a few. Though Doom probably wasn’t my first PC game I’m sure it may have been for a lot of 90’s kids. And despite the number of similar games I’ve seen over the years, Supplice is one that stood out to me. I’m glad to have the opportunity to play it and share the experience with you. Let me know which 90’s FPS was your favourite after the preview!
Gameplay
Supplice is about as true to the original Doom experience you can get. Made up of developers of the Doom modding community, Mekworx has brought the genre to its roots. You start the game as a lone human engineer with only your drill in hand, unceremoniously tasked with assisting an AI program to get your terraforming colony back under control. All sorts of mutants and big nasties stand in your way. But don’t worry – you’re a crafty engineer with lots of heavy weaponry coming your way.
Supplice is just about everything you would want from a retro 90’s style shooter. It has a hectic pace, lots of baddies, and pickups all spread throughout each stage. Not to mention the less-than-practical but totally necessary weaponry. Of course it also has those wonderful “secret” areas for those that try to find every nook and cranny. You just have to remember that not every wall is an actual wall. Hitting up random data terminals for a deeper insight into the goings on around the colony is a bonus too.
I can’t remember the last time a modern game really brought me back to my youth as much as Supplice does. I don’t get into retro style games too much as it is, but something about this one really felt right. The gameplay itself is just so responsive and crisp that it really gives that original feel without the drudgery that many retro games fall into.
Graphics & Audio
As far as the graphical style of Supplice goes, leave it to a bunch of modders to get that Doom look spot on. The overall look of the game is retro but with a modern touch, adding crisp graphics to the crisp gameplay. Even the gory messes you leave behind are proper texture and orientation to what you’d expect. The wiry map is a good throwback as well, but I feel the player icon is a bit hard to see with my no-longer-90’s-kid eyes.
I will have to admit that when I started this preview originally I did not like Supplice at all. But then I discovered in the options menu that I could turn the movement bob to zero, and thus my discomfort while playing disappeared. It is probably just a personal preference and may not have the same effect on others but I am so thankful to be able to turn it off. Not only did I find that option, but the number of options overall is astounding for what appears to be a simple game. Some of the options are tucked out of sight behind a warning about breaking the game as they aren’t fully supported though so you do have to do a little bit of digging.
The audio in Supplice matches up well with the retro style too. Lots of grunts, disturbing and menacing growls, and weapon blasts to boot. The one thing that did really stand out to me was that the music track felt very repetitive at times. I’m not completely sure if it was the same track constantly playing or it just felt like the same track.
Longevity
I’m not really sure how the Supplice long game is going to play out. There is a plan in place by Mekworx to release 5 additional “episodes” every 2-3 months while in Early Access. Each episode includes 5 maps and some bonus levels. So with the different difficulty levels, I would expect a completionist to spend a reasonable amount of time in the game on full release. Beyond that will really be up to the developers.
Final Thoughts
As I was saying above, Supplice really hits that Doom sweet spot. With some adjustment to the settings of course (for me at least). I look do look forward to playing it more as more of the content is available. If you’re looking for something to scratch that 90’s FPS itch without the floppy disk, I would recommend you give it a shot too.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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