Cultic Review

I loved Cultic Chapter One when it came out in 2022. Now, with the release of its second chapter, the full game is one of the best shooters of 2025.

This exercise in demon worshipper annihilation is a meat and potatoes boomer shooter that primarily distinguishes itself by executing everything at a very high level: Great maps, great guns, great enemies, plus one of a kind art direction and suffocating jaunts into pure horror.

Cultic has an arsenal of staple FPS guns⁠—pistol, shotgun, magnum, machine gun, etc.—but they hit different. They all have great feedback and sound effects, with headshots turning noggins into geysers of raspberry preserves, as well as gorgeous spritework for their viewmodels. I love that creator Jasozz went with the funkiest historical firearm for every weapon: The starting pistol is a Mauser “Broomhandle,” the SMG a British Sten Gun, and the sniper rifle some kind of experimental, side-loading paratrooper rifle the Nazis deployed during the “conscript teenagers then try to find Odin and steal his powers” phase of World War 2.

The star is the magnum, a sawn-down “mare’s leg” lever action rifle that is one of the head-clickingest guns I’ve ever had the pleasure of using in an FPS. Chapter Two introduces an alternate shotgun and magnum to spice up the arsenal, and here’s my advice: Keep the new semi-auto shotty, but ignore the snub-nosed revolver, the lever action is just too fun not to use.

Cultic’s maps are sprawling mazes, each with a gimmick and unique flow. The train level, Christmas village, mall, and Resident Evil Spencer Mansion send-up are all standouts. My one complaint is that Chapter Two started to feel a bit bloated and overlong, particularly the final level. Chapter One, though, is perfectly paced.

Spooktacular

While we’re mostly playing the hits mechanically, Cultic has a special look and attention to detail you can’t find in any other FPS released this year. Back before it even had a demo, Cultic’s crunchy, dithered graphics, autumnal color palette, and commitment to its 1960s American setting had me watching it closely. Just like how photorealism isn’t an art style on its own, just having your game look crappy and old doesn’t cut the mustard anymore, but Cultic does something interesting and unique with its retro visuals.

Cultic gets a lot of mileage out of interactive bits and bobs in the environment⁠—think Duke Nukem or Thief. There are coffee pots you can warm up on hot plates, then throw at enemies. Smack a donut box, and a pixelated baker’s dozen will explode out and pinball around the room. There are a ton of lore notes left half-finished in typewriters. Tap the keyboard a few times, and you’ll find the note amended with keysmash gibberish. This all culminates in full-on pool and shooting gallery minigames tucked away in Chapter Two.

The other area where Cultic consistently surprised me was its horror sections. There are some great examples in Chapter One—oppressively scary environments with no enemies or music—but Chapter Two seriously dials things up. There’s a memorable bit in the mall level where you’re locked in an apartment store filled with spooky, faceless mannequins⁠—the Condemned: Criminal Origins special. They never directly threaten you⁠—they’re just physics objects you can topple over⁠—but every time you look away, they move. First just a little bit, but then you’ll turn from finishing part of the puzzle to get out of there and you’ll be surrounded by the awful little freaks.

It’s an utter relief when these sections finally cut the tension with an enemy jumping out and going “oogabooga” at you so you can blast them away with both barrels. It especially speaks to Cultic’s horror chops that, even though I knew things could only ever end in another bombastic shootout with the standardized cast of enemies, the scares still got to me.

It was a long wait from Cultic Chapter One to Chapter Two, and it feels slightly less fresh and surprising than it did back in 2022. With that said, this is still a standout FPS, both for the year, and the indie boomer shooter scene in general.

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