And All Would Cry Beware!

very fun little search-action-y vania-ish fps. have yet to find anything this dev puts out that i didnt at least find very enjoyable. (for propriety's sake: the final log appears to be bugged and doesnt appear, but the game is fully completable & a coherent story without it, dont worry about it if this happens to you too)

A brief, lo-fi sci-fi FPS (Doom) gesturing toward a Metroidvania structure. Fleeing a kill gang in a ruined Los Angeles, you stumble into a Wayfarer facility, activate a dimensional portal, and emerge on the alien world of Xanadu. From there, the narrative unfolds through scattered expedition logs, while you traverse a single interconnected map, face four bosses, and acquire a small arsenal of five weapons. Marketed as an "old-school FPS/Metroidvania", it delivers only the bare minimum of both. As a shooter, it checks the essentials (first-person perspective, projectile weapons, geometric enemies) but rarely evolves beyond them. Combat is trivially easy and avoidable: enemies drop nothing, respawn quickly, and function more as obstacles than threats. Even bosses rely on predictable, easily dodged patterns. Gunplay is serviceable but undermined by design choices. All five weapons have infinite ammo with no reload or overheating, removing any resource management. The arsenal is poorly balanced: a weak pistol with slow projectiles, a near-useless short-range shotgun, a feeble assault rifle, a dominant rocket launcher, and a late-game flamethrower that is mostly ineffective but unfairly strong in the final boss fight. As a Metroidvania, progression is a disguised key-and-door system, with specific weapons unlocking specific barriers. There are no traversal upgrades, puzzles are nonexistent, and exploration boils down to choosing between the main path and occasional side routes with minor rewards. In a still underexplored niche (Exophobia, Frogmonster, Hands of Necromancy, Vomitoreum), the execution feels constrained. Narrative is just a framework: a brief setup, scattered logs, and a closing note. The premise (an expedition gone wrong on an alien world) has a pulp sci-fi appeal, evoking '50s–'60s speculative fiction, but delivery is static and front-loaded, relying on dense text logs (with a jarring font choice). Visually, it leans into a lo-fi retro aesthetic: chunky pixels, low-poly geometry, and stark, highly saturated palettes reminiscent of N64/PS1-era, with hints EGA/CGA sensibilities. The result is a distinctive, dreamlike alien world (harsh stone paths, acid lakes, tight canyons, dense jungles, and cavern systems under pastel skies) occasionally recalling early TV sci-fi sets. The map's visual language often aids spatial memory, though navigation can still become disorienting as new paths open and old ones blur together. The soundtrack, built around abrasive ambient techno, cheesy synth-rock and harsh samples, often feels jarring. Controls are unrefined: mouse input can feel choppy, with odd sensitivity, while gamepad aiming is sluggish. The options menu appears barebones, almost like a default engine placeholder. UI is obscure: the game never explain its health system, offers no clear HP indicator (health pips are barely visible), and provides poor damage feedback. Weapon selection is limited to cycling, no tracking for secrets, and settings lack precision. Flat, garish UI elements and overlapping effects further reduce combat readability. With more depth, stronger ability gating, and greater mechanical ambition, it might have stood out. 4.5 / 10

Gem of game that you can finish in one sitting with cool vibes across every element. Makes you wanna try your hand at making games, just lovely PS: congrats on 💯!!!