Cult Review

I really liked Cultic Chapter One when it came out in 2022. Now, with the release of the second chapter, the full version of the game is one of the best shooting games of 2025.

This demon-worshipping annihilation exercise is a meat-and-potatoes boomer shooter that stands out, above all, for executing everything to a very high standard: great maps, great weapons, great enemies, as well as one-of-a-kind art direction and suffocating forays into pure horror.

Cultic has an arsenal of basic FPS weapons – pistol, shotgun, magnum, machine gun, etc. – but they hit differently. They all have great feedback and sound effects, and headshots turn noggins into geysers of raspberry jam, as well as great spriteworks for your viewing models. I love that creator Jasozz chose the funniest historical firearm for each weapon: the starting gun is a Mauser “Broomhandle”, the submachine gun is a British Sten Gun, and the sniper rifle is some experimental side-loading parachute rifle that the Nazis used during the “teen draftees who then try to find Odin and steal his powers” phase of World War II.

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The star is the magnum, a sawn-off lever-action rifle in the shape of a “mare’s leg”, which is one of the most impressive weapons I have ever had the pleasure of using in an FPS game. Chapter two introduces an alternate shotgun and magnum to diversify your arsenal, and here’s my advice: keep the fresh semi-automatic shooter, but ignore the snub-nosed revolver, the lever action is just too fun not to exploit it.

Cultic maps are expansive mazes, each with a trick and a unique course. The train level, Christmas village, shopping mall and Resident Evil Spencer Mansion shipping level are unique. My only complaint is that chapter two started to feel a bit bloated and drawn out, especially in the last level. Chapter one is perfectly paced though.

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While we’re mostly playing mechanical hits, Cultic has a unique look and attention to detail that can’t be found in any other FPS released this year. Even before the demo was released, Cultic’s crisp, dim graphics, autumnal color palette, and nod to the 1960s American setting had me taking a closer look at it. Just like photorealism itself isn’t an art style, just because the game looks cheesy and ancient doesn’t bother you anymore, but Cultic does something captivating and unique with its retro graphics.

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Cultic benefits greatly from interactive environmental elements – for example Duke Nukem or Thief. There are coffee pots that can be heated on warm plates and then thrown at enemies. Hit the donut box and a pixelated baker’s dozen explodes and circles the room. There are tons of unfinished plot notes lying on typewriters. Tap the keyboard a few times and the note will change with the babbling of the keys. This all culminates in full pool and shooting range mini-games hidden in Chapter Two.

The second area where Cultic consistently surprised me was the horror sections. There are some great examples in Chapter One – overwhelmingly terrifying environments with no enemies or music – but Chapter Two seriously spices things up. There’s an unforgettable moment on the mall level where you’re locked in an apartment full of scary faceless mannequins⁠ – the Condemned: Criminal Origins special. They never directly threaten you – they’re just physical objects that you can knock over – but every time you look away, they move. Only a little at first, but then you’ll get distracted from completing part of the puzzle and get out of there and be surrounded by creepy little creeps.

It’s a complete relief when these sections finally relieve the tension when an enemy pops out and starts screaming “oogabooga” at you so you can blast him with both barrels. What particularly appeals to Cultic Horror is that even though I knew it could all end in just another bombastic shootout with the standard cast of enemies, the fear still got to me.

A lot of time has passed between Cultic’s first and second chapters, but it feels slightly less fresh and surprising than in 2022. That said, it’s still an outstanding FPS, both for this year and in the boomer indie shooter scene in general.