Blast Your Way to Heroism With Wizordum

I am not good at FPS games. I never have been - my aim is bad and I tend to get frustrated by multiple deaths. I am, however, a massive fan of retro-style games with fantasy aspects, so when I was offered the chance to review Wizordum from Emberheart Games, I cautiously said yes.

I'm so glad I did! I'm still not good at FPS games, but I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and style of Wizordum and will happily play it over and over again. I have some minor criticisms, but overall, I liked the game even in its unfinished Early Access state.

Story

To be completely honest, I totally missed the story of the game the first time I played. I caught that there had been some kind of disaster in the town I was exploring but beyond that, I lost the plot slightly. I think that was more due to user error than game error, however, so I can't fault the developers.

The story is, once you get it, very simple. An ancient evil has broken out of containment and decimated the town. You, one of the last surviving Mages of Wizordum sanctuary, must venture into this ruin, overrun with monsters and magic, to find the "source of the corruption" and save the day. You'll face goblins, puzzles, and an annoying amount of rats (well, it's a fairly normal amount of rats, but as someone with terrible aim, it was very annoying) in your quest to reseal this ancient villain.

Simplistic as it is, I really can't fault the plot of the game. Given the focus is largely on mechanics and level design, Wizordum doesn't need a particularly complex or in-depth story to be fun and exciting. I'm happy that it's been included at all, and that there's a relatively clear story progression in the game.

I'm still not good at FPS games, but I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and style of Wizordum and will happily play it over and over again.

Mechanics

Wizordum's mechanics are simple and to the point: point, shoot, loot, and prosper. It's a familiar setup: WASD movement, mouse camera, and E to interact, so if you play a lot of FPS on a keyboard, you'll likely already know all the basics. That being said, I found there to be not enough explanation of certain fiddly mechanics like weapon switching and hotkeys. It wasn't enough to upset the gameplay, but it meant I spent many of my first runs wasting valuable ammo breaking barrels and bushes, which was a little frustrating.

The design of the game is cute and classic, reminding me of a mix between Doom and DOS adventure games like Hocus Pocus. It's a 2D/3D mix, with stationary scenery that "follows" your perspective as you move, giving it an interesting visual appeal, but it can be a bit headache-inducing if you're not used to that particular style.

The level design is relatively simple, with easily marked accessible doors and pathways, regular enemies (relatively simple to defeat while still presenting a decent challenge), consistent and well-placed loot, and simple progression mechanics based largely on finding better weaponry and solving simple puzzles. I wasn't a fan of the repetitive nature of the layouts, as this meant I was frequently lost and had trouble navigating because everything looked the same to me. The game definitely would benefit from an accessible map.

Overall, the game is pretty and easy to play with a few minor cosmetic issues. I thoroughly enjoy playing it and have gone back several times.

The design of the game is cute and classic, reminding me of a mix between Doom and DOS adventure games like Hocus Pocus.

Conclusion

Wizordum is not my typical game genre of choice and yet I had a great time with it. Despite some minor frustration that was largely my own fault, I had a wonderful time exploring and dying over and over again, but slowly getting better at the game. In the end, this game feels like playing in a '90s computer room - simple, direct, challenging, and fun.

Wizordum is available in Early Access on Steam. I look forward to seeing what they do with the game in its full release.