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Forgive Me Father is yet another indie FPS game released amidst the tons of them coming out in recent years. What sets it apart from the others is its tie to Lovecraftian horror, which is the reason why it particularly caught my eye in the first place.
Developed by indie studio Byte Barrel and currently in its Early Access, Forgive Me Father is a fast, brutal, and visually distinct first-person shooter. While it follows its predecessor's formula, Forgive Me Father brings modernized elements to the retro-shooter canvas.
'Forgive Me Father', for I have not sinned
Unlike other games, the story of Forgive Me Father does not unravel through cutscenes and voice acting with character developments. Instead, the game has story bits spread throughout the levels, which the players need to find and interact with to understand the bigger picture.
Regardless, the narrative of Forgive Me Father is pretty straightforward. The game takes place in a 20th-century fishing town, and things are going bad. Really bad.
As the protagonist, you play a priest trying to understand what is wrong with the town, as the Mayor is missing, and a cult overruns the place. Meanwhile, undead enemies are constantly inching towards the player's hut.
The story is pretty straightforward, and picking up lore dumps throughout the levels is crucial in order to maintain a sense of narrative continuity while playing.
Visually, the game delivers what it claims. Forgive Me Father follows a very unique comicbook art style and looks like it is set in pulp magazines, which is what most of HP Lovecraft’s short stories were featured in. The game manages to stand out from the crowd and look pretty in a retro manner.
Players looking for deep storylines will be disappointed. The game wants you to have fun killing and maiming enemies rather than getting invested in the plot, as the characters are practically non-existent apart from the periodic mention of them in the lore.
One shot to the head brings you closer to survival and insanity
The movements in Forgive Me Father are as fast as the bullets your gun shoots, and enemies overwhelm and swarm the player in no time.
The movement is swift, and the default walking speed is brisk. There is no sprint button in the game, but players can achieve some extremely fast movement speed by jumping and moving around quickly.
The weapons are also satisfying to handle, the shotgun being one of my favorites. Guns range from hard-hitting revolvers to semi-automatic rifles. Each gun in Forgive Me Father is pretty efficient and can be used in various situations.
Enemies are plentiful and overwhelm the players if they are not taken down quickly. The enemy variety is great, and each enemy acts differently. In higher difficulties, enemies are a menace to handle, especially when they team up. To combat that, the game has a system where each enemy taken down will fill up the insanity meter.
Of course, there is an Insanity meter in Forgive Me Father, and it's a pretty nice touch. It is an essential feature in this game, as the higher the insanity is, the more damage a player does to the enemy.
Higher insanity also rewards players with extra XP while killing the enemies. XP points can then be used to level up in the skill tree. The ability the points are spent on changes how the player’s guns and other abilities behave.
Insanity also fills up special abilities. In total, four abilities are given to the player's character and help in various situations. The cross, for example, replenishes health, whereas the holy water freezes the enemies in their tracks. Abilities are pretty useful and shine especially in moments where tons of enemies spawn on the map.
The savings system, however, is something I personally did not like. Granted, the developers designed it in a way to make the playthrough an actual challenge, but I would’ve loved something more traditional, perhaps a quick-save option.
The current save system works more like a checkpoint system. Players can either quickly save, or properly save their progress by interacting with a very friendly-looking, drunk fisherman who gets really happy every time they see you.
In conclusion
Being someone who enjoys old-school shooters, Forgive Me Father was a pleasurable experience. Given the current package that the developer is providing in the Early Access, it gives a good idea of what the final game will shape up to be.
Plentiful enemies to mow down, beautiful comic-book style graphics, punchy and fun guns to shoot with, and a skill tree to upgrade - you might not forgive yourself if you do not play Forgive Me Father.
Furthermore, the developers are planning on adding another character to the game during the Early Access phase and in total five acts. As of now, two acts with 14 levels in total are available for players to try out.
Forgive Me Father has a ton of potential, given how much I loved the tone and atmosphere of the game that made it downright creepy. With a fun, retro shooter gameplay complimenting it, I can recommend people to at least give this one a try even during its Early Access phase.
Disclosure: A review copy of the game was provided to our team by the publisher 1C Entertainment. However, the opinions mentioned in the article are unbiased and solely based on my gameplay experience.
