Forgive Me Father – Review

Our Score: 8/10

Forgive Me Father is a dark retro horror FPS set in a comic book style world inspired by the novels of H.P. Lovecraft. As the only one left with full senses, you begin a journey in search of answers and relief. As the only one left with full senses, you embark on a journey in search of answers and relief in this FPS game that is created in a distinctive retro horror comic book style and feels as if it came straight out of Lovecraft’s books.

Forgive Me Father is a “boomer shooter.” As a first-person shooter, it’s very reminiscent of games like Doom, Wolfenstein, and Quake. The gameplay is straightforward: you aim and shoot, strafing frantically to escape being hit, with no animation or complexity. Forgive Me Father, on the other hand, has a lot of depth.

Forgive Me Father for I am Boomin’

In a world filled with Lovecraftian horrors, your hard-drinking protagonist is the only person left who is still sane. You’ll face hordes of zombies and other mutant beasts as either the Priest or the Journalist. For each of the eight weapons you obtain, you can choose from two upgrade pathways, which adds some complexity to the otherwise simple shooting.

Otherworldly horror is well-suited to the vibrant art style with its dark, ominous settings and gigantic monstrosities. A comic book style is at work, rewarding you with onomatopoeic brightness as a reward. You’ll encounter gloomy tunnels, zombie-infested hedge mazes, gothic churches, and abandoned streets throughout the course of twenty-five levels.

Unsurprisingly, a “madness meter” is present in Forgive Me Father. As you defeat foes, this bar will fill up, but strangely, the higher it rises, the stronger you become. Madness is something to be avoided in a world where you are the only sane person. As a result, you will take less damage while doing more damage to your opponent as a whole.

Looking Crazy

However, Forgive Me Father has a fondness for setting traps for those who are desperate. You’re constantly on the cusp of running out of ammo since the save sites are spread out throughout the map so far. Because there is no manual reload, it’s simple to run out of ammo and not notice. There will be a few cartons of shotgun rounds around, so you’ll be ready to go. Suddenly, the floor collapses or the lights go out, and you’re completely cut off. As a result, the shooter has a completely mechanical feel to it.

Yes, there is a palpable sense of foreboding pervading the world, but the pace of the game prevents you from taking it all in. Even if you’re just looking at the foes in isolation, they’re rather repulsive. However, you squish them down to the size of red toothpaste globs far too quickly to give much thought to their aesthetics. I had to take a break every few levels because the gameplay became repetitive and nauseating.

Later levels introduce ranged opponents, turning the frenzied strafe-shooting into something more akin to a hellish bullet hell experience. Forgive Me Father is purposely challenging, and even lowering the difficulty doesn’t feel like it makes that much difference.

There’s a good deal of replayability in this game, thanks to the various secrets and skill trees that may be found throughout each level. For those who don’t want to play in waves, there’s an infinite option where you can choose the level of difficulty and weapon loadout before plunging into arenas overrun by zombies that never die.

Final Verdict

Forgive Me Father is a fantastic boomer shooter that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It looks phenomenal and the combat is quite addictive which will keep you coming back for more.