Project Warlock 2 – Preview

Our Score: 8/10

Project Warlock 2 is a game by Buckshot Software, an independent studio from Poland. If you’ve ever played the precursor, Project Warlock, you’ll know that’s not a terrible thing. The original game was a Shadowcaster-style first-person shooter with RPG components. As you progressed through the game, you may improve your stats, learn new spells, and strengthen your weapons. Aside from that, it was a normal affair, complete with key puzzles and plenty of gore.

If you’ve ever played the precursor, Project Warlock, you’ll know that’s not a terrible thing. The original game was a Shadowcaster-style first-person shooter with RPG components. As you progressed through the game, you may improve your stats, learn new spells, and strengthen your weapons. Aside from that, it was a normal affair, complete with key puzzles and plenty of gore.

Leveling Up

Project Warlock 2 is quite similar, with the main difference being how fast-paced it is this time, as well as a substantial improvement in the freedom of the level design. The final title was restricted to a single plain. There were some stairs to climb, but mainly it seemed like a fairly grid-based affair. Most of the levels seemed claustrophobic and lacked anything that distinguished them from one another. That couldn’t be further from the truth this time. With an open sky above you and several different layers for the levels to be constructed on, you have far more motivation to start glancing up than staring straight ahead most of the time.

Project Warlock 2 plays like the previous game on steroids. You’re sprinting around at high speed from the start, shooting the brains of various creatures as you go. The initial game’s grid-based, single-level map design has been updated with a new dynamic approach more akin to old DOS/Amiga games like Duke Nukem 3D and Doom. You have a fully functional jump button this time, which means you’ll have to rely on your better agility to avoid most of your adversaries.

This new, fast-paced approach to gaming makes getting started in the game a lot more enjoyable, especially for those who may not have had the patience for the prior title’s somewhat simple action. It’s even helped by the addition of a combo meter, which gives the game a more arcadey vibe and motivates you to keep the assault coming in order to rack up incredibly high scores. Overall, this seems like what modern Doom would have been like if it had been built during the DOS period.

Verdict

Project Warlock 2 was incredibly fun to play even in this early preview. It immediately felt more fun than the previous title because of its fast-paced nature. I’m incredibly excited to play the full game on release because what we’ve so far has been incredible.