Forgive Me Father Review

Developer Byte Barrel has lofty ambitions when it comes to its latest retro-style FPS, Forgive Me Father, hoping to find a winning formula between the cosmic horror stylings of HP Lovecraft and the chaotic FPS genre that calls for contemporary exciting moment-to-moment thrill. With comic book-inspired visuals, a guitar-centric soundtrack that echoes every sound and gunshot, and music that’s responsive and utterly satisfying, Forgive Me Father is definitely a title that’s sure to please not only long-time FPS enthusiasts, but gamers as well. who could not resist the wonderful union of ideas. The game opens with a narrated sequence that looks like it came right out of a graphic novel. The premise is simple: a cousin sends a terrifying message asking for help because his town is plagued by mysterious and dark events—unidentifiable voices ringing in people’s ears, dark and sinister figure that roams the streets at night—and there’s only one person he can trust. and only one person. Forgive Me Father has wasted no time since, presenting players with a pistol, some ambient knowledge, and a slam on the office door straight away. As soon as the door opens, a ghoul—one of the many types of enemies players will finish off—rushes in, and players are introduced to the game’s amazing sound design. Whether it’s footsteps, gunshots, weather effects, or the moans and howls of the damned, everything in Forgive Me Father is terrifying in the best way. Players will walk through brightly lit office corridors, spooky forests, cemeteries and crypts, and many other different locations. There isn’t a single dull level 25 in the game, and as impressive as the environments are, the enemy designs are even better. Anyone familiar with anything Cthulhu or Lovecraft will appreciate the many different enemy types and variations. Ghosts, wretches, fishmen, abominations—everything a cosmic horror fanatic wants is on full, proud display. Furthermore, enemies have certain weaknesses that players can exploit to their advantage. A common enemy type, the wretched, has a few variants where when they get a broken head and happen to have an extra head on them, they’ll just replace the head and keep messing around like nothing happened. Shooting those wretches anywhere, however, takes them out completely without too much fuss. There is an element of strategy where players can experiment with different weapons to see how certain enemies react to them in order to clear an area as quickly as possible, or else risk they will be overwhelmed. The skill tree available also requires some thought as anything can be upgraded, from the unique abilities of the characters, to weapons, to increasing the number of ammo. The knife, for example, has two branching upgrades: one to make it stronger, and one to unlock the ability to throw knives at enemies. Choosing one option permanently removes the other, giving players room to change their play styles without making the game too easy—and Forgive Me Father is anything but a walk in the park. Even “Very Easy,” the game’s most “forgiving” difficulty level, is difficult; enemies may not hit much, but if players don’t have a strong sense of spatial awareness, they’ll find themselves dead in an instant. Especially in the game’s challenge areas, where players are mercifully given plenty of ammo, health, and armor before all hell breaks loose, Forgive Me Father rarely offers a break from the relentless, energetic action. What could be a meaningless, although beautiful and fun, experience is instead the best of all worlds. Secrets are also scattered throughout the levels, and while some of them are simple “turn around an unexpected corner and find a secret” tasks, others are well hidden and give players an incentive to explore each level, find all the secrets, and take in the gorgeous visuals. There are also story elements that players can collect, but Forgive Me Father knows that some players are too eager to jump from room to room and not have to sit through long cutscenes that will take them away from the action. For those who enjoy a bit of lore and light world-building, however, the game expands on some of its cutscenes by sprinkling short notes and images that go beyond the implications of the game’s story in over it, giving its Lovecraftian overtones the necessary space to breathe and thrive. Outside of the game’s opening, players will only receive cutscenes after each boss fight, of which there are five in total. The boss battles are, simply put, stunning. Instead of just spinning around to avoid incoming attacks and detonations, boss battles add an extra wrinkle with their unique gimmicks and patterns. Some require light platforming to defeat, while others require players to weaken their defenses first before capturing them. It’s during these encounters that the game checks in and makes sure players are paying attention—that they’re watching their backs and using everything in their arsenal instead of blindly firing and hoping for the best. . Not a single weapon in Forgive Me Father is wasted. Ammo drops aren’t always rare, but the game makes sure that players never get the same type of ammo, making it something of a necessity to use multiple weapons instead of sticking to one. Additionally, upgrading weapons to make them pure tools of Eldritch warfare that would make Cthulhu himself wince is immensely satisfying, as is gathering new weapons throughout the game when players get too comfortable with what they have. Of course, Forgive Me Father is not without its faults. Poor screen tearing is one of the game’s more notable technical issues, occurring for a long time before correcting itself. If too much is happening on screen at once, the framerate can easily tank within seconds, especially if players are using their abilities in tight spaces. There is also a disconnect between the in-game quipping that characters will do and the nature of the overall narrative. When cutscenes do appear, they’re narrated heavily and seriously, fitting the Lovecraftian aesthetic and tone perfectly. On the other hand, characters, especially the Journalist, will deliver ham-fisted lines more suited to a Nathan Drake, which can be annoying for players who want to immerse themselves in a proper cosmic horror tale . Overall, though, it’s a one-of-a-kind horror FPS delight. All the nuances and features of the game come together to make an ode to HP Lovecraft that the author himself would be proud of. With incredible gunplay, tons of secrets to uncover, a gorgeous aesthetic, and memorable boss encounters, its technical issues don’t quite stop Forgive Me Father from being something of a die-hard FPS fanatic looking for a fresh and new experience not to be missed. Forgive Me Father was released on April 7 for PC. Today Technology has been provided the PC code for the purposes of this review.