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I thank the beautiful demons of the underworld every day for the success of 2016 DOOM reboot quel, which launched a brand new wave of what people (sadly) call “boomer shooters”: first-person shooters focused less on the tactical and realistic aspects of Duty and Battlefield, opting instead for ultra-violence, simple controls, ridiculous speeds, and a heavy emphasis on exploration. This new wave has endowed us with games like Twilight, Hell bound, Ion Fury, in the midst of evil, and others. Most of these games were old fashioned DOOM as a source of inspiration. But today I’m going to talk about something else, the first real “DOOM 2016 clone”, and a damn good, yes, fantastic shooter in its own right. prodeus is the name of the game, and it’s one you should definitely buy.

It looks old and new at the same time. It is beautiful.

prodeus feels like the best of both worlds. In terms of presentation, it tries to recreate the look and feel of the first batch of polygonal shooters released in the mid-late 90s, such as Duke Nukem 3D and earthquake. It even includes a handful of retro filter effects to give the illusion of a lower resolution, letting you decide if you want to fight against polygonal or sprite-based enemies. While I didn’t like the flicker and CRT effects, I did like the retro-infused visuals, which clashed beautifully with some wonderful modern post-processing effects, such as particles and some really realistic lighting. It’s both old and new, resulting in something fresh, something that really stands out from the busy retro shooter landscape.

When it comes to the game, prodeus is much more reminiscent of DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal than any other classic-inspired shooter, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Despite having an inordinate amount of aiming aid, given that this is more suited to accurate shooters and not ultra-violent gorefest, I loved the gameplay. I didn’t even mind some of the questionable button mapping decisions (reloading with the triangular button felt really strange). It’s fast, it’s responsive, every weapon packs a big punch. Just like modern DOOM games, they all have secondary features such as explosive shots for the shotgun and a triple shot put for the starting pistol.

Here pussy…

I can’t think of a single weapon I didn’t enjoy using. Hell, even your bare fists can easily tear a demon in half. Please note that, despite the DOOM-like influences, as mentioned before, most weapons have magazines, so you’ll need to reload every now and then. Fortunately, weapons reload quickly enough (yes, even shotguns), so you’ll never feel at all disadvantaged. Ammunition is easy to find in all levels. You can also collect it from downed enemies wielding similar weapons.

The level design is a beauty. prodeus‘ developers were clearly inspired by 2016’s DOOM‘s level design philosophy, with a ton of secrets to reveal, while also adding a small amount of collectibles, which can be traded in for even more exclusive weapons in your arsenal, and a handful of basic platform gloves. There’s plenty of variety in each level, as well as a shocking number. prodeus is long as hell. Not only that, once you’re done with the game’s first set of levels, you’ll be able to play it pretty much until the end of time, all thanks to a fantastic feature on the side: community-created levels.

Prodeus is a calm and relaxing experience. If you like that sort of thing, that’s…

The PC version of prodeus comes with a shockingly robust level editor. I couldn’t use it for obvious PS5 related reasons, but I can still access the community hub and download and play these user-created levels. The depth of this level creator is simply amazing. You can make pretty much anything you can imagine if you put in enough time and effort.

For example, a beautiful madman was able to create an entire map based on Peach’s castle from Super Mario 64, all interior rooms included, allowing me to blast demons as I ventured through a location I know better than my pocket while being greeted by some of Andrew Hulshult’s heaviest and loudest tunes yet. Yes, the same boy behind the DOOM Eternal The soundtrack of the DLC campaign. And that was a free level, uploaded by the community, with dozens of other levels also available… with more to come in the future.

Some pretty madman made the entire castle of Super Mario 64 using Prodeus’ level editor. You’re a fucking hero, whoever you are.

prodeus would have been great if it was just a shooter heavily inspired by 2016’s DOOM, but the developers tried their best. What a great game. It’s both a love letter to ancient and modern shooters, embracing the best elements from both eras. The levels are great, the gameplay is fast and punchy, the soundtrack is insane… and it has a phenomenal level editor that will basically ensure that players will have an endless supply of brand new levels to tackle in the near future. future. More than just a boomer shooter, prodeus is one of the best first-person shooters released in years, period. If you’re a fan of the genre, don’t even think twice. Go buy that damn thing now.

The game combines FPS visuals from the mid-90s with modern post-processing effects. However, I would recommend removing some of the retro filter effects to achieve a perfect balance between visuals and performance.

Fast, responsive, snappy. The only minor issues are the controller’s initially odd layout and excessive aiming aid.

prodeus features a loud, abrasive, and fitting soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult, the same composer behind the DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods extension.

The insanely fun gameplay loop, the snappy weapons, the long career mode and the sheer infinite possibilities that flow from the downloadable community levels… prodeus is a game that I will be playing non-stop for the foreseeable future.

Final verdict: 9.5

Prodeus is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Rated on PS5.

The publisher has provided a copy of Prodeus.