The Steam release of this game has both Lycanthorn I and II, so this is 2 separate reviews for both games.

Lycanthorn I:
Pretty immaculate vibes from this free gzdoom project. The graphics are colorful with bright hues of green, purple and red, reminiscent of very early DOS game and NES games, specifically Castlevania and Wolfenstein 3D. The gameplay is also heavily inspired by those to both it's benefit and detriment.

Most of the combat revolves around using a melee weapon coupled with some limited weapon secondary throwables a la Castlevania. Enemies and bosses all dole out a rather large amount of damage a la Wolf 3D but to counteract the difficulty, there is no hit scan range based enemies, only hitscan melee enemies. The combat falls short on the boss fights because they all basically just involved circle strafing and spamming your ranged attack. On the same note, a lot of the gameplay also revolves around breaking destructibles to hunt for ammo, which is not very fun. I would have rathered ammo be dropped by enemies to incentivize engaging with the melee more. At the end of the day though, it's short and fun and also has a banger soundtrack which very directly is inspired by Castlevania, so much so that the first level's track is just a straight up remix of Bloody Tears.

Fun game that got me excited to see where the rest of the series went.

Lycanthorn II:
Unfortunately, in a lot of ways I think Lycanthorn II is a downgrade. It lowered the difficulty quite a bit by giving you access to characters that have ranged attacks with limitless ammo, so if Lycanthorn I was about circle strafing bosses until you ran out of ammo, then closing in on them and going berserk til you get the kill, Lycanthorn 2 is just circle strafing. There wasn't a single boss that wasn't beaten by just circle strafing. Don't even think I took any damage from them. The game is just far too easy and lacks any depth in combat to be terribly enjoyable.

That said, it ups the vibes presented in the first game by a large margin. The open world was pretty fun to explore and find secrets in and feels pretty unique. The music still slaps as well and the art direction is even better.

Conclusion: Lycanthorn I + II aren't exactly difficult games or terribly engaging, but they have great vibes for anyone who has an affinity for DOS era shooters and platformers. They are definitely a good way to chill and spend a few hours. Especially considering they are free, it's a pretty great effort by the developer worth at least trying if it sparks your interest.