This is a qualified thumbs up only because I picked up Apocryph at very little cost and not the full-asking price. I totally understand the disappointment and resentment by those in the community who paid full price and were promised by the dev that more levels and content was on the way and then disappeared, which is inexcusable.

That said, I genuinely enjoyed Apocryph. Of the many throwback shooters out there I feel it does a great job of capturing the aesthetic and frenetic gameplay of games like Heretic/Hexen and Blood. I was most impressed with the gib/gore system; watching enemies gibify in spectacular gory fashion as flesh and bone are blown apart and falling in heaps --in some cases chunks of gore sticking to the walls-- is exhilarating and never gets old. That's what kept me playing.

Level design is hit-and-miss. Certain areas have a nice design and flow. It's reminiscent of decent Doom WADs you'd download back in the day, not quite professional quality but not bad either. The game oddly has a hub mid-way through that seems out of place. Feels like the developer wanted to do something more but then slapped it all together for release.

Weapon design is neat but confusing. Your basic weapon looks like some kind of sceptre and seems to be an analog for the shotgun. The gauntlets that shoot green stuff seem to be akin to a SMG. The two glowy purple/magenta swords are the game's rocket launcher (which was a shock when I fired it point blank range thinking it was a melee weapon). The best weapon in the game are the other gauntlets that shoot lightning bolts, they will make short work of any enemy but eats up ammo like a fat kid eating cake.

The game has a severe lack of power-ups like quad damage or god mode. I found one that turned you into a Grim Reaper. There are some pickups, like the phylactery, which are completely useless (all it does is push enemies back a short distance).

Ammo seemed very scarce (I was playing on the hardest difficulty so I'm not sure if this was a factor). The only weapon that had plenty of ammo was the basic one.

Graphically the game is decent for an indie project (Doom 2016 it isn't), the developer did a pretty good job capturing that Doom/Hexen medieval/demonic aesthetic in their 3D assets. Monster design (not sure if they're assets from a store) are pretty good. Sound design is so-so, generic metal rock accompanies your blasting but enemy sounds are dull and lack variety.

Ultimately this was a neat little tech demo; a tech demo I paid $1.59 and as a result I do not feel ripped off. I played it on the hardest difficulty and 100 percented it in about 5 hours. Not bad for something that's cheaper than a cup of coffee.

It is a terrible shame the developer has abandoned this project as there is a kernel of a great retro-style shooter here. Apocryph would benefit from additional content, polishing and bug-fixing but alas they haven't been active in close to 3 years.

I only recommend this game if one can get it dirt-cheap. Apocryph is a charming shooter with rough, unpolished edges. If you want a cheap diversion and you like retro-shooters give it a try.

This is a [i]qualified[/i] thumbs up only because I picked up Apocryph at very little cost and not the full-asking price. I totally understand the disappointment and resentment by those in the community who paid full price and were promised by the dev that more levels and content was on the way and then disappeared, which is inexcusable. That said, I genuinely enjoyed Apocryph. Of the many throwback shooters out there I feel it does a great job of capturing the aesthetic and frenetic gameplay of games like Heretic/Hexen and Blood. I was most impressed with the gib/gore system; watching enemies gibify in spectacular gory fashion as flesh and bone are blown apart and falling in heaps --in some cases chunks of gore sticking to the walls-- is exhilarating and never gets old. That's what kept me playing. Level design is hit-and-miss. Certain areas have a nice design and flow. It's reminiscent of decent Doom WADs you'd download back in the day, not quite professional quality but not bad either. The game oddly has a hub mid-way through that seems out of place. Feels like the developer wanted to do something more but then slapped it all together for release. Weapon design is neat but confusing. Your basic weapon looks like some kind of sceptre and seems to be an analog for the shotgun. The gauntlets that shoot green stuff seem to be akin to a SMG. The two glowy purple/magenta swords are the game's rocket launcher (which was a shock when I fired it point blank range thinking it was a melee weapon). The best weapon in the game are the [i]other[/i] gauntlets that shoot lightning bolts, they will make short work of any enemy but eats up ammo like a fat kid eating cake. The game has a severe lack of power-ups like quad damage or god mode. I found one that turned you into a Grim Reaper. There are some pickups, like the phylactery, which are completely useless (all it does is push enemies back a short distance). Ammo seemed very scarce (I was playing on the hardest difficulty so I'm not sure if this was a factor). The only weapon that had plenty of ammo was the basic one. Graphically the game is decent for an indie project (Doom 2016 it isn't), the developer did a pretty good job capturing that Doom/Hexen medieval/demonic aesthetic in their 3D assets. Monster design (not sure if they're assets from a store) are pretty good. Sound design is so-so, generic metal rock accompanies your blasting but enemy sounds are dull and lack variety. Ultimately this was a neat little tech demo; a tech demo I paid $1.59 and as a result I do not feel ripped off. I played it on the hardest difficulty and 100 percented it in about 5 hours. Not bad for something that's cheaper than a cup of coffee. It is a terrible shame the developer has abandoned this project as there is a kernel of a great retro-style shooter here. Apocryph would benefit from additional content, polishing and bug-fixing but alas they haven't been active in close to 3 years. I only recommend this game if one can get it dirt-cheap. Apocryph is a charming shooter with rough, unpolished edges. If you want a cheap diversion and you like retro-shooters give it a try.