Before we get started, this video is one out of six games I will be covering under the topic of modern boomer shooters. So if you would like to see more content, I will be posting not only my completed playthroughs without commentary but other similar reviews. For Project Warlock, I already have the first three episodes of my hard mode run available that I used for this video review.
My plan is to finish one video-review from this series per week as I have all the footage from these games ready. Eventually, all these separate reviews will be put together into one video, but this approach allows me to share my content across multiple Steam games. For now, however, if you want something to watch you can tune into my thoughts on the Real Return to Castle Wolfenstein mod as well as the first part of the soon-to-be-released remake of my DOOM series critique. Thank you.
We’ve often seen modern first-person-shooters harken back to classics such as DOOM, Quake and other mid-90s classics that are all a part of a balanced Boomer’s breakfast. However, how many times have these throwbacks ever went back to the likes of Wolfenstein 3D, the unofficial granddaddy of first person-shooters? This one aspect alone makes Project Warlock stand out among its contemporaries because it evolves upon an entry often considered antiquated by modern standards.
To say that Project Warlock is vastly more enjoyable than Wolfenstein 3D would be an understatement because this game has decades of inspirations to learn from, but I highlight this key difference due to how well this game uses its own limitations to play to its strengths. The player cannot jump or even leap across gaps with enough momentum; the environments are box-like corridors with traps and enemies lurking around corners; and there are plenty of secrets to find for treasure, extra lives and additional ammo. Even with these restrictions, levels rarely suffer from feeling too similar or too confusing to navigate thanks to a more diverse art-style and a much clearer sense of direction. You might even argue this game borrows more from Rise of the Triad because it incorporates more vertical level design, but my argument here is that these block-like environments help the developers focus on creating more believable places around a given theme by removing any navigational distractions.
One example of this attention to detail comes from Episode 2, which is one big homage to classic horror media such as John Carpenter’s classic, The Thing (1982.) The player explores the Antarctic landscape with open tundras, ice caverns, campsites and various facilities all while fighting off Lovecraftian horrors and body-snatchers that mutate into amorphous masses of flesh susceptible to fire. You even have one stage with an imitated melody from The Thing, which further cements the developer's commitment to this episode’s theme. However, the real spectacle is how these stages flow from one another with subtle transitions that introduce following stages. If it wasn’t for the awkward order of stages and the constant teleportation back to the Workshop, then this whole episode would feel like exploring one massive biome.
This one demonstration goes to show how important themes are for memorable and digestible level-design, which is something this game does again and again. Even when the final chapter sends you to Hell, the environments devolve into remixes of previous episodes while still retaining each biome’s character now made ever more macabre. (And yes, the subtlety of a Wolfenstein inspired game ending with a DOOM campaign was not lost on me.) So if you were to only view the game's merits from its level design, then this game exemplifies everything people love about retro FPSs.
However, Project Warlock is not simply another nostalgic byproduct; it also features its own share of unique ideas to stand out as a more modern title, albeit with mixed success. As a gun-toting warlock, you are equipped with conventional weaponry as well as various spells at your disposal with some added RPG-lite mechanics for progression. These weapons range from your typical pistol, shotgun and chain-gun to more exotic weapons like a flamethrower, a magical staff and various laser guns. All these weapons can be further improved with upgrade tokens you find, which will tailor each weapon towards your own play-style. Some of these choices can drastically alter the weapon such as choosing between a shotgun that fires four rounds per shot or one that fires napalm rounds, or deciding between frag grenades or proximity bombs. You can only choose one branch of upgrades every run, so the weapon roster encourages you to replay the game if you want to try out everything.
In addition to your personal roster of carnage, you can also spend your tokens for effective spells to compliment your weapons. While the selection is nowhere near as diverse as your guns, these spells range from more pragmatic abilities such as casting light or applying a personal shield to more destructive magic that will annihilate all who oppose you. Some spells only work with certain weapons like the axe or the grenade, but the real issue is that all these spells are spread out too thin in the campaign to solely rely on them. For the most part, you could ignore all these spells as the game will never require you to use them, although you would be missing the point when playing a game called Project Warlock. Quite simply, this game was meant to be played with both options, so when your enemies pass a saving throw against your spells, you will have your handy boom-stick to finish the job.
Regardless of your play-style preferences, it’s clear the developers wanted you to play with all these options in order to revel in the sheer power-trip the game can provide—but it’s also far too easy to break that balance in your favor. I haven’t even talked about the upgradable stats and the unlockable traits, which the Student trait alone is enough to break this game because every time you level up you get a second skill-point for free. Having it randomly distributed among your other stats only means all four categories will never be neglected, so the sooner you unlock that trait the sooner you will become too strong for the game to keep up.
Now the game tries to account for its laxing difficulty by increasing the speed and attack-rate of enemies on harder modes—as well as giving you fewer extra lives at the start—but even the weapons and spells themselves can remove much of the challenge. For example, the Flak Canon for the double-barrel shotgun is overpowered due to how fire-damage works, and the Lightning staff neuters any sense of challenge from the boss fights. Additionally, once you get the personal shield, you will not only have a dark-blue filter for the rest of the game but you will also rack up twenty-plus extra lives with ease unless you carelessly exhaust all your mana. Even without those spells, you will never be strapped on ammo, so the magic at the beginning fizzles out the further you obtain your eventual godhood status.
These examples are not here to flex my elite gamer credibility as the most cited issue from popular critics online is that the game is far too easy, but the bigger problem here is that the game allows you to play it any way you want. In other words, the game never demands the player to tackle an obstacle from one approach; it simply lets every player decide how to best handle threats, which is normally a good way to design a game. However, you only need to play DOOM (2016) versus DOOM: Eternal to see how designing enemies around effective counters creates a more intense experience while still allowing players to have their agency. In the case of Project Warlock, this solution wouldn’t be a simple fix because players always have so many upgradable options, which is why all the encounters follow the path of least resistance. In short, you would have to modify the behaviors of every enemy, which would be enough of a drastic change you might as well make a sequel by that point.
Is this issue enough of a problem to hamper the overall experience? No, and I would be lying if I said there weren’t the rare difficulty spikes to catch you off guard, especially with the first boss that is guaranteed to lead to a game over your first time around. (Although, compared to the later boss fights, that challenge is probably because you’re underequipped and you lack the more useful spells.) As I mentioned towards the beginning, Project Warlock’s level design is beautiful in its simplicity, and the game’s power-trip is enough of a rush that will keep you playing once you get started. Once you’re finished, you might be mildly curious to see what you missed out on your first time around, but you’ll be left feeling satisfied.
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