Apogee Entertainment has been doing some excellent work with indie developers to bring their games and now a new partnership between Apogee Entertainment and Emberheart Games has seen the release of Wizordum. Wizordum is an entry in what has come to be called the Boomer Shooter genre and is perhaps one of the best to chapter the feeling of that era. Wizordum feels in many ways like the spiritual sequel to Hexxen and Heretic we have always wanted, and failing a remaster, this may be the closest we get to that experience in the modern day. That being said, Wizordum does not follow the Doom model of FPS gameplay, but rather that of Wolfenstein 3D instead.
Wizordum doesn’t waste time trying to get you into a deep story, rather you are told right away that you are of the last surviving mages of the sanctuary of Wizordum, thrust into the besieged kingdom of Terrabruma after an ancient evil is unleashed by an archmage, and off you go. Goblins, evil sorcerers, and more monsters will oppose you in your fight against invading chaos, but that will not stop you. Wizordum is a fast paced fps that understands story comes second and gameplay and atmosphere first, and lets players fill in the gaps with their imagination. That being said though, there are story elements throughout the game that you can come across such as lore fragments.
Wizordum goes for a retro 2.5D style look that is striking with a world built from cubist shapes, with everything constructed like it was made with graph paper by an old dungeon crawler.Everything stands out from decorative elements like trees and wells that are rendered as flat sprites that always face the player. This is a great throwback to the classic era of shooters and enemies and weapons share this feel and have bold, chunky pixels and a bright colour palette. The game also feels more flat, in the way Wolfenstein 3D felt, and movement and action is somewhat similar.
This all combines to create a world that feels fresh and recognizable at the same time, while being full of personality. The visual design, while a throwback to Wolfenstein 3D, will also remind many of the aforementioned Heretic and Hexen, but with a clearer look and more vibrant feel that draws you in like a dream. It is not just visual though, as Wizordum has an excellent soundtrack that blends hi-fi and lo-fi tracks and creates a soundtrack reminiscent of fantasy FPS classics and does a fantastic job of setting the mood, wherever you are in the game.
But presentation is not everything and a game is nothing without good gameplay. Wizordum is a classic first-person shooter that goes for a fantasy aesthetic, meaning that instead of guns and chainguns, you will wield a magical arsenal including fireball spells, a frost staff, a lightning beam, and a mace. The weapons and spells all feel unique and have their own quirks that make them stand out, which will help you pick one as a personal favourite with some ease, and even create your own combos. It needs to be noted that Wizordum is paced very deliberately, and things will start slowly until you gradually feel more powerful as the game goes on.
One thing that is interesting is the choice of two characters, and this will impact which weapons you use. The Cleric wields a mace, while the Sorceress makes magic with her wand, and there is more. The Cleric and Sorceress provide different experiences in terms of health, armor, and speed, so you can go back and play as the other character for a bit of replayability once you have completed the main game.
The combat in Wizordum is fast paced and frenetic, and will see enemies coming at you in swarms, sniping from distant perches, or just sneaking up on you. You need to be able to respond fast and without delay, but fortunately the movement is extremely responsive, which gives you a fighting chance. There is a lot of backpedalling, strafing and sidestepping, but one thing you will not do is jump, as Wizordum removed that aspect from its design that many found frustrating in earlier games, which is a welcome change.
This design choice works well with Wizordum’s overall level design. Every stage feels like a full, medieval town with explorable interiors, as well as dungeons full of secrets, and exteriors brimming with hidden treasures. This helps Wizordum stand out among other shooters, retro and modern, with its emphasis on exploration vs. linear corridor. Wizordum wants you to poke at walls, search for keys, and uncover hidden passages, in every part of every level, while hordes of monsters are besieging you from all sides.
Wizordum was excellent on PC, but there was some concern about how the game would play on consoles, especially on the Nintendo Switch. Apogee Entertainment and Emberheart Games were open about the Switch version having framerate problems, but I cannot speak to those, because when played on the Nintendo Switch 2 as I did, these issues are resolved and the game plays just fine. The controls are extremely responsive, and while gyro aiming would have been neat on Switch, it was not a necessity, and the port is overall excellent.
There is something else to discuss though and that is Wizordum’s level editor and user created content on consoles. Wizordum’s amazing levels are not limited to the official levels from the developers as the game contains a level editor that is one of the best in an FPS game, and players have made and uploaded some truly amazing levels, including recreating classic FPS games like Duke Nukem 3D and others, albeit with some changes due to Wizordum’s intentional design limitations. Obviously not everything is available on console that was on the PC version, but Apogee Entertainment and Emberheart Games have released a nice curation of user created levels, which they are calling a small selection of what will be available in the upcoming adventure browser. Considering what was on PC and what is available on console now, the future of user created content for the console versions of Wizordum is looking great.
Overall, Wizordum is one of the best of the wave of Boomer Shooters we have been seeing, and easily one of the most creative. It does not try to reinvent the wheel, but does not need to do so, and instead provides a welcome spin on the classics, while bringing in modern ideas for a brilliant blend of mechanics and styles. It handles things differently and intentionally takes a while to get going, but once it does, you will not want to stop playing. This is easy to recommend and one that you absolutely need to check out.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
