AMID EVIL - Heretic/Hexen-inspired FPS from the creators of Return of the Triad mod

[DalekFlay]

NO! THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVARR!!

Best game ever no, but if shit like Pillars of Eternity is "incline" on the RPG front then this game is a fucking second coming of Jesus for FPS games.

 

[luj1]

Oh no doubt. It's a good modern classic. It's just funny that B is a bad grade, it should be A or I'm going to cry!

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I'm in episode 3 now, and I think my biggest issue with Amid Evil might be the maps. Specifically they don't feel "Believable enough". What I mean by that is you take something like Doom or Quake, and even if you're getting an outlandish level there's enough of a sense of realism and place to something where it doesn't just straight up feel like an arena you fight in. But in Amid Evil you'll get a corridor with a 30 foot ceiling and 16 statues lining the walls and shit, it suffers from sorta the same kinda shit as Serious Sam. Not nearly to the same degree as Sam of course, but still. There are the other minor complaints like not enjoying having ranged swords, tridents, maces, etc for the weapons, and the much bitched about blocky and blobby enemies that are really indistinct and unsatisfying, and it kinda bums me out.

Thought it was weird to hear of someone liking Project Warlock more than Amid Evil, but now having beaten Warlock and taking a more sizable bite out of Amid Evil I can see it a bit. Amid Evil still has much (MUCH) better gameplay, but a lot of the aesthetics end up bringing me down. It does have a dopefish easter egg though so it's got one up on Warlock for that.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Amid Evil is trippy as fuck. I like that they aren't constrained by having to make realistic maps. And if you look at Doom for example, Episode 1 is the only one that looks somewhat realistic to me. After that it's all random shit, and then Doom 2, in which the maps look even more random. I think this is one of the quirks of an oldschool fps game, maps looking like real locations is just not a thing designers are concerned about. I recommend playing Dusk if you want somewhat more realistic looking maps.

 

[DalekFlay]

Saying "I want realism in Quake-a-like" is like shouting to the world what a boring fuck you are.

 

[pakoito]

I'm trying to play with a gamepad emphasis on try. Still having some fun in early Ep2 tho.

EDIT: I just saw the video a couple of pages ago and my fonts don't look like that. I have a ultrawide monitor and I have to squint to read anything.

 

[Curratum]

I'm trying to play with a gamepad emphasis on try. Still having some fun in early Ep2 tho.

Is there any particular reason why you're playing a very fast paced retro shooter with a controller? I'm just trying to get any medical conditions, disabilities and special circumstances out of the way before I call you a dumb fuck.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Amid Evil is trippy as fuck. I like that they aren't constrained by having to make realistic maps. And if you look at Doom for example, Episode 1 is the only one that looks somewhat realistic to me. After that it's all random shit, and then Doom 2, in which the maps look even more random. I think this is one of the quirks of an oldschool fps game, maps looking like real locations is just not a thing designers are concerned about. I recommend playing Dusk if you want somewhat more realistic looking maps.

Even Doom 2 has a lot of those "Another fucking city level" maps. And I'm not saying they have to be totally realistic, but take a Doom hell map, like E3M6. You get the obviously hellish stuff in the map mixed with more mundane elements, which makes the fucky hellish stuff stand out more by comparison. And that map is even closer to Amid Evil since it leans more heavily on the "This is a big ol' arena to fight in" side of things. And I have played Dusk and I do like it a lot more, and it's a good example of what I'm talking about. Even Dusk's weird maps feel marginally more "Real", even when shit's getting super fucky. The best example of Dusk doing what I dislike in Amid Evil would be E2M7, but in Dusk's case the "Ridiculously large spaces and rooms in this city/fortress flying on a rock in the sky" still feels better simply because you'd gone through more realistic maps before that point.

 

[pakoito]

I'm trying to play with a gamepad emphasis on try. Still having some fun in early Ep2 tho.

Is there any particular reason why you're playing a very fast paced retro shooter with a controller? I'm just trying to get any medical conditions, disabilities and special circumstances out of the way before I call you a dumb fuck.

That's mister lazy dumb fuck for you, as it's because I'm playing from the couch on the big monitor. It's only fast paced if you make it

 

[otsego]

After getting used to the strange FOV, I'm finding this a hugely enjoyable game. Some of the levels outstay their welcome and could have probably been re-worked into an extra level per episode, but that is minor, they are fun to search for secrets. The AI is pretty dumb and will essentially just run straight at you... even to the point of getting stuck on walls or chasing you across the entire map.

After many hours of ignoring the melee axe, I've realized how silly I've been and using it increases the fun twofold. I still haven't found a fantastic use for the trident except to snipe enemies stuck on geometry, or the sword other than to dump green ammo. Wish there were more interesting powerups outside the soul mechanic.

Got a good dose of Heretic, Hexen, Quake, Unreal, and ROTT. Hope to see more.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Realism > any artsy shit

I would say that good Art Style>>>Realism.
For 2 reasons:

1. Games, no matter how realistic they are trying to be, will always be an exageration of reality. And that works in favor of the appeal games have.
2. And the most obvious reason, is the that tech improves over time. So a game that was considered realistic 5 years ago, will just look dated today. While a game that instead has a good artstyle, will still be charming years aftet it's release.

In fact, the example you provided of Quake, just proves that. Like a lot of 2000 games, it still looks good to this day because it has good artsyle and makes smart use of lightining and other techniques to hide the ugly graphical aspects.
I had a thread about this by the way.

 

[otsego]

Excellent game but oh my god, how the HELL did the final episode and the other called the Forge (the one with the rolly spikey balls) get placed into this game? They are both irredeemably bad in both design, monster composition and fun factor. I quit several times out of sheer frustration about how bad these levels were before finally completing them and the game.

Looking forward to things from these guys in the future but jesus christ I hope they don't pull something like that again...

 

[Jacob]

You probably have a strawman definition of what "realism" means because on the fact you've been programmed to think that "realism bad bzz".

As for there being room for many different styles, tell that to the hipsters, because according to them there's no room for anything else except their meta artsy garbage.

I think your definition of realism is this: Trying to present the subject as close as it would look in real life without any artistic modification.

In this case, I think the game is better at this than most other indie games, given the fantasy theme and the budget limitation. Weapon model is pretty high-poly and detailed, and they used a modern lighting renderer. Environments looked realistic. My only complain is that the monsters sometimes looked intentionally low-poly, but there are realistic ones too.

What concerns me more about their artistic choice is the lazy use of red box and text on black background for their steam thumbnails. It seems pretty lazy, but whatever.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I think your definition of realism is this: Trying to present the subject as close as it would look in real life without any artistic modification.

Artistic or any other kind. Most "AAA" games with so called "insane photorealistic graphics" are filled with post processing garbage that makes the games look terrible despite the high tech behind the visuals. A lot of the effects they use are borrowed from photography, in other times they use filters or effects taken from modern films, and the end result is always shit.

So what i mean with realistic is as you said, the picture is as it would be in real life without any "artistic" alteration, and that goes for indie games as well as milti-million dollar AAA games, but true realism is a rare sight this days.

 

[Jacob]

true realism is a rare sight this days.

Xenonauts would count, no?

 

[Mikeal]

Any tips on making this game running faster?

 

[Curratum]

Any tips on making this game running faster?

Don't play on an old toaster. The system requirements clearly state you need a "pretty nice toaster" to run it well.

 

[luj1]

Any tips on making this game running faster?

No and don't bother. They are using some kind of shader or post-processing to hide obvious engine limitations (notice the weird artifacts on water surface when looking up) at the expense of performance. Honestly just install Arcane Dimensions and set the fov to 120. It's free, runs great and shits on Amid Evil in every way.

EDIT: Also don't mind Curratum. He doesn't know any better.

 

[Curratum]

Arcane Dimensions is amazing but I don't see how a Quake map pack has anything to do with Amid Evil.

 

[Mikeal]

Any tips on making this game running faster?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1776688566

 

[Mikeal]

Planet Jumping with Celestial Claw is a thing. Nice.

 

[Mikeal]

Is it me or Forge World gives strong Thief vibes?

 

[Boleskine]

https://www.pcgamer.com/amid-evil-brought-back-the-glorious-heavy-metal-schlock-of-90s-pc-shooters/

Amid Evil brought back the glorious heavy metal schlock of '90s PC shooters
By Wes Fenlon 6 hours ago

High speed movement, jagged pixels, a staff that throws planets. Amid Evil was one of the best shooters of the year.

(Image credit: New Blood Interactive)

Accompanying our team-selected Game of the Year Awards for 2019, individual members of the PC Gamer team will each discuss one of their favorite games from the last 12 months. We'll post a new personal pick, alongside our main awards, throughout the month of December.

Of all the PC games I played in 2019, only Amid Evil has a staff that hurls shrunken planets as grenades. I got to casually blow up the Earth by lobbing it at an evil space wizard, and earned an achievement for my trouble. So, yeah, Amid Evil is pretty freakin' cool.

Along with Ion Fury and 2018's Dusk, Amid Evil is part of a thrilling '90s FPS revival that prioritizes speed and madness. I had a lot of fun with the reboot of Doom back in 2016, which tossed out a lot of modern touches (like, say, reloading) to get back to that '90s spirit. These games go further, though, and are either built on the bones of those old game engines or at least dialing back the graphics and technology to feel completely authentic to the era.

I don't want to sell Amid Evil short, here. I don't think it's great simply because I'm nostalgic for games of that era. I've never even played Heretic or Hexen, the shooters Amid Evil draws inspiration from. The rudimentary 3D graphics and grungy textures, the towering environments you skate through at high speeds, the mish-mash of medieval and gothic and cosmic all set a hell of a mood. This game has a vibe that just wouldn't be the same with more realistic graphics and movement. Some of today's game developers may make games like these out of nostalgia, but the good ones, like Amid Evil, prove how much life there still is in designing with those '90s limitations.


That's all getting a little heady. It's why I find Amid Evil so entrancing, but the shooting is always there to give me something satisfying to do with my mouse every few seconds. This game has a fun arsenal of weapons, like a sword that flings slices of green energy slicing through the air and an axe that you can twirl like a propeller through enemy flesh. They grow progressively more ludicrous, like the planet-launching staff and an arcane spiral of a gun that sends bolds of purple lightning crackling through anyone nearby.

Or, when you're in powered up "soul mode," it simply creates a black hole that decimates everything it can gobble up.

I love how powerful most of the weapons in Amid Evil feel to use, even when enemies also hit me hard enough to quickly tear me to pieces if I sit still. I'm constantly gliding around the room to dodge their attacks, picking whatever weapon seems best in the moment. Amid Evil follows in the grand tradition of having a weapon that flings baddies backwards and pins them to walls. This one is called the Star of Torment. It's like a mace, but actually cool.

Amid Evil is gleefully unconcerned with having a cohesive aesthetic, instead making each world a set of completely distinct levels with their own enemies ripped from a different cheesy metal album cover.

There are astral warriors who look like variants of Lord Zedd from Power Rangers. There are snakemen and floating space wizards. There are disgusting Cthulhu-esque blobs and geometric horrors with hook hands. Even if they're all simple to fight, the variety shows that if you're going to design a Doom-style shooter in 2019, you'd best account for modern attention spans. None of these enemies stick around long enough to get boring.

The same goes for the worlds you're running through. As Tyler mentioned in his review, platforming in a game where you move this fast can become tedious and annoying. That happens on occasion, when you're navigating some unnecessarily narrow steps or savescumming to make a perilous jump for the seventh time. But I rarely minded because the environments were so striking.

In one level I jumped across the pistons of an enormous machine and spiraled my way up obsidian towers impossibly suspended in the sky. In another I ran across bridges that intertwined like DNA, connecting parts of a cathedral floating in the cosmos. There's some weird Aztec shit. Amid Evil is the kind of game that results from creative people saying, "What's the wildest idea I can come up with? Okay, let's make that."

It relies a bit too much on finding the silver key for the silver door and pressing a button to open the next hallway, but Amid Evil's next hallway is always guaranteed to be a stunner.

 

[Boleskine]

 

[Falksi]

Used to fucking love Hexen, looking forward to this.