I love October. Autumn is just about setting in here in the UK, although it’s still a bit warm for my liking! It’s been a while since my last review, though that isn’t down to me being an upturned turtle throwing chocolates into my mouth. There are so many games out this quarter that it is impossible to keep up! Regardless, I have been working on a lot, and today I would like to chat a little about SULFUR, a cool FPS I only recently picked up. A review copy was provided through Keymailer.
While I am not huge on boomer shooters as a whole, I have gotten into the genre more lately with games like SPRAWL Zero and Selaco, and SULFUR is pretty damn creative. Launching last year, it mixes dungeon crawling and extraction mechanics together rather nicely, with some roguelike elements. While this sounds like a builder’s breakfast that may as well be called ‘The Modern Indie Handbook’, I think it does a good job overall.
How the game works is pretty simple in that you delve into procedurally generated areas, battle increasingly dangerous foes, collect resources, and then attempt to extract with their loot intact. The classic gameplay loops are all what you might expect, and SULFUR benefits by some solid fundamentals. I really like the gunplay and how much you can customize the weapons, and SULFUR doesn’t skimp on weapon variety. The shooting feels great, and the weapons evolve as you play, so you can get some awesome builds going.
SULFUR deviates from conventional roguelites where death merely resets progress with minor permanent upgrades. Here, your equipment and loot are paramount, making strategic decisions about what to bring into a run a core part of the gameplay. You can play cautiously, extract with your findings, or push your luck for greater rewards. With relatively little traditional character progression, improving your understanding of enemy behaviors and game systems is crucial for increasing your power.
SULFUR’s presentation also gives it considerable personality. It boasts a distinctive stylized aesthetic, vibrant environments, bizarre enemies, and a surprisingly strong soundtrack. The blend of dark fantasy, grotesque creatures, and deliberately silly elements prevents it from feeling like another grim FPS, while the cooking and crafting mechanics add a welcome eccentricity to the overall experience. All of this is great.
Despite this however, I do have some gripes. The primary weakness is that the difficulty and death system can be quite punishing. While losing equipment upon death is fundamental to the game’s design, it can lead to some frustrating moments. Enemy encounters can also feel inconsistent; some rooms might be nearly empty before suddenly, I got jumped by a ton of enemies that seemed to crawl out of the walls. These aren’t dealbreakers of course, but something worth mentioning. While the game has plenty of fun toys that keep me entertained, I feel it does get repetitive after a while. That is the nature of procedural generation, although SULFUR overall does a better job than other roguelike shooters I’ve played.
Overall, SULFUR is at its best when you enjoy experimenting with weapons, learning enemy behavior, and taking calculated risks. Between the great presentation, good combat, and amount of weapon variety, there is more than enough here to keep your interest. SULFUR is currently in Early Access, and is $24.99 on Steam.
