Humanity is resilient. But a megacorp seeks to control all of Earth. Ready humanity’s new home in Supplice.
Humanity’s future is wholly dependent on the freedoms of its individuals. In Supplice, a retro FPS from developer Mekworx and publisher Hyperstrange, the people who maintain a semblance of autonomy look for a home on Methuselah. It will have to be up to a single engineer to help prepare this new home, away from the clutches of a megacorporation whether or not such a feat is possible remains to be seen.
The future of humans seems bleak in Supplice. As the PTC Corporation continues to acquire assets, its oppressive reach grows ever further. Methuselah exists 12k lights years from Earth and PTC’s reach. It’s also perfectly ripe for terraforming. However, another problem stands in the way. In the process of terraforming, a menace has been awoken.
In Supplice, you are a lowly engineer and have been woken up by a colony-wide alert. Aside from the invading party ending everyone that comes across them, nothing is known about them. As the engineer, one is conveniently equipped with the tools necessary to liberate the colony. Find their origin and ensure they stop coming through so that humanity can truly be free.
For a seasoned gamer versed in PC shooters, the controls for Supplice were great. W, A, S, D controlled basic directions while the mouse controlled the reticle. With how sensitive the cursor started out, one might want to check out whether they want it higher or lower. Despite taking a few minutes of getting used to, but once there was enough going on, the sensitivity didn’t matter. It was an odd experience considering most FPS titles in the same category don’t have sensitivity settings.
The first weapon one starts out with in Supplice is the mining drill. It was an interesting weapon since its only ranged ability was a shockwave. Its primary function, activated with the left mouse button, drilled into the enemies. It was a great function for some enemies. Taller creatures that appeared to be skeletons would begin melee striking as soon as they were close enough. Because they never stop advancing on the engineer, the drill setting was the perfect attack against them. It also had a secondary shockwave attack activated by hitting the right mouse button.
There was a steady variety of enemies in Supplice, giving the player a legitimate reason for needing specific weapons. At the very beginning, the only ‘projectile’ given is the drill’s shockwave attack. It was extremely useful against flying creatures, provided I could ever hit them. Hitting the flying creatures was no small feat. With their movement a little unpredictable, I had to use a wall to ricochet the shockwave attack to hit them.
Second into the engineer’s arsenal is an automatic rifle. The two settings on this weapon were full-auto fire and zoomed three-round burst fire. Auto-fire was fantastic for taking on hordes of lower-level enemies. But if one weren’t too careful, they could be easily overwhelmed. Hitting any bipedal enemy anywhere but the head was a waste of ammo when it came to the automatic firing.
Wasting less ammo was far easier once the shotgun was found. This was especially useful against the tall, hulking blue creatures. Drilling did almost nothing to them. With too many around, staying with the drill would almost doom a player. The best weapon against them is the shotgun, which can fire a single shot with the left mouse button or a three-round strike with the right button. Aimed at the right angle, the shotgun could take multiple enemies down with very few shells.
During the course of playing Supplice, each level is a bit of a maze, making it hard to navigate if one does not consult the map. This feature was brought up using the tab button. What was nice to see in Supplice regarding the map was that it did not pause the game. One could navigate through a level using the map, provided there were no enemies to take them out. My only problem with the map was the player indicator. While the bright yellow was appreciated, the indicator itself was a simple line that blended with the walls at times.
Despite the engineer being the star of the show, Supplice gives her the AI Charon as a helping hand. Named after the ferrymen that transports souls across the river Styx, it’s the artificial intelligence’s job to get the engineer through a new hell on Methuselah. Charon may be an AI program, but he’s certainly got personality. He also loves to make jokes at the engineer’s expense. Were it not for the humor, the engineer might just go insane.
A few sections are restricted by keycards and cannot be opened without them. Since there’s no other way around these specific doors, one must take a stroll through every inch of a level until they find the key they might need. While some doors can be opened by hitting E, others will need a key. One will also come across a great deal of doors that are simply broken. This is why it’s so important to explore every avenue of escape from a level.
The developer’s choice to go with pixel graphics for Supplice was great. It was amazing to see such attention to detail for a game. Enough detail was given to enemies and the environment that pixelation did not take away. It was nice to see pixel graphics in a shooter, something a great deal of gamers grew up with as their first introduction to the genre.
Having some great music to go along with the mayhem was an incredible addition. There’s nothing like unleashing a hail of bullets on murderous cyborgs as guitar riffs strum into one’s eardrums. While one set of notes may have sounded repetitive, the overall feel of the music was amazing. Not too long ago, it was MIDI music most developers chose to go with. So having actual music was a nice change of pace. Additionally, the engineer herself can be heard occasionally. It was a neat surprise.
Supplice will certainly have a seat at the table, a nostalgia-inducing pixel FPS. It has a fantastic set of controls that is easy for anyone to get and it’s got enough of a story not to be boring. With an MC that talks, it has another detail missing from most games of a similar nature. This title definitely deserves a place in the library of FPS fans. If it sounds like something you might be into, head over to Steam and get a copy for yourself and a friend.
