Project Warlock

In order to survive to the exit, the player must seek out keys, power-ups, loot, weapons, and ammo; some of which are hidden in secret areas. Levels are grouped into episodes, with the levels in each episode sharing a common theme. Project Warlock adds light role-playing elements to the classic first-person shooter formula. After completing each level, the player returns to the warlock's workshop where upgrade points and experience points collected in each level may be used to purchase new spells, weapon upgrades, and player perks such as increased health points. The workshop is also used to save the player's progress between sessions. The player has a limited number of lives, and running out will send the player back to the beginning of the current episode or, on the hardest difficulty, back to the beginning of the game. Though he was born after they came out, Project Warlock developer Jakub Cislo was introduced to classic first-person shooter games like Blood, Heretic and Doom by his father. He enjoyed aspects of the older games compared to the more modern games of his time, and eventually decided to try and replicate the fast-paced action and complex levels in a new game of his own. The new game would be a rogue-like 2.5D shooter with items and enemies rendered as billboarding sprites. Cislo's first iteration debuted with a small round of crowdfunding on Kickstarter under the name Exitium 3D. He persisted, improving the game and changing the name to Cataclysm 3D. In April 2017, the game was approved on Steam Greenlight, however the Greenlight service was discontinued shortly afterward. The modest success allowed Cislo to put together a small team including an artist, level designer, and sound designer. The team further developed the game, now called Project Warlock, eventually attracting the attention of a publisher, Gaming Company. YouTube reviewer Gggmanlives called Project Warlock "a damn good game" and praised the pixel art visuals, sound design, and fast-paced gun play; while criticizing the unbalanced spells and overly dark atmosphere.Destructoid also praised the sprite work while calling the soundtrack "superb".