Diluvian Ultra

About

Diluvian Ultra is a single player shooter game. It was developed by Cresthelm Studios and was released on September 28, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Battle through a living ship made out of flesh and stone, in this pulse pounding retro first person shooter.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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66%

Audience ScoreBased on 336 reviews

graphics60 positive mentions

stability28 negative mentions

The game features a stunning art style and unique visual design that captivates players.
The combat mechanics, including the dual health and armor system, encourage strategic weapon switching and add depth to gameplay.
The game has a charming narrative and interesting world-building that keeps players engaged.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including weapon loss upon saving and soft-locks that hinder progression.
The platforming mechanics feel imprecise and frustrating, making navigation difficult in certain areas.
The sound design is inconsistent, with some sound effects being overly loud or missing entirely, detracting from the overall experience.

graphics
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
53%
3%
The graphics of "Diluvian Ultra" receive mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and vibrant art style that evokes a retro, biopunk aesthetic. While some players find the visuals captivating and well-crafted, others criticize the overall graphical quality and performance issues, suggesting that the retro style may detract from the experience. Overall, the game's art direction is highlighted as a standout feature, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The art style, world-building, and overall setting are absolutely sublime.”
- “Beautiful visuals, highly worth buying for the art style alone; you won't find anything out there that has this kind of style for everything, from guns to enemies to large worlds, hand-crafted.”
- “The pixel art is colorful and vibrant and does a great job at invoking that classic pulpy sci-fi aesthetic.”
- “Where it fails to impress me graphically is that the 80’s retro style does more harm than good when looking at it from a quality perspective.”
- “It's also an Unreal Engine game, with all the issues of UE games: the music/sound cuts, the GPU abuse for no reason (I mean, look at the graphics), missing textures depending on the DX version, etc. UE is overkill for a game like this; the battery drain is way higher than you'd expect looking at the photos.”
- “They block visuals, impede movement, soak attacks meant for bigger targets, and otherwise are a pest you will be cursing more than a myrmidon.”
gameplay
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
12%
The gameplay of "Diluvian Ultra" is a mixed bag, featuring a unique health and armor mechanic that requires strategic weapon use, but is marred by frustrating mechanics and bugs that can disrupt progress. While some players appreciate the fast-paced action and artistic visuals, others find the combat repetitive and the limited arsenal a drawback. Overall, the game offers an engaging experience for those who enjoy retro shooters, but its execution leaves much to be desired.
- “Diluvian Ultra has a unique take on the classic health and armor mechanics codified by Doom, as well as some great art designs.”
- “The gameplay is fast-paced, frenetic, and satisfying with an interesting and inventive shield/health system.”
- “So on top of Diluvian Ultra going above and beyond for the setting, story, and world building, you get a pretty solid and addicting gameplay loop to boot.”
- “Frustrating mechanics make combat a slog.”
- “So the gameplay generally boils down to 6 enemies shooting at you while you have to take them out one-by-one over and over.”
- “Overall, I did not enjoy the mechanics and honestly felt that Doom does it better, despite its age.”
story
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
59%
3%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its unique premise and engaging lore, while others find it poorly integrated and overly verbose, detracting from the gameplay experience. Although it has potential and intriguing elements, many feel it struggles to balance its narrative ambitions with the fast-paced action typical of the boomer shooter genre. Overall, the story is seen as interesting but flawed, with room for improvement as the game continues to develop.
- “The maps are great, the music is simple but cool, the story and lore is fascinating (I would love an old-timey manual with lore on it), and the power-ups are fun too.”
- “Diluvian Ultra is an odd yet supremely satisfying shooter, one that somehow manages to make me sit up and pay attention to its story - a rarity for me in any game, let alone an FPS.”
- “The style and overall story is wonderful; the style alone I've never seen anything quite like it.”
- “This game has a hard time figuring out if it wants to be a Doom game or a story game, and because of it, fails in both.”
- “There is also far too much incredibly boring story.”
- “The story too feels shoehorned in, and what’s sad is that it’s not.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it catchy and fitting for the genre, particularly praising its synthwave elements and atmospheric qualities. However, many others describe it as bland, repetitive, or even offensive to the ears, with some stating it fails to stand out or enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, while there are highlights, the soundtrack is often seen as serviceable at best, lacking the depth and engagement expected from a standout title.
- “Plus the music is very good (and so is the sound design in general).”
- “Super cool visuals & music with a fun sci-fi pulp plot that is intriguing but never outstays its welcome.”
- “Highly stylized, the screenshots and videos don't do it justice, you have to play it to get its vibe with feverish alien environments and ripping synth music along with eerie ambiance.”
- “The soundtrack is extremely dull at points.”
- “The music and sound effects are bland and repetitive.”
- “It makes me mad how terrible, no, how this is the worst sound design, effects, soundtrack I've ever heard.”
stability
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its significant stability issues, with numerous players reporting game-breaking glitches and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some find enjoyment despite these problems, many recommend waiting for fixes before playing, as the current state renders it nearly unplayable. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern that overshadows its positive aspects.
- “Diluvian Ultra was a game that released a good few months too early, suffering a litany of game-breaking glitches that often emerged just as the game was becoming incredibly enjoyable.”
- “It's a great game rendered unplayable by game-breaking glitches.”
- “I'll happily update once the errors are fixed as the combat is frankly a joy, but until then, wait until the multitude of glitches reported in the forums are confirmed to be fixed, as it simply isn't possible to recommend the game in its current state.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
Overall, the optimization of the game is generally well-received, with users reporting great performance and minimal bugs. However, there is a notable issue where players can spawn without weapons at the start of a level, which detracts from the experience. Audio mixing has also been mentioned as a minor concern.
- “Performance: great, no issues with performance and I didn’t encounter any bugs.”
- “Performance: great, no issues with performance and I didn’t encounter any bugs.”
- “Performance & bugs: I only encountered one major bug: spawning without weapons at the start of a level.”
- “The graphics quality and performance are lacking, earning a score of 4/10.”
- “A minor issue I have is with the audio mixing, which affects overall performance.”
- “In terms of performance and bugs, I only encountered one major bug: spawning without weapons at the start of a level.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its unique art style and engaging story, which effectively immerses players in its vibe. Reviewers note that the distinctive artwork enhances the overall experience, making it particularly appealing to fans of classic titles like Doom and Hexen.
- “The game has a fantastic art style and artwork that sticks out and really draws you into the atmosphere and the vibe of the game. For those who love games such as Doom and Hexen, this game will not disappoint.”
- “Very atmospheric, has a cool story and unique dialogue.”
- “The atmosphere and style.”
- “The game has a fantastic art style and artwork that sticks out and really draws you into the atmosphere and the vibe of the game, for those who love games such as Doom and Hexen, this game will not disappoint.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for being intrusive, featuring a launcher that promotes ads for other games, which detracts from the overall experience. Players express frustration with the need to repeatedly engage with these monetization tactics, especially for a game that has been fully released for a year.
- “I really don't feel like doing all that again right now, and that's not a good look for a game that's not early access, has a ridiculous launcher to shove ads for other games in your face, and has been out for a year.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express that the emotional aspect of the game is hindered by an overly lengthy and tedious narrative, which detracts from the overall engagement and emotional impact.
- “There is also far too much incredibly boring story.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the "blood bubble" enemies to be frustratingly tedious, as conventional weapons like shotguns and melee attacks fail to effectively manage groups of these foes, leading to a grinding experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.
- “The 'blood bubble' enemies are extremely tedious to deal with, even using the shotgun or melee weapon does not effectively deal with groups of these enemies when those weapons would seem to be the most logical choice for a 'horde' type enemy.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks replayability, as players cannot revisit levels once they have completed them, limiting the opportunity for repeated playthroughs.
- “There is no replayability since, from what I see, there is no way to play a level after you have beaten it.”
- “There is no replayability since, from what I see, there is no way to play a level after you have beaten it.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is noted for its unique and bizarre design, complemented by an intriguing and unconventional lore that enhances the overall experience.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally appreciated, with players finding it entertaining despite some elements feeling unoriginal. However, there are complaints about the audio balance, particularly the excessively loud death screams of enemies, which detracts from the overall comedic experience.
- “I found it funny, but the death screams of some enemies seem to be at max volume no matter the volume setting.”