Dread Templar
- January 26, 2023
- T19 Games
- 6h median play time
Dread Templar is a fun, retro shooter for those who want a modern take on a 90s gameplay formula. Simple, sweet, and bloody, this game is sure to entertain despite a few under tuned features.
Get on Steam"Dread Templar" is a solo-developed action game that pays homage to 90s classics, featuring a fast-paced campaign with over 100 weapon upgrades and 25+ levels. Battles against diverse enemies and thrilling boss fights take place in distinct environments with retro pixel-art graphics. Experiment with different playstyles and search for hidden secrets.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Fast-paced gameplay with smooth movement and responsive controls.
- Variety of weapons and upgrades that allow for different playstyles.
- Great soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Some enemies can feel overly aggressive and spawn too close to the player.
- Level design can be confusing at times, leading to moments of frustration.
- The final boss fights can be unbalanced and frustrating, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- music230 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its heavy metal soundtrack, which complements the fast-paced combat and enhances the overall atmosphere. However, many players note that the soundtrack can become repetitive, with some tracks being reused across levels, leading to a lack of dynamic variation during gameplay. While the music is generally considered a highlight, there are calls for more diverse tracks and adaptive music that changes with the game's situations.
“Dread Templar is a fantastic boomer shooter with an excellent soundtrack, fun and satisfying-to-use weapons, and relatively quick and easy-to-pick-up controls.”
“The music is probably my favorite aspect of the game as it is a blasting metal OST with different themes for each episode that melds well with the atmosphere of each level.”
“The soundtrack is killer; crunchy and motivating.”
“The real gripes I have is how some of the music gets recycled across levels and it will use the same track in a row; the music I do like though, just wish that each level had its own track and wasn't recycled.”
“Because there is no dynamic music in the game, the player's ears are being bombarded with blast beats during 15-minute-long secret hunting, which gets irritating fast.”
“The music is okay, but there aren't enough tracks for each stage yet, so you will be hearing some of the same tracks over and over.”
- gameplay138 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dread Templar" is characterized by fast-paced, fluid mechanics that blend classic boomer shooter elements with modern features like bullet time and weapon customization. While many players appreciate the engaging combat and variety of enemies, some criticize the boss fights and occasional pacing issues that can disrupt the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a nostalgic yet fresh take on the genre, appealing to fans of retro shooters.
“The gameplay is fast paced and fun, and I bought it on sale which was like $5.”
“Fast, fluid, and challenging gameplay with a good variety of enemies and tons of secrets to find.”
“Dread Templar is a fast, fun, twitchy shooter that enjoys promoting the old through great level design, hectic gameplay, pixellated visuals, and its groovy metal soundtrack.”
“Easily some of the absolute worst bosses I've ever seen in an FPS, in terms of both mechanics and difficulty.”
“However, the moment that the gameplay flow gets interrupted, be it due to looking for secrets, not figuring out how to advance in the map, or even using the manual save points (more auto-saves or a quick-save function would do so much for maintaining the pace) - it can become repetitive, as your attention gets more directed to the music while the gameplay is not keeping you fully engaged.”
“Its better than I thought; I was thinking it would be another generic boomer shooter where you just circle strafe and shoot dumb AI until they all die, but it actually feels challenging in the highest difficulties and the mechanics/progression system feel unique to this game. My biggest problem is the bosses; they all suck sadly, literally just circle strafe and shoot them until they are dead, the last boss was especially underwhelming.”
- graphics71 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the retro aesthetic and pixelated art style reminiscent of classic shooters like Quake and Doom. While some players appreciate the vibrant color choices and detailed level designs, others find the visuals to be bland or lacking in consistency. Overall, the graphics are seen as a solid homage to old-school FPS games, though some players desire more depth and customization options.
“The graphics here are excellent and the replication of the old school shooter is tasteful and effective.”
“Graphics are overall good and enjoyable to look at, very familiar to anyone who’s played anything from the 90’s, which is where this game draws most of its inspiration from.”
“Killer soundtrack, awesome retro style graphics, guns that feel amazing to use, great atmosphere for the game's setting... this is a retro shooter done right.”
“There seems to be no real consistency between art style and graphics themselves, something that is very present in the aforementioned boomer shooters.”
“The visuals are also fairly bland and generic.”
“The game looks great but never really grabs and holds my interest, which I think is down to an underdeveloped art style to the world.”
- story46 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story in "Dread Templar" is generally considered weak and underdeveloped, serving primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay rather than a focal point. While some players appreciate the retro-inspired aesthetic and the basic revenge plot, many criticize the storytelling as vague, poorly executed, and lacking depth, with minimal dialogue and uninspired cutscenes. Overall, the consensus is that while the game excels in gameplay, the narrative aspect feels tacked on and could benefit from more personality and coherence.
“There's a decent plot and some interesting puzzles, all handled in a way that doesn't slow the pace of the combat or disconnect you from the game.”
“The story feels like it was ripped straight out of an edgy 14-year-old boy's notebook; this is a good thing.”
“This game sees you step into the shoes of a dread templar who enters hell in order to find revenge on whoever; the plot is paper-thin but it honestly doesn’t matter as this is just early access, focused purely on the gameplay.”
“The 'story' is kind of non-existent, just some minor dialogue after each chapter.”
“The story was pretty non-existent and the world felt really flat.”
“The story is garbage; every line of dialogue is boring.”
- atmosphere19 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark, gothic, and eldritch horror vibe, enhanced by a brilliant synth metal soundtrack that complements the fast-paced gameplay and retro graphics. While many players praise the immersive and gritty environment, some note that the soundtrack could benefit from more dynamic layering to match quieter moments. Overall, the combination of atmospheric visuals, sound design, and engaging level layouts creates a compelling experience for players.
“The music is probably my favorite aspect of the game as it is a blasting metal OST with different themes for each episode that melds well with the atmosphere of each level.”
“Atmosphere is dark, grungy, and I feel like I can smell the dampness of the prison as I am moving through blowing demons away.”
“The old-school look and the thumping soundtrack create the perfect atmosphere for demonic culling.”
“There is no real sense of atmosphere within the soundtrack, and with moments that are sometimes more quiet, it would have been good to have several layers of music move in and out to accommodate the current situation.”
“If your game does not absolutely excel at a mechanic, or is not original in some other way (level design, enemy design, presentation, atmosphere, music), it comes off as an overwhelming 'meh'.”
“These could still be cool, but they need a writing facelift (at least if the game plans on not having cutscenes); getting all D&D with it and writing some atmosphere into these texts can still give the game some excitement between levels.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's strong replayability due to its challenging secrets, unique upgrade system, and customizable character builds, which encourage multiple playthroughs. The inclusion of community-created maps and various gameplay modes, such as horde mode and higher difficulties, further enhances the replay value. Overall, the combination of engaging mechanics and diverse content keeps players returning for more.
“The secrets are actually pretty challenging to find, so you are not always able to find every upgrade the first time you go through a level, so there is a replay value there to try to figure that out.”
“The upgrade system in this game is unique enough to make it stand out, and lets the game be customizable and have good replayability.”
“Really fun and generally great boomer shooter, its upgrade system adds an insane amount of replayability and it's one of the few retro shooters where you can make your own full unique builds.”
“The secrets are actually pretty challenging to find, so you are not always able to find every upgrade the first time you go through a level, so there is replay value there to try to figure that out.”
“Or open it up for community-created maps which will inevitably add a lot of replay value.”
“[Good stuff, smooth and addictive gunplay, great movement mechanics to bring back classic shooter nostalgia, broad variety of weapons to play and improve with, plenty of replay value with the horde mode and higher difficulties, amazing environments, enemy diversity and more.]”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its smooth performance, even on low-end hardware, which is impressive given its small development team. However, some users noted that specific features, like bullet time, can negatively impact performance, and there is a desire for more graphic customization options to enhance performance further.
“Optimization and smoothness across the levels is the only positive thing I have to say about this game; it plays very smoothly.”
“I was very impressed with how good performance was, considering how often my laptop gets brought to its knees by even the least graphically potent games.”
“Performance is really, really good for a Unity engine game.”
“However, bullet time did consistently tank my performance, so that remains to be addressed.”
“I would personally really like those deeper graphic customization options to be added, mainly to boost performance and to turn off the graphic effects of the slow motion power.”
“The warping blur of this effect is quite neat stylistically, but it is a distraction and tends to cause some performance hiccups (talking from a rather low-end laptop).”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often derived from the contrast between its simplistic upgrade system, humorously labeled as "builds," and the nostalgia it evokes for classic boomer shooters. While players find the upgrades amusingly basic, the overall experience is marred by a frustrating save system, leading to a mix of laughter and exasperation.
“I've seen mentions of 'builds' and I cannot think of a more hilarious way to describe what is an incredibly bare-bones system.”
“There are a few interesting upgrades in gold tier, but the rest is just 'more ammo', 'more damage', etc. The funny thing is - I would still recommend this game if not for the worst save system I have ever encountered in a boomer shooter.”
“It's funny because I grew up with these kinds of games too, being born in 1987 and growing up in the 90s.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, highlighting frequent glitches that detract from the overall experience.
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I encountered numerous glitches that ruined my experience.”
“The stability issues are so severe that I can't progress in the game.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the level design for its complexity, noting that it enhances the grinding experience without becoming tedious.
Critic Reviews
Dread Templar Review (PC)
Dread Templar is a fun first-person shooter that will appeal to anyone who enjoyed the classic titles in the genre or the recent 2016 Doom reboot. It delivers over-the-top violence and classic combat sequences but also introduces more modern ideas, like the ability to slow down time when swamped by a ton of opponents. The old-school look and the thumping soundtrack create the perfect atmosphere for demonic culling. The levels are also pretty good, giving players space for a variety of approaches to combat without creating a maze. The developers understand the universe they are working in and make Dread Templar one of the best examples of the recent boomer shooter wave. A review code was provided by the publisher.
85%Dread Templar Review
Most games have stories, but some really don’t need them.
80%Dread Templar Review
With a load of fun weapons to use and frontloaded with creative levels, Dread Templar is a game with a few flaws -- like its relatively repetitive final two acts -- but nothing that detracts from having an action-packed, bloody good time.
75%
