Forgive Me Father

About

Forgive Me Father is a Lovecraft-inspired FPS game with a distinctive retro horror comic book style, where you fight against eternal evil while dealing with your increasing madness level. The game features classic 90s FPS elements such as non-reloading weapons, powerups, and first aid kits. Explore the detailed 3D environment filled with 2D elements and hidden areas to uncover the story and solve the mystery of this eerie world .

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+14

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,012 reviews

graphics603 positive mentions

grinding36 negative mentions

Unique comic book art style that enhances the Lovecraftian atmosphere.
Fast-paced gameplay with satisfying gunplay and a variety of weapons.
Engaging soundtrack that complements the action and enhances immersion.

Inconsistent level design, particularly in the later chapters, leading to frustrating gameplay.
Poor voice acting and writing that detracts from the overall experience.
Difficulty spikes and bullet sponge enemies in the later levels can make the game feel tedious.

graphics
1,065 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
42%
1%
The graphics of "Forgive Me Father" are widely praised for their unique comic book-inspired art style, which effectively blends 2D and 3D elements to create a visually striking experience reminiscent of Lovecraftian horror. Many reviewers highlight the game's stunning visuals and atmospheric design, although some note that the gameplay can feel repetitive and the level design lacks complexity. Overall, the art style is considered the standout feature, enhancing the game's nostalgic boomer shooter mechanics while providing a captivating aesthetic.
- “One of the game's most prominent features is its presentation that blends pixel-shaded 3D environments with a unique, dark comic-like hand-drawn art style of monsters and weapons, which works surprisingly well and evokes a feeling of being plunged into a bygone era of the 1920s.”
- “The art style and the visuals are gorgeous.”
- “The comic book-inspired visuals are not only a breath of fresh air but also enhance the game's eerie atmosphere perfectly.”
- “Graphics are ass.”
- “On top of this, the graphics are just messy.”
- “The art style is what the game offers but the level design is so bad that I would get dizzy and nausea after half an hour playing, which I would have never expected to get while playing an FPS.”
gameplay
672 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
49%
7%
The gameplay is a mix of fast-paced, retro-inspired mechanics reminiscent of classic shooters like Doom, featuring responsive controls and a variety of weapons. While many players appreciate the engaging combat and unique art style, some criticize the repetitive enemy design, linear level layouts, and occasional frustrating mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a fun, albeit sometimes flawed, shooting experience that appeals to fans of the genre.
- “The gameplay is very fun and responsive, and the amazing soundtrack makes blasting enemies and traversing levels a ton of fun.”
- “This game offers a delightful journey through a beautifully twisted world that perfectly marries a fresh art style with classic run-and-gun mechanics, creating an experience that feels both nostalgic and innovative.”
- “Gameplay is fast-paced and polished, and the guns feel good and have a bunch of variety.”
- “The gameplay was simply too awful and lifeless for me to force myself forward.”
- “But the gameplay got boring kinda quick because enemies are repetitive, level design sometimes is very confusing about where to go, and there are random difficulty spikes that don't match up with the checkpoint system at all so you can lose progress on moments that don't really feel fair.”
- “Unfortunately the gameplay isn't fun and the level design isn't very good.”
story
650 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
75%
5%
The story in "Forgive Me Father" is generally considered weak and underdeveloped, often overshadowed by the game's fast-paced action and gameplay mechanics. While there are collectible story elements and cutscenes that attempt to build a Lovecraftian atmosphere, many players find the narrative to be cryptic, predictable, and lacking coherence, with some even suggesting it feels like an afterthought. Overall, the game is more appreciated for its gameplay and aesthetic rather than its storytelling, which many agree could benefit from more depth and clarity.
- “Each location is very detailed and sprinkled with tidbits of story trivia that we discover along the way.”
- “The game is splendid, not some low effort cash-in, the movement and feel of the weapons, levels and pacing, world-building and story, holy crap the art, and a super satisfying set of guns as a cherry on top.”
- “As the story progresses, the game takes a dark turn into ever more psychotic scenarios, reflecting the protagonist's descent into madness.”
- “The areas in which the game properly falls down are story, script, and voice acting - all of which feed off the quality of the writing which, at least in the English version, feels like it was fed through Google Translate.”
- “The story is nearly non-existent with bad English.”
- “What little story there is doesn't propel the gameplay at all and if I ever replay this game I'll probably skip the cutscenes and story collectibles entirely.”
music
624 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
42%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its heavy metal soundtrack that enhances the fast-paced gameplay and complements the game's atmosphere. While some find the music to be somewhat generic or repetitive, it generally succeeds in creating an exhilarating experience during combat sequences. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, drawing comparisons to the music from popular titles like Doom, and is often described as a driving force behind the game's engaging action.
- “The gameplay is very fun and responsive, and the amazing soundtrack makes blasting enemies and traversing levels a ton of fun.”
- “The soundtrack is a haunting blend of industrial and ambient soundscapes that perfectly complements the game's atmosphere.”
- “The music is phenomenal.”
- “I turned off the music completely because it was very annoying and didn't fit what was going on at most times.”
- “The music has its moments, but the generic heavy rock soundtrack doesn't fit the tone at all and ruins the mood in places.”
- “Having this guy make a soundtrack for every boomer shooter is really getting boring...they all sound the same.”
atmosphere
241 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
30%
2%
The atmosphere in "Forgive Me Father" is widely praised for its haunting blend of Lovecraftian horror and comic book aesthetics, creating a sense of cosmic dread and immersive environments. While the sound design and pacing occasionally detract from the overall experience, the game's art style, varied enemy designs, and atmospheric music contribute significantly to its appeal. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay and making it a recommended title for fans of the genre.
- “The game's soundtrack is a haunting blend of industrial and ambient soundscapes that perfectly complements the game's atmosphere.”
- “The enemies are grotesque and otherworldly, and the game's atmosphere is filled with a sense of cosmic dread.”
- “With its slick combat, impactful weapons, beautiful art style, and a foreboding atmosphere, it leaves a very strong impression.”
- “For a game that is based on a horror theme, there's almost no downtime to generate atmosphere, instead going all out as soon as they start, and the player moves extremely fast with no walking option, so any themes or visual works are just sprinted past.”
- “While it's excellent on its own right, any semblance this game had of an atmosphere is destroyed by the industrial metal that accompanies the proceedings.”
- “But the atmosphere does not fit a Cthulhu mythos game.”
optimization
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including freezing, long loading times, and frame rate drops, particularly in busy areas or specific levels. While a few users reported smooth performance on high-end systems, many noted that the game struggles on lower-end hardware and under certain conditions, especially on Linux. Despite its appealing graphics and gameplay, the optimization remains a major concern for a substantial portion of the player base.
- “Overall, FMF is well optimized, and has superb gameplay, complemented with the awesomely gruesome art style and character design.”
- “So, if you enjoy classic FPS and are interested in the world of Lovecraft, 'Forgive Me Father' will not disappoint you with its excellent performance in all areas, especially for soundtracks and its atmosphere.”
- “The best part about this game is that it doesn't take some professional-grade PC to run smoothly.”
- “The most unoptimized game I've played so far.”
- “The game is good and playable at first, but has performance issues that get worse and worse until you just cannot deal with that anymore.”
- “Good game, but optimization sucks; framerate is terrible even if you have a decent PC.”
replayability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
74%
6%
The game offers significant replayability through its two playable characters, each with unique abilities, and a variety of secrets to discover. Players can engage in new game plus modes, explore different upgrade paths, and enjoy additional challenges like endless modes, enhancing the overall experience. While the campaign may be completed in a relatively short time, the depth of customization and varied gameplay options encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “There's a lot of replayability thanks to two playable characters, each of whom have their own abilities, and the secrets hidden throughout levels. The arsenal is pretty dope, and there's a lot of customization you can sink your teeth into thanks to the skill trees; depending on what you favor, you can simply upgrade your weapons to do more damage, or you can often apply exotic upgrades to them that change how they're used.”
- “Forgive Me Father is the perfect blend of classic Doom/Wolfenstein combat mixed with an amazing soundtrack and perfect comic book style visuals, all while being filled with easter eggs, secrets, and plenty of replay value between its two main characters with their own unique abilities.”
- “It took me roughly 5 hours to complete the campaign on normal, but it does offer replayability in the form of playing a different character that has different abilities, as well as a New Game+ mode for further customization.”
- “I'd normally say the game is quite short for its price, but if I understood correctly, there is another branch with a different character (possibly the father, as I played as the journalist), so counting that in with replayability with secrets and percentage-runs, interesting enemies, worlds, and themes.”
- “It isn't much for content but the atmosphere is highly immersive and has 2 classes with different abilities, and a short but branching upgrade tree that changes how you play the game and adds a lot to its replay value.”
- “The developers may have made this decision to extend replay value, but I don't think you have quite enough information to decide for many of them, so it feels like a roll of the dice.”
grinding
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in the later levels where backtracking, lengthy enemy encounters, and poorly designed level layouts detract from the experience. Many reviews highlight the frustration of dealing with bullet sponge enemies and unbalanced boss fights, leading to a sense of redundancy and fatigue as the game progresses. While the initial gameplay is engaging, the latter stages often feel like a slog, diminishing the overall enjoyment.
- “However, starting from world 3, the levels begin to get longer, more tedious, more annoying, and more stingy with save points.”
- “The level design takes a nosedive near the end, too: when the levels aren't grindy or a slog of enemy spam, they're unbelievably frustrating.”
- “Good concept, ruined by bad enemy placements, grindy arenas, either too little or too many pickups at the worst times, powers having limited stacks and too long animations that chew off precious seconds, level up system that punishes more than rewarding due to the grinding necessary.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant issues such as black screens on launch, freezing, and buggy bosses that require reloading. Conversely, other users report a smooth experience with no crashes or glitches during their playthroughs, highlighting that the game runs well on platforms like the Steam Deck. Overall, while some players enjoy a stable experience, others face frustrating bugs that detract from gameplay.
- “Completely bug free for my 11h playthrough.”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck too, which is a must for me now.”
- “The game runs great and looks good for the style of graphics.”
- “That hurts because this game looks really interesting and I've heard good things about it, but it black-screens on launch and freezes.”
- “Also for achievement hunters, be cautious; one hidden achievement is buggy and it might not unlock.”
- “The episode four boss is buggy; it either doesn't spawn or spawns but doesn't do anything - I had to keep reloading until it decided to work.”
humor
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
93%
7%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its campy, self-aware tone and absurd moments, while others criticize the awkward voice acting and juvenile writing. Many find the humor aligns well with eldritch horror themes, offering a blend of fun and cringe that can be entertaining, though not universally appealing. Overall, the game embraces a lighthearted approach, using humor to offset its darker elements, but opinions on its effectiveness vary widely.
- “The humor, aesthetics, and tone of the game would suit those into eldritch horror and horror comedy, with just enough chemical abuse to add a laugh.”
- “If you were ever like 'I wish there were a game like Doom, but with Lovecraftian tentacle monsters and a good sense of humor,' this is that game.”
- “This obviously isn't a game that takes itself or its source material too seriously, using camp aesthetic and bits of humor throughout to lighten the mood.”
- “It's not funny or charming.”
- “It's not funny or charming.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is praised for its creative design and engaging development tree, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. The unique and gruesome art style further complements the character design, contributing to a visually striking and immersive environment.
- “Character design is super creative and all around this game slaps.”
- “I like the approach to the character development tree.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have expressed strong emotional reactions to "Forgive Me Father," with some stating it made them cry due to its impactful storytelling and nostalgic elements. However, there is a notable decline in quality as the game progresses, which detracts from the overall emotional experience, leading to mixed feelings about its lasting impression.
- “Forgive me father, for this game made me cry from how good it is.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews indicate that players find the monetization aspect lacking in enjoyment, with criticisms focused on gameplay mechanics such as character movement, targeting, and weapon design, suggesting that these elements detract from the overall experience.