Retchid

About

Retchid is a single player action game. It was developed by From Beneath Software and was released on August 18, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

"Retchid is a single-player Action game with 6 hours of playtime, offering an atmospheric First Person Shooter experience with cosmic horror influences and Mesoamerican themes. As a TEC Engineer, retrieve classified research data and encryption keys from a nefarious discovery deep within a Mining Facility on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, whileMeeting intense and visceral combat."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

atmosphere14 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game successfully captures the atmosphere and design elements reminiscent of classic FPS games like Doom 3 and Quake, providing a nostalgic experience for fans.
The level design is intricate and rewarding, featuring shortcuts, secrets, and a sense of exploration that enhances gameplay.
Combat mechanics are engaging, with satisfying weapon feedback and a variety of enemies that contribute to a tense and immersive experience.

The save system is frustrating, requiring players to backtrack to specific save stations, which can lead to repeated sections and loss of progress.
Enemy AI can be inconsistent, with some enemies exhibiting poor behavior, making combat feel unbalanced and sometimes overly punishing.
Graphics and sound design have been criticized for feeling outdated, with some players noting issues like flickering lights and poor audio quality that detract from the overall experience.

atmosphere
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
43%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its moody, immersive qualities reminiscent of classics like Doom 3 and Dead Space, featuring effective lighting, environmental storytelling, and a compelling soundscape. While many players appreciate the game's aesthetic and pacing, some have noted that overlapping sound effects can detract from the overall experience. Overall, it is considered a strong atmospheric sci-fi FPS that appeals to fans of the genre.
- “The atmosphere is moody in all the right ways, combat feels juicy and satisfying, and the aesthetic is very pleasing to the eye.”
- “The lighting and environmental storytelling especially add to the atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere is on point; if you loved the atmosphere in idtech4 games (Alien Isolation too, also heavy Black Mesa/Half-Life influences), then this should feel almost just as great, as you have those submarine-esque cramped dimly lit corridors with flickering dynamic fluorescent lights and dark shadows cast across the scenery of a facility on a harsh alien planet now fallen into chaos with bodies littering the corridors, machinery breaking and sparking everywhere, and the accompanying soundscape complements it with moody ambient tracks and the sound of machinery, vents, pipes, humming, and hissing as you crawl through it all.”
- “It's positives are atmosphere and creepy sound but the level layouts can be confusing and finally the enemies' AI is somewhat off, so if these issues could be fixed, then a Doom 3 inspired masterpiece it could be!”
- “Not a fan of the save rooms, though I understand why the dev went that way to fit the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere gives a vibe of a mix between Doom 3 (from which it took most of its influence and the game doesn't shy away from it) and Dead Space with the mining station, the player being an engineer and all.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The gameplay of Retchid is a nostalgic homage to early 2000s FPS titles, blending survival horror elements with mechanics reminiscent of Quake 4 and Doom 3. While the game captures a moody atmosphere and offers decent pacing, it suffers from some unpolished aspects typical of indie projects, including frustrating save mechanics that can lead to significant progress loss. Overall, it presents a fun and methodical shooting experience, though it may go unnoticed in a crowded market.
- “This is a great retro-shooter aiming to recreate the early 2000s era of FPS gameplay.”
- “The atmosphere is really on point; it has decent pacing for both the gameplay and difficulty.”
- “Retchid will sadly most likely go unnoticed by many, I fear. It's a really fun, moody, methodical shooter with a sprinkle of survival horror mechanics mixed in, and it has a lot of attention to detail by a small independent team who are trying to do something a bit more rare and ambitious in the indie FPS space currently.”
- “I understand what the devs are going for design-wise, but it doesn't blend well with the gameplay style.”
- “I love the Doom 3-style difficulty and gameplay, but dying and losing over half an hour of progress just because you forgot to find a save room before a boss fight isn't fun.”
- “The gameplay does still feel a bit unpolished, so you could say it has a little bit of that looseness of early 2000s eurojank FPS games as well, which in my opinion isn't a bad thing.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
23%
23%
The graphics of the game evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of the id Tech 4 era, with a moody atmosphere and a pleasing aesthetic, though some elements appear dated, akin to titles from 2007. While it successfully captures the essence of earlier games like Doom 3 and Quake 4, it also manages to stand out with enhanced visual fidelity compared to typical Unreal Engine 4 titles. Overall, the graphics are well-executed, contributing to a highly immersive experience.
- “The atmosphere is moody in all the right ways, combat feels juicy and satisfying, and the aesthetic is very pleasing to the eye.”
- “The graphics are brilliantly executed - it feels like an id tech 4 game but has the visual punch more like the recent System Shock remake.”
- “The immersion is spectacular and the graphics excellent, ratcheting up that id tech 4 mystique a few notches.”
- “However, the graphics are straight out of 2007 with faded and washed out colors.”
- “Although it doesn't quite capture the gloominess and dread that Doom 3 exuded, some of the graphics do look similar.”
- “The look of the game nails the id Tech 4 engine vibes, where it deserves special mention for managing to relatively successfully escape looking like an Unreal Engine 4 game. Shading, particles, and shadowing have so many modifications that it looks like a game plucked from the era of Fear, Chronicles of Riddick, and Quake 4 instead of from stock UE4 shaders, particles, and post-processing. That's a compliment; I kind of feel many graphical elements were almost preferable back in 2003-2006.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
62%
23%
The story in the game is generally viewed as underdeveloped, lacking depth and characterisation, which detracts from player investment. While the environmental storytelling and atmospheric lighting are praised, many reviewers feel that the narrative elements need to be more engaging, with calls for better cutscenes and NPC interactions. Overall, the focus seems to be more on gameplay mechanics and exploration rather than a compelling story.
- “The lighting and environmental storytelling especially add to the atmosphere.”
- “Btw, episode 1 in early access is rather long, with complex levels that can last you hours; for me, all 7 missions lasted 9 hours, yours might be 6-8.”
- “The story seems to be an afterthought, so don't expect to be invested in it; plus, as far as I can tell, there is near zero characterization.”
- “The story does not need to be deeply intricate, but it should be more engaging (e.g., Doom 3, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars).”
- “Cutscenes, better fleshed-out characters, environmental storytelling, and NPCs would be welcome.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is praised for its solid optimization, with players reporting a consistent 60fps at high settings and no significant performance dips. Improvements in performance and gameplay mechanics have been noted since the demo, contributing to a well-rounded combat and exploration experience. Minor issues, such as room decoration, are overshadowed by the overall quality of the environments and systems in place.
- “I played a lot of the demo when it was available in the Next Fest, and the early access release has seen some really cool improvements in performance and subtle juicy touches to gunplay, enemies, and animations that make the moment-to-moment combat loop on top of the exploration all feel pretty fleshed out. In early access so far, it feels like 90+% of systems are there or on paper (like in the PDA you can see some upgrade stuff that hasn't yet been implemented into the world but given to the player at the start for now). Most of the rest of the work will probably be making levels, fleshing out some story fluff, maybe if resources and time permit, scripting some stuff, and maybe some minor polishing up (a handful of rooms could use a tiny bit more decoration, but like 1 out of 100 rooms you'll visit, you'll only notice it because of how rare it is and it stands out to the otherwise detailed environments).”
- “Performance is really solid; I haven't seen a single dip so far from my locked 60fps with settings at very high. There's ultra, but I don't think ultra probably adds much more if it's at all like UE4 'cinematic'/4 setting, which usually just ups shadow resolution and some other minor things to be really expensive. Very high seems to correspond to the typical 'epic'/3 setting in UE4. I haven't run into the usual UE4 bugs either in settings resetting, and you can tweak stuff further in the engine ini, maybe enable TAAU Gen 4/TSR if you need to squeeze more performance.”
- “The game is well optimized, so I commend the developer for that.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is described as a terrifying soundtrack that effectively complements its sprawling map design and horror-themed visuals, drawing inspiration from the iconic soundscapes of Doom 64. This combination enhances the overall atmosphere, evoking nostalgia for the classic Doom titles while immersing players in a chilling sci-fi horror experience.
- “A sprawling map design with side passages, shortcuts, and plenty of secrets like in the good old Doom 1 and 2, a visual style of scary sci-fi horror as in Doom 3, and a terrifying soundtrack reminiscent of Doom 64 to match.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that while there are numerous secrets to discover, the process of finding them is engaging rather than tedious, making the grinding aspect feel rewarding and enjoyable.
- “Secrets are everywhere but not tedious to find.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a high level of stability, with many stating that the game plays and runs smoothly without issues.
- “It plays and runs great for me.”