Skip to main content

Shrine

Shrine Game Cover
91%Game Brain Score
graphics, gameplay
story, grinding
91% User Score Based on 660 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCWindows
Play Now
Buy NowGet on Steam Buy NowGet on itch.io Store
Shrine Game Cover

About

Shrine is a single player shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by scumhead and was released on April 3, 2020. It received very positive reviews from players.

Shrine is a retro FPS game about a skinless dude killing eldritch monstrosities with his nightmarish arsenal.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Shrine screenshot
Skip User Reviews

91%
Audience ScoreBased on 660 reviews
graphics44 positive mentions
grinding9 negative mentions
  • Free to play and offers a great value experience for fans of retro FPS and Doom-like shooters.
  • Unique, atmospheric art style with Lovecraftian and gothic influences, creating an eerie and immersive setting.
  • Engaging and satisfying combat with a diverse arsenal of weapons, especially the super shotgun, and challenging yet fair enemy encounters.
  • Some enemies later in the game are bullet sponges with excessive health and can one-shot the player, leading to frustrating difficulty spikes.
  • Level design is generally simplistic, often linear with few secrets, and some areas feel cramped with poor enemy placement.
  • Lack of visual feedback on shooting enemies and weapon hit impacts, combined with some inconsistent sound design, diminish combat clarity and player satisfaction.
  • graphics
    94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique, retro-inspired art style that combines gothic, eldritch, and Lovecraftian aesthetics, creating a captivating and atmospheric experience. While the pixelated visuals may feel outdated or off-putting to some, they effectively evoke nostalgia for classic FPS games and are considered a standout feature despite occasional graphical glitches and limited color palettes. Overall, the visuals are regarded as one of the strongest elements, elevating the game’s mood and appeal even if the gameplay divides opinion.

    • “The artstyle and the atmosphere are the best part of the game in my opinion with the eerie level design and alien-like enemies defining its tone.”
    • “Shrine has one of the best artstyles that I have seen made in the Doom engine.”
    • “The visuals alone are enough for me to recommend this game, especially since it's free.”
    • “The visuals are still, for a 2019 game, massively underwhelming.”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “Even the graphical options are laid out in a messy way, and when it takes 5 seconds to switch between options, I'm not going to try tweaking with them.”
  • gameplay
    62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is heavily inspired by classic Doom, offering fast-paced, run-and-gun action with distinctive, satisfying weapons and solid level design. While some find it straightforward or lacking innovation, others appreciate the smooth mechanics, unique ammo systems, and the nostalgic yet refined feel it delivers. Overall, gameplay is enjoyable and faithful to the retro shooter formula, though it leaves room for improvement and may feel basic to some players.

    • “Really engaging and visually fun game, the weapons are very reminiscent of Doom, especially the first few, but the latter half of the weapons are really mechanically unique and they're all satisfying to use.”
    • “The gameplay is fast-paced and satisfying, with each weapon feeling distinct and powerful.”
    • “Shrine manages to depart slightly from the classic Doom formula by introducing not only a complete reskin of enemies, weapons, levels, particles and whatnot, but even some welcomed little mechanics and choices overall that ultimately make this game stand out.”
    • “I love the visuals - both weapons and enemies look sick - but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.”
    • “There's no redeeming qualities about its gameplay.”
    • “The best I can say is that the gameplay, weapons, and enemies felt mediocre.”
  • music
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric, eerie, and ambient qualities that complement the dark, gothic setting and enhance the mood. While some find the soundtrack engaging and fitting, others feel it is sparse, forgettable, or lacks depth, with several noting that the game relies heavily on ambient sounds over a robust musical score. Overall, the music effectively adds to the game's unique tone, though opinions vary on its variety and memorability.

    • “I love the sounds of the enemies and the ambience of the music, and the artwork on display for the levels and enemies and weapons are phenomenal and outshine the fact that a lot of them are heavily inspired/copied mechanically from Doom; in fact, I prefer a lot of this game over Doom.”
    • “+ the music and sound design in this wad is pretty awesome as well - it fits well with the theme of an eldritch HR Giger-esque world by having some genuinely spine-shivering screaming that you can hear in some of the eldritch dimension levels such as "the womb".”
    • “Sounds/music for each level are fantastic too!”
    • “Music is painful and just not engaging.”
    • “However, I found the music to be really forgettable and nothing really special, which was really disappointing. There's not much of it, and what's there is pretty weak.”
    • “Sound design is severely lacking, and there's no music save for the final levels.”
  • atmosphere
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, eldritch, and gothic Lovecraftian tone, effectively immersing players through detailed pixel art, eerie level design, and atmospheric music. Reviewers highlight its unsettling, ominous vibe that enhances the creepy, otherworldly experience. This unique ambiance, combined with creative enemy design and sound effects, is considered the standout feature and key strength of the game.

    • “It has a dark and eldritch atmosphere and the sprites are fantastic.”
    • “Its pixelated graphics and atmospheric design immerse you in a gothic world that’s both eerie and captivating.”
    • “The subtle visual and sound effects, eerie music, and large open spaces all add to the feeling of unease, turning it into more of an atmospheric shooter.”
    • “I'd like to see Shrine 3 bigger and maybe with a little bit more atmosphere.”
  • story
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in Shrine is minimal and straightforward, primarily serving to provide context rather than depth, with major plot elements only revealed late in the game. It aligns with classic Doom-style narratives where gameplay takes precedence over storytelling, featuring a simple premise of defeating demonic forces to save the world. While some players appreciate the slight narrative investment, most view the story as secondary and brief within the overall experience.

    • “I've only played a few doom wads, but found them uninteresting because they generally boil down to "have some guns and kill some stuff", this game however has the courtesy to take you to dinner first and invest you in the story before railing you with some nail-biting bosses.”
    • “The story involves a devil who wants to defeat all the eldritch gods and their minions to keep the world safe (surprising, I know).”
    • “It has a simple story, but the game itself supports it well.”
    • “The story is only mentioned for the first time about 75% into the game and then again only after defeating the final boss.”
    • “The story is kinda lost in translation, something about you destroying an old god to save your world, whatever.”
    • “The story is just there to give an explanation for the setting.”
  • grinding
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game often feels tedious due to bullet sponge enemies and unfair difficulty spikes, particularly in boss fights and certain cramped arenas. While early levels and level design can be bland and repetitive, the challenge mostly stems from inflated enemy health and damage rather than engaging mechanics. Overall, grinding is manageable on lower difficulties but becomes frustrating and tedious at higher settings.

    • “After about 10 levels, the game becomes tedious and needs new design elements to liven up the scenery in successive levels.”
    • “Some battle sequences are grindy and unfair; enemies, especially bosses, act as bullet sponges with excessive health, making fights tedious and frustrating.”
    • “The game raises difficulty by increasing enemy health and damage, turning some areas into tedious chores rather than challenging encounters.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is lighthearted and playful, featuring amusing visuals and quirky character designs that add a fun, entertaining vibe to the shooter gameplay.

    • “Haha, funny shooter game go brrrrr.”
    • “Emptying simple but visually striking weaponry into a mass of funny-looking creatures until they stop moving.”
    • “This boy likes funny hats and shamrock shakes.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is generally stable with appealing graphics and aesthetics, though occasional minor glitches slightly affect the experience. Overall, it remains enjoyable despite these small bugs.

    • “A little buggy.”
    • “The game offers some nice graphics and a nice aesthetic, although some ugly glitches here and there, it is pleasant all the same.”
  • optimization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is surprisingly well-optimized, delivering smooth performance even on lower-end systems.

  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users appreciate that the game has no microtransactions, contributing positively to the overall experience and earning a high rating for its monetization approach.

    • “Also no microtransactions, 9/10”
  • replayability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is enjoyable initially but lacks significant replayability, offering limited incentive to play repeatedly.

Skip Game Offers

Buy Shrine

3h Median play time
3h Average play time
2h Main story
3h Completionist
2-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Shrine

Games Like Shrine

Shrine II Image
92%577reviews

Shrine II

2020Shooter
LinuxPCWindows
Games like Shrine II
Serious Sam: The First Encounter ImageSerious Sam: The First Encounter ImageSerious Sam: The First Encounter Image
93%2.1kreviews

Serious Sam: The First Encounter

2019Shooter
LinuxXbox 360PC+2
Games like Serious Sam: The First Encounter
2084 Image
48%96reviews

2084

2018Shooter
PCWindows
Games like 2084
REVEREND Image
91%152reviews

REVEREND

2024Shooter
PCWindows
Games like REVEREND
SickBrick Image
50%147reviews

SickBrick

2015Shooter
LinuxPCMac OS+1
Games like SickBrick
More games like Shrine
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Shrine is a shooter game with horror theme.

Shrine is available on PC, Windows and Linux.

The main story can be completed in around 2 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 3 hours to finish. On average players spend around 3 hours playing Shrine.

Shrine was released on April 3, 2020.

Shrine was developed by scumhead.

Shrine has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its story.

Shrine is a single player game.

Similar games include Shrine II, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, 2084, REVEREND, SickBrick and others.