Shrine II

About

Shrine II is a single player shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by scumhead and was released on September 22, 2020. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Shrine II" is a first-person shooter game that uses the Doom engine, where players assume the role of Tusk, a skinless monstrosity, to battle against nightmarish eldritch creatures. With over 20 unique weapons, players must fight their way through 32 levels set in a retro Gothic Lovecraftian world, defeating 6 challenging bosses and discovering secrets along the way. The game boasts 30 different enemies and offers a standalone version, thanks to Jberg.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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92%

Audience ScoreBased on 577 reviews

graphics46 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

Shrine II offers a significant improvement over its predecessor with more levels, unique weapons, and diverse enemy designs.
The game features a captivating Lovecraftian aesthetic and atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
It's completely free, providing great value for players looking for a fun and challenging retro FPS.

The level design can be inconsistent, with some areas feeling tedious or poorly constructed, particularly in the later stages.
The difficulty spikes abruptly, making it frustrating for players, especially with certain bosses causing severe frame drops.
Some players have reported issues with manual saving and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.

graphics
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
45%
3%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the unique art style and atmospheric visuals that evoke a Lovecraftian aesthetic. While some players appreciate the nostalgic low-poly graphics and detailed pixel art, others criticize the basic quality and occasional glitches. Overall, the visuals are often described as stunning and immersive, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some inconsistencies in level design.
- “The game's graphics are stunning, and the sound effects are immersive, creating an intense and Lovecraft-inspired atmosphere.”
- “The lovecraftian aesthetic looks fantastic and is lovingly crafted; weapons are super cool looking and fun to use, and enemies are decently challenging in a fight.”
- “Shrine 2 keeps the very attractive art style of the first game and enhances it with a slew of new environments and additional detail.”
- “This features fairly low quality low poly 3D visuals which will deter a lot of gamers, understandably.”
- “Like I said, if this was a paid product it would fail on the graphics alone.”
- “20th century called, they want their graphics back smh.”
gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
61%
5%
The gameplay in "Shrine II" is praised for its engaging mechanics, fast-paced action, and a mix of classic FPS elements reminiscent of games like Doom, while introducing new features such as a lunge mechanic and varied weaponry. Players appreciate the depth added by enemy patterns and level design, although some express frustration with a lack of tutorials and occasional performance issues. Overall, the game is seen as a significant improvement over its predecessor, offering a fun and immersive experience despite some minor glitches and uneven level quality.
- “Figuring out their patterns and weaknesses adds depth to the gameplay.”
- “Gameplay feels good and has a really good pace.”
- “The weapons and enemies feel much more unique than before, gameplay is smooth, and the weapons feel great to use and have rather unique identities.”
- “Gameplay is where Shrine II sort of flops a bit in my opinion.”
- “Weird tacked on gimmicks and mechanics that are hardly used and inconsistent.”
- “There are just so many things that I understand were done to mimic old shooter games but, dude, there is a reason these types of mechanics aren't used anymore.”
music
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
42%
6%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its atmospheric and immersive qualities, particularly during boss fights and key moments. While some find the soundtrack to be rich and dynamic, enhancing the overall experience, others criticize it for being overly ambient or forgettable, with a few noting instances of potentially unoriginal tracks. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a strong aspect of the game, contributing significantly to its atmosphere and gameplay.
- “I love that fact that Shrine II got more dynamic environments also thematic with the story and love the rich soundtrack that totally immerses in it.”
- “The atmosphere, sound effects, and soundtrack is amazing.”
- “Epic bosses, amazing music, and awesome weapons, Shrine II is a premier example of how to make a retro FPS.”
- “By far my biggest gripe is the soundtrack, although it is not 'bad' so much as it is pure ambience.”
- “The only plus I'll give this game is once again the art direction and some of the music, even then I'm not sure about the music as right at the start of the game I heard a blatantly stolen Mark Morgan track in the cathedral level ripped right out of Fallout 1 with no changes made practically, so any other tracks I heard and liked could have also been taken from other games, who knows.”
- “The music is definitely annoying, but I can't downvote this game because it's free so I got my money's worth.”
atmosphere
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
37%
6%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unsettling and immersive qualities, enhanced by stunning visuals, detailed art styles, and effective sound design. Reviewers highlight the unique, Lovecraftian themes and the game's ability to create a creepy, otherworldly environment that significantly contributes to the overall experience. While some levels may start off simple, the atmosphere improves dramatically as the game progresses, making exploration and engagement with the world highly rewarding.
- “The game's graphics are stunning, and the sound effects are immersive, creating an intense and Lovecraft-inspired atmosphere.”
- “Just getting to explore the world and atmosphere created in this game is enough to make it worthwhile.”
- “The first maybe 4 levels are pretty bare bones and boring; however, after that, the atmosphere of the game and level design increases by a lot.”
- “However, the general atmosphere, sound design, monster design, and weapon design are absolutely stellar.”
- “The eerie, otherworldly atmosphere and Lovecraftian weirdness that were the main merits of the first chapter are still here, realized even better as the author came into his own with his craft.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The story of Shrine II expands on the lore of its predecessor, offering a rich, atmospheric narrative that blends Lovecraftian elements with gameplay-driven experiences. While the plot is not the primary focus, it introduces a deranged god and a world overrun by monsters, with dynamic environments and a compelling soundtrack that enhance the storytelling. Overall, players appreciate the depth and creativity of the narrative, even if it remains somewhat simple and secondary to the gameplay.
- “If Shrine was the short story, Shrine II is a Lovecraft-inspired multi-dimensional novel.”
- “The environment for this game tells a story in itself as to what happened in this world.”
- “This game is one of the best I've ever played; the soundtrack and textures of the different maps are top-tier. They are able to tell a whole story by themselves even without directly telling the player what's happening.”
- “Shrine II takes the lore of the original and basically scribbles all over it with the addition of co-developer Mengo, who, despite clearly improving the final product (Shrine I is kind of mid, sorry), was essentially an ascended fandom devotee who took the opportunity to write... well, I mean, it's literally not fanfiction, it's more like the express inverse - canonical but excessively unrelated, a vast tome of new backstory, much of it kept private.”
- “That's about all the plot you get in Shrine II; just like the first game, it's not plot-driven and that's fine because the game is more gameplay-driven, and again in this case, it's fine.”
- “Again, the story is somewhat simple: a deranged god is causing hellspawn to appear all over the world, and you have to go and stop him while shooting your way through everything that tries to stop you.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
78%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with players reporting significant issues such as freezing during boss fights and various glitches that can disrupt gameplay. While it runs well on Linux and offers enjoyable graphics and weapon mechanics, the presence of technical problems and autosave glitches detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, many find the game fun and engaging, albeit buggy.
- “Runs great on Linux.”
- “The game itself is very fun and runs great; the feel of the weapons is solid and feels properly balanced with the enemies.”
- “Again the game suffers from some enemies being overstated (though less so than shrine 1) and the boss fights range from boring to unplayable (one attack from the final boss freezes my game; not to mention it also shoots homing frost missiles with no cover to blow them up).”
- “The weird autosave glitches are a little off-putting, but hey I can work past that.”
- “The glitches could have been fixed and at least tested properly since I've actually run into a bunch of technical issues performance-wise.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, citing repetitive level designs, excessive key hunts, and uninspired enemy combinations that detract from the overall experience. Many reviewers express frustration with the lack of engaging gameplay elements, leading to a sense of monotony and boredom.
- “Primarily, one could argue there are too many levels, as without engaging enemy combinations and reveals, some parts get a little tedious.”
- “This one, however, has some glaring flaws that make the game quite tedious.”
- “I'm a sucker for Doom/build engine games, and have sunk countless hours into said games over the years, but Shrine II became tedious for me really quickly.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game's optimization is criticized for significant performance issues, particularly during the final boss encounter, which can reduce gameplay to a slideshow. While the weapons are well-received, overall performance and audio mixing could be improved, especially for players on lower-end hardware.
- “Cool game, very fun up until the final boss; not that it's not a good final boss, its final form just shoots so many projectiles it turns the game into a slideshow and I was forced to use cheats to beat him. Not even the devs' fault; GZDoom is just not well optimized.”
- “My old performance laptop can't run Doom Eternal at 20+ fps, so I'm playing this.”
- “The weapons are fine, but the performance issues at the final boss, as well as the audio mixing, could be a bit better.”
- “My outdated performance laptop can't run Doom Eternal at 20+ fps, so I'm playing this.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is praised for its varied locations and excellent design, contributing to a cohesive and immersive experience where every element feels well-integrated.
- “The character development is rich and immersive, with each character feeling unique and well-crafted.”
- “The journey of each character is compelling, making their growth and transformations feel authentic and impactful.”
- “The diverse backgrounds and motivations of the characters add depth to the story, enhancing the overall experience.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game boasts high replayability due to its engaging design, with players encouraged to explore and discover missed elements from their initial playthrough. The solid map design, combined with challenging gameplay and a long game time, ensures that each run offers new experiences and challenges.
- “Truly a work of art and crazy fun/replayable. There are plenty of reasons to replay; you'll definitely see things you missed during your first playthrough. The game has a long playtime and offers plenty of challenges with each run.”
- “Map design is solid, with good item and enemy placements. The emphasis on exploration increases the replay value and helps the pacing of the levels.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game evokes a complex mix of feelings, with users describing it as both unsettling and wholesome, likening the experience to a maggot's journey through decay. This duality creates a unique emotional resonance that leaves a lasting impact on players.
- “Very wholesome game”