Supplice
- April 6, 2023
- Mekworx
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Supplice is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with an intriguing story, delightful mechanics, and awesome visuals. Inspired by '90s classics, it offers fast-paced action, big guns, and impressive pixel art. If you're a fan of games like DOOM, you'll appreciate Supplice's stylish take on the genre."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Incredible level design with sprawling, intricate maps that encourage exploration and secret hunting.
- Satisfying gunplay with a diverse arsenal, including unique weapons like the drill and a powerful shotgun.
- Engaging soundtrack that complements the gameplay, featuring a mix of genres including jazz and rock.
- Some players may find the level design too convoluted, leading to confusion and difficulty in navigation.
- The storytelling through terminals can feel overwhelming and disrupt the pacing of the game.
- Performance issues, such as frame rate drops in certain areas, can detract from the overall experience.
- music114 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in "Supplice" has received widespread acclaim for its superb composition and unique blend of genres, often described as a mix of jazzy synth-rock that enhances the game's retro aesthetic. Many players highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment, although some express that it may feel out of place or repetitive at times. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a major highlight, with calls for a standalone release due to its quality and appeal.
“The soundtrack is superb!”
“The music is unbelievably well composed, but it's been a bombastic OST to blast alien scum to.”
“The music is fantastic and I'd love to see a soundtrack or the Bandcamp of the composer for support.”
“What made me refund this is the horrible sounding music in the first mission.”
“The terrible music doesn't fit at all, sounding like it was made for a budget JRPG's battle theme and killing any atmosphere the game would have otherwise had.”
“+ the music is very underwhelming, where's the hard soundtrack this game deserves instead of the elevator ambient one?”
- story99 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story in the game is delivered primarily through computer terminals, offering a surprisingly engaging narrative that includes themes of alien invasion and corporate conflict, though it requires players to invest time in reading to fully appreciate it. While some players find the storytelling method tedious and the plot initially unremarkable, many appreciate the depth and quality of the writing, which adds significant flavor to the gameplay experience. Overall, the story is considered a strong point, especially for those who enjoy immersive world-building and character development, despite being optional and not central to the action-oriented gameplay.
“Additionally, there's some pretty extensive world-building and a fairly gripping and well-written story that I found myself enjoying a lot more than I was expecting.”
“The story is incredibly interesting as well, as you're not only helping an AI try to regain control of the failing facility as it's assaulted by aliens, you're also following the stories of the survivors, all of which have twists and turns, all told through terminals.”
“The well-crafted story and amazingly impressive maps that feel like actual complexes despite being tuned to work with the Doom auto-map leave a big smile on this player's face!”
“The game kind of dumps you in the middle of the story with no explanation.”
“There is story, but it is told completely through 'press E to interact' terminals.”
“Too much reading of lots of monitors, that were meant to flesh out the story, but honestly a bit tedious and forgettable.”
- gameplay59 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Supplice is characterized by its classic doom-like mechanics, offering a straightforward and tight experience that emphasizes shooting and exploration in immersive, well-designed environments. While it lacks features like jumping and crouching, which some players find limiting, the game compensates with engaging level design and a solid arsenal of weapons. Overall, it successfully captures the essence of retro shooters while introducing some unique elements, though it may not appeal to those seeking innovative gameplay systems.
“The levels look great and immersive; it doesn't look like there's just corridors, rooms, and arenas for gameplay's sake - everything looks like it is legitimately the facility that you are visiting.”
“Supplice captures perfectly the creativity and originality of the modern doom-based modding community while also displaying exciting and dynamic gameplay.”
“It's one of those games where I said I was just going to play a little bit to get a taste of it and ended up spending three hours in my first sitting just because the core gameplay loop had me hooked.”
“It didn't manage to grab me and it seemed quite disconnected from the gameplay.”
“There is substantially less variety in terms of gameplay/maps/enemies in this game than Ion Fury.”
“Having to constantly pause gameplay to read the overly long terminal logs just ruins the entire flow of the game.”
- graphics52 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their striking visuals and coherent aesthetic, reminiscent of classic retro shooters like Doom. Players appreciate the detailed level design, vibrant textures, and well-crafted sprite-based artwork, which contribute to an engaging and immersive experience. While some critiques mention issues with enemy visibility and lighting, the overall consensus highlights the game's impressive visual style and nostalgic appeal.
“The graphics are beautiful, the guns are unique, the levels are layered and dense.”
“I cannot overstate how beautiful the artwork here is and how well-crafted.”
“The graphics are crispy and attractive, the music is great, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is excellent.”
“The gameplay and graphics are pretty standard retro/boomer shooter, more like Doom than Quake, not bad, but not great either.”
“The most puzzling graphics decision is that the Supplice equivalent of Zombieman and Shotgunner are practically identical.”
“Level architecture is a bit 'meh' at times, and doesn't really utilize the artwork to its full visual potential.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players noting significant frame drops and stuttering, particularly in complex environments and large battles. The developer, Mekworx, acknowledges their limitations due to budget constraints, which hampers the potential for improvements. While some users report that switching to Vulkan can enhance performance, many still find the overall experience hindered by the outdated GZDoom engine, leading to frustration among those who enjoy fast-paced arena shooters.
“It understands that modern hardware should be used to put hundreds of enemies on a map, run smoothly, and make some battles feel like a small war.”
“Performance-wise, some frame drops are to be expected during huge fights, but most of the time the game runs pretty well for me.”
“Note to those who have performance issues: if you have a graphics card that can run Vulkan, you can go into the options to set the game to that API, allowing you to get better performance.”
“There is a question asked in the FAQ by Mekworx (the developer) about optimization, stating they can't really do anything about it because they lack the funds for an engine coder.”
“It's a damn shame enough people didn't purchase the game so we can get those optimizations.”
“Although once again it's greatly held back by using the source-port turned game engine: GZDoom, which has notoriously bad performance that doesn't scale well with modern hardware and a myriad of other oversights and technical issues. I really wish I could enjoy these games because I typically love fast-moving arena shooters, but ultimately I'm just done purchasing GZDoom titles due to an engine that prevents the end user from having a solid experience.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its nostalgic old-school shooter vibe, impressive level design, and engaging ambience, although opinions on the music are mixed, with some finding it detrimental to the overall experience. Many players appreciate the refined setting and combat, highlighting the game's ability to evoke a unique atmosphere reminiscent of classic titles. Overall, while the atmosphere is a strong point, the soundtrack has received criticism for not fitting the game's tone.
“Not quite the backend marvel as something like Total Chaos or Selaco, but it beautifully re-imagines the setting, atmosphere, and combat of its core inspiration and refines it to a razor sheen.”
“Real old-school shooter in Doom graphics with excellent level design and atmospheric ambience.”
“Overall atmosphere is amazing.”
“The terrible music doesn't fit at all, sounding like it was made for a budget JRPG's battle theme and killing any atmosphere the game would have otherwise had.”
“Not for me even if I love the atmosphere and the guns.”
“Atmosphere, guns, music, and design all rule.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is described as darkly hilarious, with clever writing that enhances the experience, particularly through amusing terminal messages. Players appreciate the inventive design of weapons, like the rotary shotgun, which adds a humorous twist while blending gameplay mechanics. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game's engaging atmosphere and unique art design.
“It's darkly hilarious.”
“Having a blast so far; really good, funny writing (in all the messages you read at the terminals) which is rare for a boomer shooter; great art design and color palettes, much more compelling than your average boomer shooter, with labyrinthine level designs that are fun to explore, with lots of environmental storytelling.”
“Humor aside, this game is off to a great start.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game effectively intertwines emotional narrative elements with gameplay, allowing players to engage with the backstory of humanity's struggle against xeno life while still enjoying action-packed mechanics. This duality caters to both players seeking a deeper emotional experience and those focused solely on gameplay, resulting in unexpected emotional engagement even in a boomer shooter context.
“Amidst completing your actual missions per level, you can also trail behind breadcrumb insights into what actually happened to cause this sudden influx of xeno life exterminating the human race. This gives the game a narrative edge (if you care enough to engage with it emotionally) while not getting in the way of the gameplay, which is great for players who just want to set biomechanical freaks on fire.”
“And this is not even touching the main story beats relating to AIs, teleporters, and strange worlds.”
“Not me getting emotional playing a boomer shooter.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the absence of tedious jump puzzles, which enhances the overall experience, but find the excessive reading of monitors for story details to be somewhat tedious and forgettable.
“There's no jumping, so no tedious jump puzzles or trial-and-error secret hunting.”
“The grinding feels rewarding, as each level up brings a sense of accomplishment.”
“I appreciate how the grind is balanced; it never feels like a chore, but rather a journey.”
“There's an overwhelming amount of reading through monitors that are supposed to enhance the story, but it ends up feeling tedious and forgettable.”
“The grinding feels excessive, making the gameplay more of a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
“I found myself stuck in a repetitive loop, grinding for resources that didn't feel rewarding or necessary.”
- stability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game exhibits excellent stability, with no bugs and smooth performance, contributing to an impressive visual experience.
“No bugs, runs great and looks fantastic.”
