Fleshcancer

Developer: Empires Of The Cake

Publisher: No Quarter / Joeveno

Platform: PC (Steam)

Release Date: Out Now (Early Access)

Remember Doom? Of course you do. Well, you may not. But you KNOW of Doom, id’s seminal shooter, the game that took you to hell and back, injecting pure adrenaline into your veins. Metaphorically speaking. 34 years later, Doom’s still casts its shadow across the gaming landscape, and now we have the delightfully-named Fleshcancer, a boomer FPS with enough blood and gore to power an abbatoir.

Your unnamed protagonist has hidden themselves away in the forest following a dramatic war against an evil dictatorship. They’ve done things they’d rather forget about, but events are about to change again. The dictatorship may be gone, but another dastardly force, cannibal cultists and terrorists, has arrived from another dimension. When the man in the forest learns of this new threat, he leaves his life of relative tranquillity to take on the cult and send ‘em back to wherever they came from. Preferably in small pieces.

Fleshcancer is a lightning-fast FPS with retro graphics harking back to the Nineties. After choosing a difficulty setting, it’s straight into the action with what looks like a mallet. Luckily, better weaponry is soon available, including the magnificent double-barrelled shotgun, a powerful gun that lets out a crowd-pleasing boom when fired. The man negotiates corridors, otherworldly dimensions, a train, and more, slaughtering cultists and aliens every step of the way.

It’s a riot of bloody mayhem with virtually no subtlety. There are no puzzles. Locked doors need keys, easily found with a modicum of exploration. Each level holds its secrets, and these compel you to search every nook and cranny until it becomes too tedious to bother. Enemies range from human pugilists to possessed demons, rabid dogs and grenade launcher-wielding thugs. Some are seemingly susceptible to certain weaponry, yet that shottie is a fairly decent bet against anything that foolishly crosses your path.

You get what you see with Fleshcancer. Its nature makes it easy to pick up, and it’s short, offering around 2-3 hours of play, secret hunting notwithstanding. How much you enjoy its quick stay depends on whether you accept the uncomplicated gameplay and take it for what it is: a rapid but challenging and bloody-splattered blast from start to finish. It’s also worth noting that it has a fantastic soundtrack, with some super-rapid dance tunes to accompany the manic action.

Conclusion

If you’re after a quick, bloody and horrific blast, Fleshcancer has the gibs for you. Just don’t expect any more depth than a puddle of blood.