Wrath: Aeon of Ruin

KillPixel's shooter demonstrates breathtaking ambition in its 3D level design, but that can come at the cost of pacing and fun.

A familiar yet solid revival of late 90s FPS action that brings back a few annoyances but still sticks the landing.

Ultimately, how much you vibe with Wrath: Aeon of Ruin will come down to how willing you are to put up with the limitations imposed on you by playing it on a controller, how much you vibe with the save system, and how much you like its level design. There's a very good, incredibly ambitious shooter here if you're willing to overlook some unfortunate flaws, but it's not Quake, and nothing likely ever will be again.

It's easy to lose track of time here, moving from one fight to the next, exploring every corner, and having fun with the constant sense of momentum. Between its satisfying combat, strong sense of scale, and commitment to its old school roots, this is one of the more memorable VR shooters to come out recently. If you enjoy fast paced action and don't mind a bit of a learning curve, this is the kind of game that can keep you hooked for hours without even realizing it.

Almost every single one of the so-called "boomer shooters" tends to focus almost entirely on fast, high-octane action. WRATH: Aeon of Ruin fools you by thinking it's the same as them but it isn't. Oh, sure, it has plenty combat to satiate your need for killing evil things with cool weapons, but you are also meant to soak into its strong dark fantasy atmosphere, and spend hours exploring its beautiful, vast realms. While it has its flaws, with chief among them its needlessly large maps, it's safe to call this trip back to the magic of the past a modern classic of the genre.

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a solid entry if not a forgettable one. I wanted to love it more than I did, but in the end just found myself pushing through just to see it end, and not necessarily because I was enjoying myself.

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a well-made game with a classic first-person shooter look and feel. There is some story to be had, but we're really here to kill freaky critters and save the world, right?

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is faithful to many of the 1990s classics. Fans of Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Doom and especially Turok: Dinosaur Hunter will love this game. You can tell KillPixel knows their stuff!. There will, of course, always be a market for a good old homage because I think we all want to be reminded of simpler times. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin certainly does that and is one of the best boomer-shooter throwbacks I’ve played.

If I had to choose, I would like the style of the recent Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun, which surpasses the one we are dealing with in forcefulness, fun and dynamics. Wrath is a title that I've been looking forward to since it was announced, and I liked it, I don't deny it, but I expected something else.

The game's cut-throat pacing will certainly excite the hardcore players, but the lack of real breaks, meaningful exploration, and worldbuilding makes WRATH: Aeon of Ruin more of a shooting exercise than an actual memorable experience. I still feel like recommending it, maybe on sale, to skilled players looking for a tough challenge on console - but in the genre's modern-day resurgence, there are better alternatives to choose from.