Amid Evil takes you on a fantasy journey through 7 different universes with a variety of enemies to face in each world which helps spruce up gameplay with different enemy designs and combat. As well as combat the worlds of each episode have really good level structure that a lot of the time i really enjoyed just exploring the world rather than just continuing through and that is what makes a good boomer shooter making very explorable and satisfying worlds to explore. Weapon variety is small but each weapon is really unique especially the weapon that has you throw literal planets, including earth. Plus the soul power mechanic changes your weapon temporarily boosting its damage greatly and changing how your weapon works like having the BFG of the game shoot out black holes instead From a technical standpoint it gives at least for me heavy ps1/late 90s fps vibes and it captures a weird nostalgia I didn't know I had and I love it. Best comparison I have is its a mix of the creepy and quiet ambience and lengthy worlds of Turok with the constant chaos and fighting of Serious Sam. The ambience and sound design I thoroughly like especially in the some chapters it kind of had me on edge with how silent and quiet it was. Story is rather simple but the story is not the center focus of the game as the gameplay and enemies are on the forefront. I think if I could give any critiques towards this game it would be that the game is a bit too easy outside of the last chapter but nothing really had me struggling for hours and the bosses did not have much of a challenge to them. However that being said, this game is still a real joy to play through and I would honestly replay it again to find all the secrets and on the hardest difficulty. New Blood has shown themselves to be a leading force in the boomer shooter genre with games like Dusk and Ultrakill (which once I get through those ill review each of them) and they have been a big influence for indie devs that want to recreate that boomer shooter magic and I can't wait for more games from them especially their next game Fallen Aces.

Amid Evil is a very well made boomer shooter. Level design, sound design and artstyle are all really strong in this one. All the weapons remain relevant throughout the whole game, even the axe you start with, which is something you almost never see (imagine using the knife in Serious Sam in later levels for example). Some weapons really need some getting used to, but once you figured out how to use them effectively, they are all great. I just wish there were one or two more weapons in the game and that you could switch soul mode on and off whenever you please instead of having to fill the meter completely and then having to use it all up at once. Movement and platforming feel tight and there was no really frustrating or unfair moment in the game. I can recommend this game to anyone that likes boomer shooters.

YEAH BOYYY!
7,5/10 - Length
8,0/10 - Enjoyment
9,5/10 - Perfomance/Bugs
7,0/10 - Story/Experience
8,0/10 - Gameplay

Score = 8,0/10

NOTE: only played the demo

i am obsessed with the aesthetics and the level design, they remind me of a ps1-era game but upscaled to the modern day, which is great.

however! i really dislike how it's basically just guns with fantasy skins. the melee-looking weapons are just guns. the staves are guns. everything is guns. the ammo is called "mana", but again, it's just guns.

there doesn't seem to be any depth or complexity to the combat, either. weapon-swapping is too slow to set up anything interesting, there're no environmental interactibles, no powerups, no alternative movement aside from a slow crouch and a toggle walk...

there's nothing to do except shoot folks with your not-guns, and even that feels meh. strafe and spam, all day long, nothing else.

Replaying the campaign on EVIL difficulty with Warrior and Auto-Soul modes enabled has rocketed Amid Evil into my favorites.

This is still one of the best looking FPS titles ever produced and maintains an overall high level of quality throughout its levelset. The only points of chaffing I encountered is the occasionally brutal difficulty of The Forges, which was still more than manageable. Thanks to each of the seven episodes having a custom enemy roster, the campaign ended up feeling much longer than its actual runtime is due to how memorable each chunk of the game is allowed to become.

Each episode has its own tone and slightly altered flow for the combat encounters. The different tiers of enemies across the episodes can have altered vulnerabilities to the arsenal, continually mixing up the gamefeel slightly. Coupled with how each level was designed to accomodate the Warrior mode, the order of acquisition of the arsenal within a level adds a whole other layer of complexity. It's a testament to how well balanced the weapons are that I was often delighted to acquire the Azure Staff even after I had previously reacquired the Voltride in the same level. Said arsenal also plays very well without crosshairs, which I always appreciate. I prefer to have unobstructed views of enemies and environs wherever possible.

The Arcane Expanse looks like a manifestation of the palaces I wandered in childhood dreams, and I want more. Perfection.