What really sells Chop Goblins is how much game-y it is. Pretty weird thing to say about something that doesn't try to experiment or present some unique with its gameplay at all. The only thing that could be said is that Chop Goblins features lack of jump button just like in first comers of the FPS-genre like original Wolfenstein and first Doom. In that sense, it's definitely retro besides the graphics.
This limitation for the player resulted in more grounded look towards the design of Chop Goblins. While the arenas themselves can't present a challenge for similar game with the ability to jump, here (it seems) player will have to think twice before moving forward. Carelesness is something that most modern shooters try to aboid by giving more options to escape, but this game goes the other direction and asks to just consider your movement.
Strictly speaking, shooters are always about navigation more than anything else. Even the act of shooting a target can't be done without putting your cursor on it. While movement shooters present an additional challenge with more options to navigate, it can be argued that they're temporarily break the 'shooter' gameplay for one moment and become only about 'movement'. Getting rid of options to move helps focus on combat more closely.
Obviously I'm not saying that movement shooters are bad in any way, I just wanted to point that out.

I care for this little silly game too much to admit. It's short and won't waste any of your time.

It's a near perfect experiment that well reflects what I hope the future of games looks like overall. A smaller, cheaper experience that doesn't sit too long, allowing concepts to stay simple and exciting even in spite of mechanics and design being FPS fixtures that have existed so long a lot of players have them memorized to the core.

Much like another tight, bite-sized shooter experience I loved playing this year (Post Void) Chop Goblins rewards score chasing, optimization, and the nature of social competition by delivering a gory, fast, and at times adorable faux-retro FPS that I played through three times I had so much fun. You'll especially love it as a moment to breathe between modern titles with longer runtimes and commitments. Hope you like it if you try it! More short but sweet games like this please! :3

Chop Goblins is small and simple, and hides its craftsmanship under that layer of simplicity and simpleness. Most elements of the game are there just enough to create unique and thoughtful gameplay experiences. Despite such a small weapon and enemy palette, each level tells its own story with its own gameplay and environment elements. Those tiny environment elements really do a lot of heavy lifting with making each level feel like a special experience.

It also genuinely surprised me how well balanced around weapon affordances the harder gamemodes were. Playing Goblin Mode with the original weapon progression versus playing it with secrets/Once Again Mode weapons is a totally different experience. The game you play between those two modes is so different it almost feels like two different gamemodes packaged into one game setting, with the actual dividing logic being the player's own prior knowledge or game choices.