Amid Evil is a retro-FPS homage to Heretic and Hexen, Raven's Doom-powered fantasy-shooters from the mid-'90s. Nearly everything about it is ripped from a different era, including its blistering speed—"like a 1980s straight-to-VHS horror with fast forward locked on," as we said in our PAX Australia chat with the developers last year. Today, publisher New Blood Interactive revealed more gameplay in a new trailer showing off the "Hordes of Evil" endless mode, and more importantly announced an Early Access launch date of March 12, less than a week away.
The Early Access release will include three episodes taken from the campaign, as well as the Hordes of Evil mode shown in the trailer. The full game will feature seven episodes, each distinct and non-linear, with unique settings, enemies, secrets, and lore. Cheat codes will help deliver "a truly golden PC age experience," while the soundtrack comes courtesy of Andrew Hulshult, the composer behind Brutal Doom and, more recently, Dusk.
The great thing about a game like Amid Evil is that you know pretty much immediately if you want to play it. There's room for discussion about the quality of the experience, how it remains true to its roots versus how it's been modernized to appeal to contemporary gamers, but the bottom line is that you likely don't have to be sold on the idea: "A new Heretic in Unreal Engine 4" either brings all your boys to the yard, or it doesn't.
Amid Evil will go for $20 in Early Access. The full release will take place later this year.
