In the 90s you couldn’t escape the rise of first-person shooters, especially on PC. The likes of Doom, Duke Nukem and Quake played a pivotal role in bringing the fledgling genre to new heights. Now, Carnal, a retro-inspired first-person shooter from developer JG Roos, is looking to revive those classic games with its own brand of no-nonsense blasting action.
Designed as a budget title, currently costing just 39p on Steam, it has all the tropes of a classic 90s shooter from shotguns to keycards. You control Carnal with either mouse and keyboard or a controller and has a surprising amount of accuracy while keeping that retro feel as you swing your boomstick around the screen.
Set across three episodes, each broken down into several different levels, you will be faced with humans, aliens and monsters that will relentlessly chase you down. Carnal is tough, think Nightmare! in Doom levels of difficulty. You will die a lot but can find extra lives that keep you going, at least for a while.
The weaponry on offer is fairly standard, pistols, automatic rifles and rocket launchers as well as grenades make up your arsenal. Just like the classics, ammo is scarce and your big weapons will need to be used sparingly. You can also pick up armour that comes as full body suit and as small shards and its vital you explore your surroundings to seek these out.
Caranl doesn’t reinvent the genre but is a fantastic homage to the first-person shooters of old. Fun moments, such as flushing the toilets to find health pickups, are reminiscent of Duke Nukem. While tricky jumping sections will remind you of Doom.
Graphically, Carnal is intentionally los-res with 2D bitmaps and low polygon objects. The levels are varied though, ranging from construction yards to supermarkets and the enemy variety is impressive. If you like old-school shooters then this is worth picking up for the price alone. Just don’t expect to be provided with anything new or revolutionary.
