Things are not looking good for me. I’m a few levels ahead Selacoa new FPS out now on Steam, and I’m stuck behind a bar while a group of sci-fi soldiers fire their rifles and shotguns into my hideout. I’m also low on health. So yeah, a bad situation. I take a deep breath and try something.
As smoothly as possible, I slide out from behind the bar, throw an ice grenade at the enemies, then run behind a wall. A moment later, there’s a bang and my enemies are frozen. I spot a propane tank nearby, pick it up, and throw it at them. A second later, I shoot it and watch them blow up. A notification pops up on my screen, letting me know that I’ve killed enough of the bastards to unlock a new milestone and get new materials to craft my assault rifle. Great!
Then I remember that the game I am playing – which allows me to do all this and more – is based on a modified version of the old Downfall Engine and giggle. This often happens in Selacoa game that rarely feels like it is built on old bones and outdated technology, but instead feels like a polished and modern shooter with some snazzy retro graphics. What is most surprising about Selaco is not it that it was developed in GZDoombut it might be one of the best shooters I’ve played in years.
Selaconow available via Early Access on Steam, is a first-person shooter set in the last surviving city that houses all of human civilization. And unfortunately for the people living there, an alien invasion is taking place and it’s up to you – a security guard – to fight them and save the day. Unlike Downfall and similar shooters of this time, Selaco actually has quite a bit of lore and world-building to delve into via email and terminals if that’s something you’re interested in. But if you’re just here to destroy bad guys with cool weapons, Selaco has plenty of them too.
This is not your grandfather’s boomer shooter
The shooting in Selaco is fabulous, with weapons that are loud and powerful. Even the pistol, usually a shotgun in old-school shooters, is a head-splitting magnum that you can upgrade into a rapid-firing death machine. In fact, most of the weapons in Selaco can be upgraded to improve their stats or unlock new features. This happens in upgradeable safe rooms that you find all over the world… and yes, you may realize that this is not Downfall.
This is something I really want to stress. Don’t expect it to go like Downfall or other contemporary shooters of the time. Instead Selaco plays more like Half-Life, Doom 3, or FEAR. You’ll need to take cover, run away to get a better angle, ambush unsuspecting enemies to gain an advantage, and carefully manage your ammo and health to survive this FPS. If you go in with a shotgun and no plan, you’ll probably be dead in a matter of seconds. And as you move through Selaco It increases the challenge and forces you to play carefully or die.
The big catch of Selaco for many will be the fact that it was developed with GZDoom – an open source port of the original Downfall Engine that includes new features and technologies not found in the old Id Software game from the 90s. In the first few hours of Selacowhen I saw a huge level full of individual objects that I could pick up and throw around, I shook my head and thought, “This is based on Downfall Tech. Wild!” But the novelty of this gimmick quickly faded and was replaced by another thought: “This is a damn cool game.”
Selaco is a more polished, better made, and more fun FPS than some AAA shooters I’ve played in recent years, developed by huge teams with modern engines and big budgets. And this thing is technically in Early Access!
In fact, I bet while you play Selaco You will quickly forget everything Downfall Origins as you run through the large, hand-crafted campaign maps filled with various enemies, puzzles and many secrets. This could be the real secret of Selaco: It is cool and impressive that it was built with Downfall Technology that is so much more than a retro throwback. It’s its own thing and one of the best shooters in 2024.
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