Dread Templar Review (PC)

Dodging bombs is my least favorite activity. The big brutes who throw them have plenty of health, which means I need to deliver a lot of lead on target to eliminate them. And my character’s slow-motion power does not work great when engaging a single target. A gaggle of other enemies is also moving to my position, making it even harder to engage my primary target.

So I backpedal a little, draw in the melee monsters and use good shotgun headshots to take them down. I then switch to the bow to deal with some ranged enemies, using the slow-mo to make sure that they land no hits on me while I eliminate them. This clears the combat space a little and gives me more freedom to deal with the biggest opponent around. Of course, there’s always the danger that I ignored some monster and will have to quickly tweak my approach.

A dash gets me past a thrown bomb and the high rate of fire of my dual submachine guns eliminates the thrower. The problem is I attracted a few more enemies while pushing forward, and at least one of them shot me in the back. A quick pivot and some more slow-motion combat eliminate them but now I have to backtrack more to get to some health packs before I move forward to another enemy-filled room.

Dread Templar is developed by T19 Games and published by Fulqrum Publishing. I played on Steam on the PC. The title delivers a classic take on the first-person shooter genre, with a focus on fast movement and deadly weaponry.

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There’s little narrative to engage with. The player is a Templar, and he wants revenge. That involves moving through a range of levels, most of them clearly inspired by classic designs from the ‘90s. All of them are filled with enemies, monstrous and demonic, and they are very interested in the essence of this character. There’s more story offered when players move between levels but the focus is on relentless combat.

And Dread Templar does first-person shooter action very well. Everyone will understand the basics quickly. Move as fast as possible and try to stay out of the opponents’ lines of fire. A double katana that can be thrown or separated for close combat serves as the melee weapon. And very familiar double pistols offer the first ranged option. A shotgun quickly makes an appearance.

Even the starting enemies can quickly carve out a big chunk of health out of the protagonist. The fast zombies come in groups and are best handled in a tight space, using the shotgun. Bomb throwers often back them up, alongside very accurate ranged skeletons.

Gamers can use a dash to avoid attacks and put space between them and threats. And killing enemies in Dread Templar opens up a bullet time mode that’s very important when dealing with groups. The levels are littered with health, weapon, and ammo pickups, which sometimes require a little backtracking to get. Make sure to smash all crates and pottery in sight.

The combination of weapons, special abilities, level design, and enemy force composition, creates unique and purely fun engagements. The game really shines when it puts the player in a big arena, after some tight corridor fights, and throws a few groups his way while offering space to maneuver and manage how he engages them. I like the variety.

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I don’t love the jumping puzzles that the game sometimes feels the need to include, especially because they feature instant death. It simply doesn’t mix well with the rest of the experience and the focus on speed. The manual save locations also feel a little weird but make sure to use them, because they are mostly placed before the more difficult parts of a level.

Dread Templar also gives players upgrade choices for their character, using a simple system that allows for some variety in playstyle. But the bigger choices are centered on the player. I tended to keep the normal version of the shotgun always in hand because it’s excellent for corridor work and single enemies.

I also backtracked a lot while wielding the ammo-eating version of the pistols. I almost never used the katana. But I can see how all the other featured weapons can be used efficiently. And I really liked the moments when, low on ammo, I was forced to try out something new (that’s where slow motion comes in really handy).

Dread Templar also features a Guardian mode, an endless wave-based experience that asks players to destroy the same demons while protecting a crystal. The idea is to eliminate opponents before they can deal damage to it. Between waves, players can pick up new weapons and upgrades. The concept is well-executed but never offers the same excitement level as the campaign.

Dread Templar consciously adopts the retro look and makes it look good. The game is grainy, grimy, and filled with blood, designed to keep players on their toes at all times. The level design could have used some more variety and the game still has too much brown, despite the effort to deliver splashes of color. There’s fun in trying out the various graphics filters the developers have provided, although I could not use them for extended sessions. The soundtrack is very good, with pumping tracks that keep the adrenaline level up and the combat sounds feel heavy and powerful.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion