While for quite some time they were one of the most dominant genres in the industry, over time first-person shooters have more settled into a comfortable spot even with other popular genres, but not being cranked out at as steady a pace. Considering that for a while, outside of technical achievements that moved graphical looks and fluidity forward, the average shooter was feeling a little too similar to its brethren, slowing things down was probably for the best.

In the spirit of doing things a bit differently, and coming up with a style and flow of play that feels less familiar, I respect what the people behind Wrack: Reclamation have done. By infusing the genre with some simple, but effective, traversal skills that include a slide that can also be used to super-charge your jump, you can really get a decent flow going, as well as grab some power-ups and find periodic secret areas as well. When you’re able to get a kill chain going, whether with your guns or even your sword, there’s also a nice thrill factor, motivating you to do your best to keep them going with a little planning and strategy if you’re smart.

Unfortunately, those thrills really feel like what the developers were hoping to keep the game going, and while there’s some fun to be had, it can quickly start to feel a little stale mainly due to the repetition of it all. This isn’t anywhere near the likes of Bulletstorm, where you have so much going on in the environment and with your core skills that you can continue to change things up and destroy your enemies in a wide variety of ways. Given the pretty simplistic visual style, even if there were more elaborate things going on you likely wouldn’t get as much of a thrill out of it anyway, as the game’s look is quite underwhelming as a whole to boot. If you’re willing to work with what the game gives you, there’s some fun to be had here, just don’t expect a lot of depth from it in the end.