KINGDOM of the DEAD

I went in expecting another Doom clone wearing a costume, and what I found instead was something genuinely handcrafted in the most literal sense possible. Every texture in KINGDOM of the DEAD was drawn on paper and scanned in by solo developer Philip Willey, giving the game the look of a fever-dream EC Comics issue rendered in thick pencil scratch. That alone makes it worth booting up at least once, because the monochrome world, heavy blacks and sparing whites, does something atmospherically strange that a procedural shader pack never could. You play as Agent Chamberlain, a professor-turned-Army-General working for a secret bureau called GATEKEEPER, whose job is to close the gates Death keeps cracking open along the US East Coast. At his side is Sitis, a talking demonic sword with an eyeball in the handle, and together they work through eight missions set in locations ranging from small village streets to sprawling mansions. The setup is pulpy and thin, which is fine, because the story knows its own weight and mostly gets out of the way. Each level drops you in armed only with your sword and a revolver, then spaces out the arsenal as you push forward, handing over a shotgun, a hunting rifle useful for picking off airborne enemies, a minigun for crowd control, dynamite, and eventually a rocket launcher near the boss. None of it carries over to the next mission, which gives each stage a clean, self-contained rhythm. No reloading, no regenerating health, fast movement, checkpoints scattered thoughtfully so a bad run doesn't sting too much. Where the game earns real goodwill is in its feel. Movement is nimble and responsive, headshots are genuinely satisfying and the game rewards precision over spray-and-pray, and the enemy mix, sword zombies, sorcerers, large brutes, and creatures clearly inspired by Doom's Cacodemon, keeps the arenas lively enough. The secondary objectives on higher difficulties add fetch-quest layers to each level that, while simple, give returning players a reason to revisit. A post-launch patch also added an Endless Mode, an arena survival wave mode, which is the right kind of bonus for a game this compact. The cracks, though, are real. The bosses are the clearest disappointment: most can be handled by standing still and unloading the minigun, and the advertised "old-school" challenge never really materialises on the two lower difficulty settings. Visibility is a persistent frustration too. The monochrome art that makes the atmosphere so good also makes enemies blend into dark backgrounds, and some interior chambers are pitched so dark that navigation becomes fumbling rather than tense. The soundtrack, a light rock and synth-chip mix that swings between ominous and impish, is genuinely good in isolation but loops heavily across missions and overstays its welcome by the back half. Reports of crashes at launch were notable, though stability appears to have improved since. For what it is, a one-person project with a runtime of roughly four to five hours, KINGDOM of the DEAD is the kind of game I want to exist. The handcraft is undeniable. The art style will stay with you after you close the window. The shooting is fun enough to carry you through its brief campaign without frustration. Anyone hunting for a stylish, low-commitment horror FPS who can forgive soft bosses and occasional darkness-induced disorientation will find something worth their evening here. Those expecting the difficulty and systemic depth of DUSK or Ion Fury should adjust expectations accordingly.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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