Developer: Angry Demon Studio
Publisher: Angry Demon Studio, Digerati, Perpetual Entertainment
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Apsulov: End of Gods – Review
It sometimes takes a while for a PC game to get ported to consoles, and more than often it’s a simple port to reach a bigger audience. This happens to be the case for Apsulov: End of Gods, which was already released back in 2019. The Sci-Fi Horror game with a lot of Norse mythology embedded into its gameplay and story was received quite well at the time, but didn’t prove to be a truly groundbreaking experience. Nonetheless, most who actually bought and played the game enjoyed its short melange of different styles. Now, we are taking a look as to how relevant the game still is after two years, on the next generation of consoles. Physical collectors may be pleased to hear that the game has a physical release for PS4 and PS5.
Story
Truth be told, in the first hour of the game, you’ll barely have any notion of what is going on. We also didn’t really realize that this game is actually a sequel to another game, Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn. We reckon playing Unforgiving might make things a bit more clear for Apsulov. Nonetheless, the game throws you in a situation where a seemingly mad scientist wakes you up on an operating table. You’ll immediately be given commands and disobeying them may cause you to get killed on the spot. After this, you make your escape, and soon you’ll find yourself trying to prevent the destruction of all realms, with a lot of references to Norse mythology. This may sound a bit simplistic, but that’s all there is to it. Those who are very familiar with Norse mythology will probably get a lot more enjoyment out of the game’s story, compared to those who are just looking for a standard horror experience.
Graphics
It’s odd to exactly place our finger on the issue with Apsulov‘s graphical prowess, but the game manages to look both great and dated at the same time. Many areas or backdrops feel as if they were designed by different teams, to be glued together upon the game’s release. We have seen amazing textures throughout the game, and even some impressive sights to behold. But we’ve also seen the exact same corridor and obstacles being used throughout the game’s duration, and we have seen many janky animations on top of that. If you’re buying this on your PS5 to have a true next-gen experience, you’ll probably end up being very disappointed. Again, the game looks quite good, and it eradiates the proper atmosphere, but a last-gen console could easily handle this experience as well.
Sound
The sound design in Apsulov is quite decent. The voice acting will not immediately blow you out of the water, but it does the trick. The atmospheric backdrop also heightens the tension, giving you the impression that behind every corner something is waiting for you. You won’t have a memorable soundtrack to enjoy, but everything feels very functional and does what it sets out to do.
Gameplay
Apsulov: End of Gods is a fairly simplistic Sci-Fi Horror game that throws a lot of Norse mythology in the mix. The game is very straightforward and relies heavily on the atmosphere it’s trying to create. You’ll more than often go from point A to B, to eventually backtrack to point A again in order to open a door. As the game progresses, you’ll get stronger thanks to your bionic arm (Járngreipr), which allows you to fight back or open doors thanks to its magical properties. The game remains fairly simplistic (on lower difficulties), as the puzzles are never really complex and often revolve around backtracking, as mentioned before. Your arm does get a few new properties the further you play, but everything remains quite superficial, as once again, the game focuses more on its atmosphere than creating a very complex experience.
In all honesty, there is not that much more to describe the game’s gameplay. You’ll walk around, trying to avoid ghoulish entities, while trying to progress to the next area. You’ll slowly get more powerful, allowing you to use more abilities or to simply use a certain ability more than once. The overall formula works well, but we feel that sometimes the controls feel a bit clunky and the UI could also use a small overhaul. All in all, you’ll be able to plow through the game in roughly five hours, and things become fairly interesting as you go. Other than a few more tedious bits, the game never truly becomes challenging puzzle-wise.
Conclusion
Apsulov: End of Gods is not the best horror game on the market, but it does try to create an original experience and it does a fairly good job at that. While the gameplay remains quite simple, and the beginning of the game is quite vague, the game does manage to pull you in, and before you know it, the end credits start rolling. We liked the concept, and the execution was decently handled. Nonetheless, we do have to mention that this is not really a next-gen game at all, and you can easily enjoy it on a last-gen console as well, or simply pick it up at a lower price on PC.
No Comments