UNLOVED is a roguelite first person shooter. This combination isn’t hugely unique, but the way UNLOVED handles it is.
It plays a lot like Killing Floor or Left 4 Dead, but with a bigger focus on character progression. It uses a floor system that is fairly standard for dungeon crawler roguelikes and it works surprisingly well as a first-person shooter. You find upgrades as you play through the rooms, slowly getting better at killing. The flip side that keeps the game challenging is that enemies spawn based on you picking things up. This gives you the ability to have wildly different games depending on how much you take. The game also incorporates a lot of rougelite elements, allowing you to get farther and farther in the game thanks to the steady progression. You unlock new items that give small boosts as you play, which can be equipped onto your character from the start, rather than finding them each run. It’s clear from the design of certain enemies that much of the combat is pulled from DOOM, although it can make enemies seem a bit stale at times. Not having played the DOOM II mod this is a remake of, it is hard to tell which of the game’s issues are actual problems, and which are purposefully there to stay true to the original.
Visually, the game looks a bit dated and rough around the edges. Many of the enemies look blocky and unrefined. On the other hand, the sound design is great. There is a good variety in enemy sounds, so you can usually tell which enemies are around, once you play a few runs. It also creates an eerie atmosphere, thanks to the distant voices, screams, etc. The game’s audio does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the horror part of the game. Some enemies are also designed to be good at jump scares, which works well with the dim lighting and tense atmosphere.
The game’s main flaw is that it can get repetitive, and can only be played in short bursts. Still, it has a certain quality that keeps me coming back to play, even if it isn’t fun to play for long sittings. The replay value is there, it just needed more polish and refinement to be a great game.
