It seems like an FPS campaign is a rare treat nowadays, especially outside of DOOM and Call of Duty. That is why when a new one hits my radar I get tentatively excited. I can’t help, but wonder ‘Perhaps this will remind of the glory days of FPS campaigns’. That is apart of what I thought going into playing Altered Orbit Studios first game, Selaco. After experiencing this game I can definitively state that this was a Single Player Experience that I was different than I was expecting.
Let’s dive into it.
The Narrative:
In Selaco, you play as the security captain of Selaco, a massive facility that houses the last bastion of humanity in a sci-fi future where Earth’s is gone due to an explosion. Thanks to said invasion, your job is to do one thing: kill the aliens and explore Selaco – while killing more aliens. For people who like a deep, well-scripted narrative you are going to be well out of luck with this game.
The Gameplay:
I love that the game looks like something out of the Ps2 and N64 Generation yet feels fluid like a modern FPS. The game feels like a mixture of playing Halo and Doom with some modern gameplay elements…which is a combination that I didn’t know that I needed in my heart right now. I’m glad that I got to experience it.
The gunplay in Selaco is fabulous, with weapons that are loud and powerful. Even the pistol, usually a trash firearm in old-school shooters, is a head-cracking magnum that you can upgrade into a fast-firing death machine. In fact, most of the guns in Selaco can be upgraded to improve their stats or unlock new features.
Combat is incredibly meaty and reactive. Physics and particle effects decorate entire environments as firefights are going on (Just watch either of the video trailers on the store page for a taste of how hectic things get), and discovering weapons’ strengths and weaknesses, incorporating your slide-tackle, and even throwing a quick melee stun for good measure now and then are all manoeuvres you’ll learn to appreciate and develop compared to many other corridor shooters which favour a flatfooted approach to exchanging gunfire.
The game has three game difficulties, an easy, a normal/Commander difficulty for those familiar with FPS games, and a hard mode that is for those who like punishment. I played on the normal one and it is a real challenge.
Additional Pros:
The game looks fantastic with a nostalgic Doom atmosphere. The meticulous attention to detail in terms of settings, characters, extraterrestrials, and firearms is extremely commendable and valued. You can discern that this studio aimed for a specific aesthetic and they executed it flawlessly.
It’s a positive aspect that the sound design is exceptional — whenever adversaries call out to each other to strategize against you, you gain some insight into their locations. It’s also crucial to heed enemy footsteps, though tracking them becomes simpler as they thump along the industrial pathways of the space station.
Cons/Flaws:
The electronic soundtrack is commendable and enhances the game’s atmosphere, yet there are not many tracks, so you hear the same rhythms repeatedly. This is something that grated on my nerves after extended gameplay sessions.
This game is easy to become disoriented in. It would have been preferable if there was an icon or map indicating your next objective. It features intricate maps that are arduous to navigate, primarily because the passages and rooms can blend into one another at times, making it challenging to discern where to proceed next. Usually, it’s fairly evident, as a burst of adversaries indicates you’re at least in the right vicinity, or the map distinctly identifies the colored door you seek. However, there are instances where retracing your steps through quieter areas becomes exasperating, as the game doesn’t sufficiently dissuade you from revisiting numerous previous paths nor aid you in identifying the inconspicuous vent concealed amid the labyrinth of passages that a sense of déjà vu caused you to overlook.
I’ll be frank with you, the story left me somewhat disheartened. Selaco doesn’t effectively introduce you to its universe, the circumstances, or even who you are as a character.
Overall/Should you Play Selaco Review:
This is a easy question to answer if you like FPS campaigns. It is a resounding yes. Selaco gives players a strong throwback feeling to yesteryears, and provides a modern FPS that is easily the best of 2024 so far. This game is polished, fluid, well-thoughtout, and a joy to play. I can’t understate how good this game is and I can’t wait for it to be on as many platforms as possible so that non PC gamers can play it.
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Reviewed on PC
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