From the creator of Envy the Dead and The Tape comes the horror FPS title, Putrefaction. The title has a simple premise, which sums up to a new plague has begun to spread and it has been infecting people, transforming their bodies in a ravenous manner. To combat the epidemic, a special force was created and lucky you, you're part of it. Sent on a mission to recon an abandoned base in the mountains, you must find the source of the disease and put a stop to it.
As you can tell, the game doesn't have the most thrilling of plots nor does it have much in the way of written context either. In fact the only snippet of story you get in-game is at the very beginning and that's it. If you've ever played Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament, Serious Sam, Painkiller, or any plethora of semi-wave based shooters, then you've already played a better version of Putrefaction. The title introduces nothing new, it doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it certainly isn't one of the best out there. However, for an indie game it's decent, and given the fact that it's developed in Unity Personal Edition it's surprising that it runs at a mostly stable 144Hz; only dipping down when a lot of enemies and gore are on the screen. Speaking of blood and guts, there's a pleasing amount in Putrefaction, and your shots can also dismember your foes.
Basically, you wander along a fairly linear path over the course of 8 levels, picking up weapons, ammo, and health as you go. Occasionally the game will put up a barrier to make you stop, forcing you to kill a few waves of enemy spawns before letting you progress forward. The environments are fairly empty and open, but the assets and lighting are adequate; you will wander through some catacombs, an underground cavern, and a few research labs. The enemy models are uncommon, and it's nice to see a Unity game that doesn't have the same old tired monsters. Surprisingly there are a good amount of weapons that include a shotgun, freeze gun, rocket launcher, energy gun, and your standard rifle, and each of them have a special alternate fire mode.
Personally, this game made me disoriented several times. I'm not one for motion sickness, but a combination of the headbob, weapon recoil, and especially the awful way the character jerks around when he gets hurt is completely dizzying. It would be nice if there was a feature to disable these side effects, or at least turn them down quite a bit, as this is the biggest downfall of the game. Another down point is that the developer made the end boss neigh impossible on the hardest difficulty, so be prepared for an unfair "challenge" if you choose to go that route. On the upside, Putrefaction does boast an acceptable soundtrack that's reminiscent of a knock-off Nine Inch Nails.
Overall, Putrefaction is a mediocre horror FPS. It's your basic Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament, etc. clone, but for a low budget indie title it really isn't that bad. Mind you, you're going to be asking yourself why you're not just playing Doom or Quake or Blood instead, but after you've spent the 30-40 minutes it takes to beat the game plus the additional time for the survival mode achievements (if you care), you can go play something better. If you're willing to give it a shot, grab it on sale for a buck, otherwise just wait until you have nothing better to do.
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