Mohrta is an incredibly cool, cryptic, sci-fi/fantasy FPS that once again proves there might just be no limit to what you can do on the venerable Doom (or GZDoom) engine. In a new trailer, developers Scumhead and Osiol have revealed that we don't have long to wait for the full game: Mohrta will release on Steam October 14.
There are so many new FPSes (and indie games in general) with retro throwback graphics and strange, "you won't find this in triple-A" art styles that it's harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. But Mohrta still caught my eye and won't let go. You play as some kind of interdimensional killing machine, an (allegedly) unfeeling assassin in head-to-toe armor that's part Jin-Roh, part Trench Crusade.
Their face is covered by a gas mask under a wide-brimmed helmet like a British WWI soldier, but the rest of the ensemble is all plate mail, and they carry an assortment of both medieval and modern weaponry. The demo showed off the sword, a fast-firing pistol, and a classic trench gun-style shotgun, while the trailers have previewed stranger fare like playing cards you throw like shuriken, a pile bunker, or dual flails.
Mohrta boasts a unique, decidedly un-Doom structure (more on that in a second), and its hub world really blew me away in the demo: A bazaar tucked away in a corner of some kind of interdimensional metropolis, with a look somewhere between Planescape, Morrowind, and The Fifth Element. The worlds you access from this hub are laid out similarly to Demon's Souls or Dark Souls 3, with each one boasting a unique look and, most impressively, slate of enemies.
Mohrta's demo showcases its version of a Green Hill Zone, the placid foothills of a forgotten heaven for warriors, the bucolic scenery interrupted by Greco-Roman ruins and skeletal enemies who have been buried for so long, they're caked with mud, moss, and mushrooms.
Worlds shown off from the full game include a Beksiński death wasteland and a desert with, what else, the industry-standard sand worm—but these ones are even weirder-looking than usual. I can't wait for this one, and you can wishlist Mohrta or check out its demo for yourself over on Steam.
