Back in the 90s I always was quite fond of a certain pair of games from Raven Software. Built on the Doom engine, Heretic and Hexen had a familiar FPS feel but with a lovely medieval twist. Of course before Doom there was Wolfenstein 3D, and before that there was the Catacomb series. Pretty much the first major FPS type game, these dungeon crawlers had a first person viewpoint and were a load of fun to explore. And then came Raven Entertainment soon after, forging their own RPG FPS goodness into the mighty Doom engine with Heretic and Hexen, adding massive gameplay renovations along the way. And now in 2025 Emberheart Games has released Wizordum, a game that is most certainly a spiritual successor to all these awesome dark fantasy adventures from the past.
The first thing I noticed about Wizordum is how very much it resembles the catacomb games visually, though with a much more lovely modern pixel count. The gameplay just screams 90s FPS RPG, and even though the level layouts are more like Wolfenstein 3D with mostly flat squared off environments that lack slopes and the like, the combat and puzzle solving are pure Heretic and Hexen. As for the soundtrack, it really fits the mood with a delightful mix of orchestral themes that really carry the action and feel true to the genre. The overall production values for this package are all there for sure.
The only thing that really feels missing from the Switch version at this point is the level editor from the pc version which lets you craft your own campaign levels and share them online. Though it does come with a "best of" selection of levels built in from a recent map jam, it doesn't seem clear if the Switch version will get the editor any time in the future or not. Despite this omission however, the Switch version feels really smooth to play in both docked and handheld modes. and the controls work perfectly, even if they are a bit on the basic side (no motion controls here). When it comes right down to it, if you like medieval retro fps action, then I seriously recommend giving Wizordum a go.
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