A free cute Doom-like FPS
Extraneüm is a free action video game wherein you must survive and fight back against hordes of alien creatures. Developed by David Jalbert, this 3D pixelated game is a strangely cute first-person shooter indie game that places emphasis on exploration and hunting for secrets.
Highly reminiscent of Doom and Wolfenstein’s brutal gameplay, Extraneüm’s aesthetic harkens back to old-school FPS titles that first inspired this subgenre of gunning down monsters in all its glory and gore. Take note, though, that this version is only the demo. It includes all gameplay features you can expect but doesn’t show a tutorial.
A need for overtime
EXTRANEÜM. You don’t know what it’s about so you’re surprised to suddenly find the facility you work at being besieged by alien-looking monsters one day. You must suppress the bloodthirsty creatures with nothing but your combat skills and your trusty gun and knife. However, the map also hides little secrets that you can uncover by exploring around.
Just like its inspirations, this game features heavy high-octane FPS action as you must constantly weave around enemies to avoid getting cornered. However, the graphics create a stark contrast to this as, instead of gruesome low-poly retro art, the world is set in a chibi-like style with its pixel art. It’s also a unique combination of 3D environments and reorienting 2D interactive sprites for both enemies and items.
Despite its appearance, Extraneüm actually offers solid shooter gameplay and is quite comparable to old FPS titles with how satisfying its shooting mechanics are. However, players new to the genre or unused to these kinds of FPS will have to fiddle around themselves, as there’s no tutorial available. The demo contains only one level but it’s lengthy to keep you occupied and properly highlights everything the game has to offer.
An adorable shooter game
All in all, Extraneüm is a great callback to retro FPS games and offers classic gameplay mechanics while keeping things looking fresh. While there’s no tutorial to guide you in the demo, you can easily pick up the controls and go about mastering them in a few minutes. There’s only one level to beat here but there are enough secrets and enemies to tempt you to achieve 100% level completion.
