Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of One Rotten Oath to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
Table of Contents
What is One Rotten Oath?
One Rotten Oath is a unique narrative game that combines FMV visuals with retro shooter gameplay. Check out the Steam demo today.
Hook
Civilization crumbles under the influence of a mysterious chemical leak. People turn into rabid blood thirsty monsters, and survivors do their best to fight them off. You are one of the few survivors who keep watch at one of humanities last outposts. Using you limited resources, you must keep the monsters at bay. Can you survive long enough for help to arrive? Is help ever going to come? You will need to play to find out.
Gameplay
One Rotten Oath is an omage to the the old school FPS in the best possible way. There are two main game loops: limited exploration and base defense. In limited exploration, players move through a small map as they fight off waves of enemies. In base defense, players fight off waves of zombies before they can destroy the barrier. As the player progresses through the story, the game introduces new, harder enemies to fight off. The choices made during a round affects the ending. While the game is short, there are multiple endings a player can try to unlock.
Review
I’ve been reviewing long enough where there are games I play that I’ll forget. Every so often however, there comes a game that tries something weird, and those are the games that tend to stick with me. One Rotten Oath is one of those weird unique gems that comes across my table that helps me appreciate game creation as an art for story telling. This is one of those games I will have to recommend because of how good of an experience it is. This is a game that was made all the way out of the box and tells a captivation story that you need to try at least once. The game does deal with themes of substance abuse and suicide, so this is your content warning.
Aesthetic
Where do I even start? The blend of FMV and old school graphics is a fantastic choice. I love the retro feel of the world. Even though the maps are small, there is enough flavor sprinkled throughout to make it feel larger than it is. I am a huge fan of FMVs, and I appreciate the dev’s unique use of it for story telling and gameplay. The monsters being videos of actors with a filter over is a little silly, but it works. The sounds and music create the perfect horror atmosphere. I really adore the contrast between the FPS bits and the FMV cutscenes. It all comes together to tell an excellent story, and I am 100 percent here for it.
Story
It’s hard to write about the story because I don’t want to spoil anything. The reason the game works so well is because of how well it tells its story. The game is a framed narrative that explores the struggles of game creation and contrasts it against the struggles of surviving the apocalypses. The meta story is well done, and I love how creatively the dev blends the two stories. There are multiple endings, and I’m pretty sure I got the bad one. I am not mad, I will just have to try again.
Gameplay
The game looks simple, and the first level will have you think that it is. As you progress through the story, the game scales nicely. It adds mechanics, new enemies, and choices that affect the ending. This isn’t a game you can sit back and mindlessly click your way through the ending like one of those romance FMVs. The monsters will kill you, and there is a secret ending you need to try for. I appreciate that I am able to relive some of that old school FPS gameplay with a modern story and a modern flare. No notes. 10/10.
Conclusion
One Rotten Oath is one of my favorite games for its unique take on story telling and video game design. This is one of those game you need to try once just to appreciate it as the art form that it truly is. If you have a couple hours to experience a real and relatable story, and don’t mind the horror elements, One Rotten Oath should be in your library.
You can pick up One Rotten Oath on Steam. If you want to try another weird retro FPS, check out El Paso: Nightmare.