Oh, the nostalgia for Doom can create monsters!
Alien Cabal is a look back on what used to make classic FPS experiences in the 90s so enticing and yet so silly. I don't endeavor to say that I understand the motivation of the developers to make use of a graphical style that was long dead by the time this game was released, but it might just be that the developers were looking to create something that will entice those that loved Doom, Wolf 3D, Hexen and all those early 3D shooters of yore. Maybe shooters were not yet in their graphical prime in 97, but they sure were capable of lots more advanced graphics, but then again, Alien Cabal doesn't try to be modern, it tries to be silly and to poke a finger at the tropes of these older games. And at times it manages it, while other times it just plain gets it wrong. Yeah, I get that older games used recycled models over and over again and that their animations were poor, but well, to demonstrate that you're just using these models as a conscientious nod to the past, at least bring in a few monsters that are a bit well endowed graphically, just to counterpoint your overuse of the same models over and over again. Well, I can go on and on, but bottom line is this: this game, while on purpose or not is just unpolished, it is playable and fun, that dumb kind of fun, but you'll never be sure if it is you who's being poked in the eye or the games of the past. Just call it a poorly optimized, past inspired game, which kind of misses the mark.
