WRATH: Aeon of Ruin Review Summary

Satisfying weapons and excellent retro Quake-engine levels packed with secrets, but huge, lengthy maps and scarce ammo cause frustration.

Satisfying weapon feel praised: Weapons are consistently described as satisfying, meaty, and well-animated, with excellent visual and audio feedback. The selection is diverse and multifunctional, making combat enjoyable.

Excellent level design highlighted: Levels are huge, well-thought-out, and intricately designed, offering great exploration and rewards. The scale and technical quality of the maps are frequently praised.

Retro shooter aesthetic appreciated: The game successfully captures the aesthetics of 90s shooters, often compared to Quake and Heretic. It is praised as a great old-school or boomer shooter.

Positive overall gameplay impressions: Players widely regard the gameplay as good, polished, and fun, with smooth and fluid performance. The game is generally well-received for its core mechanics.

Enjoyable visual style and graphics: The visual style is enjoyable and the graphics are perfect for the genre, making the game gorgeous and pretty. The art direction and aesthetics are frequently praised.

Excessive level size and length: Many players report that levels are too large and too long, often taking 25 minutes to over an hour to complete. This leads to fatigue and a tedious experience, especially in later acts.

Publisher/third-party launcher issues: The addition of a publisher or third-party launcher has caused numerous problems, including breaking Steam Deck compatibility and failing to launch the game properly. Many players find the launcher unnecessary and intrusive.

Weapon and enemy variety lacking: Both weapon and enemy variety are criticized as insufficient, with many enemies and weapons appearing early and then repeating. This leads to repetitive combat and a sense of staleness.

Confusing navigation without map: The lack of any map system makes it easy to get lost in the large, interconnected levels. Players frequently feel disoriented and frustrated when trying to find objectives.

Scarce ammo and frequent shortages: Ammo is often scarce, forcing players to constantly search for it. This issue is exacerbated on higher difficulties, making the game frustrating and less enjoyable.

Old-school FPS identity: Reviewers consistently describe the game as an old-school first-person shooter in the vein of Quake and Doom. It is an arena-style, atmospheric shooter that deliberately evokes classic 1990s FPS design.

Weapon variety and alt-fires: Reviews highlight a wide arsenal of weapons with multiple ammunition types and alternate fire modes. Melee weapons and iconic guns like the double-barrel shotgun are also frequently mentioned.

Soul Tether save system: The game uses limited save tokens called Soul Tethers, supplemented by healing shrines that auto-save. This design is widely discussed as a deliberate anti-save-scumming mechanic with an option to enable unlimited saves instead.

Huge labyrinthine levels with secrets: Levels are described as gigantic, labyrinthine, and packed with secrets, shortcuts, and open environments. The scale and non-linear design are recurring praise points across many reviews.

Campaign structured in acts: The campaign is divided into multiple acts or episodes, with several reviews detailing three hubs each containing multiple large levels and boss fights. This episodic structure gives the game a clear progression path.

Smooth Performance and Optimization: Many players report smooth, stable performance with high frame rates and no stutters or crashes, even on lower-end hardware or Early Access.

Linux and Steam Deck Compatibility: The game runs natively on Linux and Steam Deck, but often requires specific Proton versions or fixes. Some updates improve compatibility.

Launcher Prevents Game Launch: Players report that the Fulqrum Publishing launcher stops the game from launching directly. Issues include the game refusing to start or requiring multiple attempts on Steam Deck.

Memory Leak and High RAM Usage: Saving the game consumes 2-4GB of RAM each time, leading to crashes from running out of memory and progressive stuttering. Restarting and reloading temporarily fixes the issue.

Frequent Crashes and Instability: The game crashes regularly, sometimes every 5-7 minutes, and some crashes happen during loading. This severely impacts playability.

Not recommended: A number of reviewers do not recommend the game, some citing its current state or personal preference. Others advise against buying it altogether.

Recommended for boomer shooter fans: Fans of boomer shooters and old-school FPS games highly recommend it. It appeals to those who enjoy classic 90s shooters.

Recommended for Quake fans: The game is recommended for fans of Quake, Turok, Painkiller, and similar classic shooters. However, some suggest playing Quake and its mods instead, as they are superior.

On sale recommended: Many reviewers recommend buying the game on sale, warning against full price. The game is worth it at a discount but not at full price.

Highly recommended: Many reviewers highly recommend the game without hesitation. They express strong positive sentiment.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 29.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Players consistently report Wrath as a repetitive, tedious slog that does not reliably become fun, even in later episodes.

Friction: Repetitive enemy encounters; Tedious level design; Limited save system; Ammo scarcity; Bullet-sponge enemies; Confusing navigation.

Movement-First Arena Veteran: Fast, momentum-driven strafing and bunnyhopping through combat encounters. Motivation: Chasing satisfying high-skill movement and fast, old-school arena combat. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Challenge Seeker: Plays on high difficulty, self-restricting saves and pushing through brutal encounters. Motivation: Overcoming an extremely hardcore, punishing shooter that rewards patience and dedication. Stance: buy.

Completionist Achievement Hunter: Plans multiple runs, targets achievements, and optimizes progress toward full completion. Motivation: Unlocking achievements and reaching 100% completion across repeated playthroughs. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: WRATH: Aeon of Ruin is playable on Steam Deck but requires manual tinkering: the default Proton version is wrong and often prevents launch, and the third-party launcher creates additional boot problems in Game Mode. Controller support is present but criticized for dead zones, poor mapping, and missing aim assist. Positive reports of native Linux builds and Luxtorpeda show the game can run well once configured. The experience does not work out of the box and does not merit Verified status.

Linux and Proton: Linux/Proton support is mixed. The game can run very well through the native Linux build or Proton Experimental, with positive reports of stability and performance. However, multiple users report that the default Steam configuration selects a wrong or non-working Proton version, and the Fulqrum Launcher often requires custom launch options or executable selection to bypass. This creates repeated launch and setup friction that goes beyond minor tweaks, even though workarounds and native options exist.

Quake-inspired comparisons dominate feedback: Many reviewers compare the game to Quake, Heretic, Doom, Hexen, and similar classic shooters. This reflects the game's strong influence from 90s FPS titles.

Extended early access period noted: Players frequently mention that the game was in early access for several years before full release. This long development phase is a common point of discussion.

Publisher launcher causes inconvenience: A launcher was added by the publisher, which some players find unnecessary. It was introduced after release, and workarounds exist to bypass it.

Troubled development history mentioned: Some reviewers describe the game's development as troubled or going through 'development hell'. This perception stems from delays and a protracted cycle.

Playtime varies around 20-30 hours: Reviewers report completion times ranging from 18 to 30 hours, with 100% completion taking longer. This indicates a substantial game length.