Forkscythe: It's a Game With a Fork and a Scythe

Forkscythe is a retro FPS that advertises itself as the "ultimate horror action game." Armed with a pitchfork and a scythe (who would've thought), you must shoot down floating skulls in a nightmarish arena.

Let's get the verdict out of the way. I'd call this game "barebones," but there's too much gristle to even give it that. It is capital E.A. "Early Access."

I guess I can see how this can be construed as a fast-paced game. It's fast in the sense that I wanted to quickly close the game, and paced like I'm trudging through a swamp with my eyes gouged out. The visuals are messy and the animations don't impress me one bit.

If this was a flash game on Newgrounds in 2010, I would've played it in class instead of doing what was assigned. This isn't 2010, though, and I wouldn't have much fun regardless. There just isn't enough polish to warrant a rating higher than 1/5.

It is a video game that can be played. That's it.

I'm not a game developer, but I do know a bit about games. Removing the tree branches holding a rear-view mirror would be a helpful start. They're more of a visual impairment than anything.

I'd also like to see some better weapon animations or attacks in general. It's very unclear what is actually going on when all you do is wiggle your farm tools like wet noodles. God save the Italian man in hell if this is what he has to deal with.

If the goal is to make a fast-paced retro-FPS, it might also be wise to implement a movement mechanic of some sort. Placing obstacles and ramps to create verticality could do wonders, but that might stray too far from the dev's intended direction.

ForkSpaghetti is a strange entry. The developer left no trace of themself connected to the game, so I can't tell if this is an actual game or part of an amateur ARG. I hope it's the latter, but expectations have let me down once already.

Forkscythe is currently in early access and arrives to Steam (18+) on January 25 with a current price tag of $4.99. I can't really recommend it unless you're invested in its development.

The game has promise, but so did I back in middle school and here I am now.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://keymailer.co