The anticipated sequel to Forgive Me Father, released from early access at the end of October 2024, and delivers an experience almost similar to the first part. It mixes the frenetic combat of Arena Shooter FPS like Doom Eternal and the graphics of the game XIII with the cosmic horrors of HP Lovecraft. Forgive Me Father 2 offers a unique experience for fans of these genres. Now that you have been warned, here is my opinion on the subject.
Presentation and history
The events of Forgive Me Father 2 takes place some time after Forgive Me Fatherfirst of the name. Although these two games have a story secondary to the gameplay, fans of Lovecraftian stories will find what they are looking for.
The graphics, at first glance primitivesare reminiscent of a comic strip. This rendering looks a lot like Ubisoft's game XIII (back when Ubisoft made a variety of games). This aesthetic makes it possible to bring cosmic horrors to life without the horror aspect being in the foreground.to the detriment of action. The entire project runs here under Unreal Engine 5, with interactive elements such as enemies and objects to collect sprites.
The story of Forgive me Father 2 therefore follows the first part. Here we find ourselves interned in a psychiatric asylum. The levels are a sort of exploration of the priest's psychic, his past and his state of mind. The latter thus allow a wide variety of settings while having a narrative sense.
Gameplay
FMF2 (Forgive me Father 2), like its predecessor, is an “Arena FPS”. The gameplay loop involves shooting a wide variety of enemies with varying skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Each level is explored in a more or less linear manner and is populated with dangerous enemies. However, no adversary demands an absurd amount of ammunition. FMF2 focuses on arena architecture and enemy variety to provide a challenge to the player. CEach type of enemy is easily identifiable in a large melee. Each projectile has a unique geometry and color, helping the player in a fraction of a second to identify the enemies present.
Each level is also strewn with secrets containing ammunition and collectibles. These will unlock new weapons and active and passive skills. The amount of ammunition, healing and armor is limited. Which will encourage you to use all the arsenal available. Fortunately, all six weapon types are unlocked after about four levels. They include a melee weapon, handgun, buckshot rifle, assault rifle, explosives and exotics. Each type has four different variations to unlock between levels. These weapon variants differ not only in their appearance, but in their use as well. For example, the buckshot gun can be a pump shotgun, or a Winchester type gun which uses an octopus and its ink as a projectile.
“Each type of enemy is easily identifiable in a large melee”
Each weapon has specifications that must be taken into account to be able to have a wide variety of tools to defend yourself. A good mix of these parameters will be the keys to your success, especially at higher difficulty levels.
Each level is interspersed with a visit to the psychiatric asylum. Enough to give you the opportunity to read letters sent from a friend, revisit old levels and most importantly, unlock new weapons and passive and active powers from the dark tome. The Dark Tome is an item that allows you to equip three passive or active skills during combat.
Positive points of Forgive me Father 2
What makes a good Arena Shooter is the quality of its combat, the music and its environments. FMF2 covers these aspects successfully. Each level, which is either an element of the priest's past or an aspect of his psychic, offers a varied environment. Which by extension makes the fights more interesting, especially the more “Lovecraftian” levels.
The variety of weapons is also a main point of the game. It is even for me the main element that kept me hooked outside of the environments. The design that encompasses your weapons is an artistic expression. I don't have another game in mind, other than Half-Life Opposing Force, which lets me shoot a rifle that reloads with pustular buboes, an organic gun that reloads with blood vials, a spear missile with teeth that recharges with a screwdriver stuck in the jaw. Or even a cirripede which recharges itself with a fish as an offering.
This is surely a very subjective positive aspect, but this artistic enthusiasm is not only present throughout, but it is also what kept me hooked for 25 hours.
A final point to raise is the existence of a “new game +”, which allows you to alter several elements of the game such as the life of enemies, permanent death and much more.
The negative points of Forgive me Father 2
There are few truly objectively negative elements that one can identify. But several situations come to mind. If we get hit by an enemy, it's usually our fault. Either we didn't dodge correctly or we put ourselves at a disadvantage with the wrong weapon in hand. However, as opponents have no concept of visibility, often the shots can come from an enemy whose existence we were completely unaware of as it was hidden behind a pile of giant multi-colored mushrooms. These situations inevitably lead to overuse of the quicksave recharge, which somewhat cuts off the natural momentum of an Arena FPS.
Conclusion
Forgive me Father 2 is an Arena FPS with Frenetic combat, with unique weapons and varied environments. Passive and active powers, as well as unlocked weapons, give players a lot of possibilities and the story, if you pay attention, tells of the torment of a person who must face his pastaccept it and face the cosmic God who has haunted him since the first game.
The main appeal largely depends on whether you like hordes of monsters, Lovecraftian cosmic horrors and Arena FPS, because that's ultimately what it's all about. Everything surrounding these elements is just nice garnish. That said, if these three elements speak to you, Forgive me Father 2 is an excellent experience that will scratch that desire for carnage, in a unique environment.
