GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead is a new retro-FPS game that mixes elements of adventure games with 90s fast-paced shooter action, like Quake Arena. Created by Daev Team, the game is set to be released in segments as it is an episodic-release title.

The story mode for GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead follows Molly as she meets the other trapped souls and faces off against them in games such as Capture the Flag, Control, and the good, old-fashioned Deathmatch. In between games, Molly will discover hidden areas to explore, finding out what has happened to her and the other players in the game.

During a game, a hacker will boot everyone but Molly, and this will act as a boss fight, requiring you to beat the hacker, and later on, he calls on you for help, as he is also trying to stop what is going on.

With this being the first episode, there is also the addition of an Arena mode to play across the maps that are currently in the game, with good old classic game modes like Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch, and a few guns to play around with.

I would highly suggest the Bubble Gun, as they can bounce off walls and deal massive damage on impact. Sadly though, there is no online mode, so you will just be fighting bots in the arena, but on the hardest setting, they do offer a good challenge and bested me many times over.

The graphics are what you would expect for a game taking inspiration from the 90s arena shooters, so while it has a dated appearance, it gives a great throwback for the older gamers that grew up with these types of titles. The actions and movements were fast, which is great as it honestly made me feel like I was in my teens again, playing old-school arena shooters on the school network during lunch with my mates.

GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead features some awesome heavy metal while you’re exploring and dumping mags into your enemies, with some decent quality sound effects to reflect the weapon you’re using. At this stage, some characters will also feature voice lines when you interact with them, but being in the early stages, others do not have any.

My thoughts on the first drop of GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead is that it is a great throwback for 90s gamers. The blend of arena shooter to adventure for the story is done very well. Thankfully, there were no bugs or issues I encountered while playing, but the lack of online play for the Arena is a bit disappointing.

Still, it stands as a fun experience to play and I am very much looking forward to the next drop of content. I will be keeping tabs on the game’s progress, and each new addition will be covered as it is made available.

Written by: Shane Walsh