I’ve long thought that Lovecraftian cosmic horror is the heir apparent from the demons ‘n’ guns escapades seen in fast-paced FPS fare such as id Software’s DOOM. After all, there are few more suitably equipped settings that can offer up the level of grotesque baddies to blast apart and otherworldly environments to do it in than those imagined by Lovecraft and his ilk. So it is then that Forgive Me Father 2 aims to fill that very specific space and though flawed, it still manages to nonetheless provide an effective genre romp all the same.
Forgive Me Father 2 PS5 Review
A Grotesquely Gorgeous Though Flawed FPS Romp Through Lovecraftian Worlds
If you recall, when I looked at the first Forgive Me Father on the humble PS4 back in 2023, I said that it was ‘a deliciously crunchy, inventive Lovecraftian FPS that’s a little rough around the edges’. Well, in providing some level of consistency with its prequel, that same descriptor could also apply to Forgive Me Father 2, though it’s also true that this sequel does fall a little short when compared to its predecessors in other ways too.
First, let’s drill into the good stuff – Forgive Me Father 2 looks incredible for the most part. If the headlining screenshot accompanying this review wasn’t evidence enough, it’s abundantly clear that developer Byte Barrel has absolutely nailed the Lovecraftian aesthetic. Though the talented Polish developer also managed a similar feat with the first game, here the studio has completely outdone itself thanks to a strong combination of graphic novel style visuals, suitably disgusting enemies and a sizable uplift of environmental detail to create some truly atmospheric and equal parts terrifying environments.
In case you’re wondering where that uplift comes from, it comes courtesy of Unreal Engine 5 and along with it comes something of an all-too familiar double-edged technical sword. You see, while the dynamic lighting and particle effects are top-notch, along with environmental detail which is a clear notch above what we saw with the last game, such improvements come with unfortunate, though sadly familiar technical penalties.
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The most obvious of these penalties is the lack of stable frame rate, I regret to say. Quite simply, even on PS5 Pro, Forgive Me Father 2 really struggles to maintain a solid and consistent 60 frames per second during play. The most reliable causes for this tend to be when the screen is filled with projectile spitting enemies, and also for some reason wherever you encounter large open spaces containing bodies of water. There is also a stomach churning amount of judder which kicks in whenever you decide to ascend any stairs you come across too, which is less than ideal to say the least.
Still, on the subject of environments, Forgive Me Father 2 is somewhat hit and miss in this regard. While some of the maps in Forgive Me Father 2 tickle the imagination and bring their own subset of challenges and enemy types, such as the frequently impressive Botanic Garden map, other maps such as the Warehouse (dull grey warehouses filled with crates do predictably little to excite) and the Arctic area all just feel depressingly pedestrian and in the case of the latter, find themselves somewhat riddled with environmental clipping issues to boot.
As with the first game, Forgive Me Father 2 does indeed pack a story – and just the like the first game it’s also written extremely poorly and is supremely easy to ignore too. Beyond the fact that you’re not five minutes into the game before its title is uttered by the player controlled protagonist, causing my spine to cringe itself into powder in the process, I just don’t think the English translation has been handled that well at all.
For example, early on in the game our protagonist stumbles into a room and exclaims “you used to know this place, but now it feels so unfam.” ‘UNFAM’?! Oh and the voice acting is risible to the point of seeming like it has been AI recorded too, so that isn’t exactly great either. Luckily however, I’m here to blast Lovecraftian folk into little fishy chunks, so it didn’t really bother me too much. Ditto for the story itself at large too, which seems to seems to revolve around the usual tropes of a fella (you) being locked up in a mental asylum, having nightmares about fighting Cthulhian enemies across a range of places and discovering story beats by reading collectible notes in the environment that quite literally have the word ‘Story’ blazing above them. Subtle!
Anyhow, if you can excuse the shoddy story, crummy voice acting and annoyingly wobbly performance, Forgive Me Father 2 does deliver somewhat where it counts. The gunplay is satisfyingly loud, crunchy and splattery as your firearms split apart your enemies, causing their guts and claret to gush up onto nearby surfaces while chunks of their anatomy scatter across the ground. It’s super satisfying stuff for sure and the combat itself is actually pretty fast paced, with quick strafing and knowing where the ammo and health supplies are in order to ensure you remain in one piece. Further afield, each level is also generously packed with secrets that can not only provide a helpful replenishment of ammo and supplies, but also tokens which can be used to upgrade yourself – but more on that in a bit.
Speaking of combat, and in a similar manner to id Software’s recent DOOM titles, the music in Forgive Me Father 2 kicks in with some savage metal anthems that swell as the combat goes on, helping to energise you in the process as you spread the anatomies of your enemies across the floors, walls and ceilings of whatever map you happen to be on. Your enemies are a generally varied bunch too, ranging from possessed cultists and corrupted private detectives, all the way through to actual tentacled monstrosities pulled straight of Lovecraft’s own texts. Each of them has their own special attacks, strengths, weaknesses and even some fairly effective AI too, which encourages them to take cover at range and so on.
At it’s core though, Forgive Me Father 2 plays almost identically to its predecessor. Which is to say that you’re basically tasked with murdering your way through each level, seeking entry through colour coded doors with colour coded locks, smashing up evil tentacle clocks (you think I’m joking) and scooping up Madness Tokens which can be used to unlock pages in your Dark Tome which in turn allows you to trigger special powers and buffs for a short time. The problem with the progression system however, is that it simply doesn’t feel as sophisticated as the one glimpsed in the first game.
This is because rather than piling your points into a progression radial of different upgrades, you simply just have a reduced number of unlockable upgrades that change the look and function of your weapons – which is neat – I just wish there was a greater latitude for progression than these upgrades or improving the Dark Tome.
Something else that’s certainly worth mentioning is that Forgive Me Father 2 is fair old chunk more difficult than its predecessor and this uptick in challenge manifests itself in enemies that deal higher amounts of damage, along with situations where you’re forced into arena style battles – which happens a little more often than I would like. Nonetheless, despite the use of such mechanics, I did ultimately have a heap of fun cutting about and blasting and exploding my way through countless Lovecraftian goons. Certainly then, if those are the fundamentals of Forgive Me Father 2, then Byte Barrel has them pretty much down pat.
Look, the story sucks, the use of Unreal Engine 5 isn’t really that well optimised and the progression system feels like an arguable step back from what we saw in the first game. However, taking all of that in consideration all the same, Forgive Me Father 2 still provides a frequently impressive looking and appropriately blood pumping shooter that allows players to live out their Lovecraftian carnage fantasies.
Forgive Me Father 2 is out now on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by PR.