Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
A Quake-engine shooter with retro roots and modern scope.
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a first-person shooter that came out in 2024, created by KillPixel Games and Slipgate Ironworks, and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing. It runs on a tweaked version of the Quake engine, marking the first major game to launch on that engine in almost two decades. An early access version of its first episode hit Steam on November 22, 2019, with the complete game following on February 27, 2024.
The gameplay sticks to the fast-paced combat and dark themes of 1990s shooters like Doom, Blood, Hexen, and Quake, but adds light role-playing elements. Players can collect items and skills to upgrade the Outlander’s abilities, helping with both exploration and fighting. Instead of a straight line of levels, the game has three hub worlds, each with its own theme. From these hubs, players access five levels per hub—fifteen in total—each uniquely designed around the hub’s theme. 3D Realms describes an open level design where multiple paths loop back into the main route, making levels feel bigger. Inside each level, players fight through many enemies and bosses.
The save system uses Soul Tethers. Like in Quake, you can save anytime, but here saving costs a consumable resource. You find Soul Tethers and use them before or after tough sections. They carry over between levels, so you can stockpile saves. Shrines placed in levels also act as checkpoint saves.
There are nine weapons, from a wrist blade to powerful projectile guns, each with alternate firing modes. Ammo is found in the world or looted from enemies. For instance, the Retcher and Fangspitter use cysts and teeth pulled from corpses. These guns are often less effective against the enemy type that supplies their ammo, pushing you to choose weapons strategically. Ten artifacts offer offensive or defensive boosts, like the Cruel Aegis, which grants brief invincibility but nearly drains the Outlander’s health.
At launch, Wrath was supposed to include basic deathmatch multiplayer using QuakeWorld netcode. 3D Realms said more modes would come later, including a four-player co-op campaign. But the final game has no multiplayer at all—it’s strictly single-player.
The story puts you in control of the Outlander, a mysterious figure drifting on the Ageless Sea. He washes up on a dying world, where the Shepherd of Wayward Souls tasks him with hunting the Guardians of the Old World.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
- Developer
- KillPixel / Slipgate Ironworks
- Publisher
- 3D Realms / Fulqrum Publishing
- Engine
- DarkPlaces engine
- Composer
- Andrew Hulshult
- Platforms
- Windows / macOS / Linux / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X/S / Nintendo Switch
- Release
- Windows, macOS, LinuxWW · February 27, 2024Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, XboxWW · April 25, 2024
- Genre
- First-person shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin began as an independent project by Jeremiah 'KillPixel' Fox. After discovering the Quake modding community, he recognized the potential to use the freely available Quake engine development tools to create a new game. The game was conceived as drawing heavily from the combat of Doom, the interactivity of Duke Nukem 3D, the spatial awareness of Quake, and the darker theme of Hexen. Fox quit his job and began developing the game himself with the help of a part-time coder. Several years into development, Fox posted a short video of a weapon prototype on the 3D Realms Discord channel, which caught the attention of the company's management. Vice President Frederik Schreiber contacted Fox and brought him on board to continue developing Wrath with a professional team. Composer Andrew Hulshult (Quake Champions) was brought on to score the game, and Bjørn Jacobsen (Eve Online, Cyberpunk 2077) to do the sound design. The choice of building on the Quake engine presented a skill gap, so 3D Realms recruited from the Quake modding community, including modeler Daniel “Chillo” Wienerson and mapper Romain “Skacky” Barrilliot. The game is built on the DarkPlaces engine, which features enhancements such as more open levels, detailed textures, and a framerate cap of 666 fps. The developers announced their intention to have mod support, and following release the QuakeC and engine code was uploaded to GitHub.
Reader's Guide
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is notable as the first major game release on the Quake engine in nearly 20 years, built on a modified version of that engine (DarkPlaces). It continues the tradition of 1990s first-person shooters like Doom, Blood, Hexen, and Quake, both thematically and in terms of fast-paced combat. To the classic formula, it adds light role-playing elements, allowing players to collect items and skills to upgrade the Outlander's abilities. Rather than linear progression, the game features three hub-worlds, each with five levels (15 total), designed with an open level design philosophy where multiple paths loop back to the main path. The game's unique save system uses Soul Tethers as a consumable resource, with occasional shrine checkpoints. At launch, Wrath was meant to feature basic deathmatch multiplayer modes based on QuakeWorld netcode, with additional modes including a 4-player co-op campaign planned post-launch, but the final game contains no multiplayer modes and is exclusively single player. The game received mostly positive reception, with Rock Paper Shotgun describing it as 'a solid shooter that remembers how [90s shooters] actually played and why they worked.' Gaming Bolt praised the weapon selection and fast pace, while Eurogamer's review was more mixed, praising combat and atmosphere but highlighting issues with pacing and excessive level length.
Did You Know?
- The game's save system uses Soul Tethers as a consumable resource, unlike Quake's unlimited saves.
- The game was originally intended to release into Early Access in Summer 2019 but was delayed multiple times before its full release on February 27, 2024.
- The game's source code was released under the GPLv2 via GitHub in November 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wrath: Aeon of Ruin?
It is a first-person shooter that channels the fast, dark combat of 1990s titles like Doom and Quake while layering in light role-playing mechanics. The game was developed by KillPixel Games and Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing.
What engine does Wrath: Aeon of Ruin run on?
The title is built on a modified version of the Quake engine (DarkPlaces), which made it the first major release on that engine in roughly twenty years.
When did Wrath: Aeon of Ruin come out?
An early-access build of the first episode hit Steam on November 22, 2019, and the complete game followed on February 27, 2024.
How many levels are in Wrath: Aeon of Ruin?
The full game contains fifteen levels split across three hubs, with five maps in each hub.
Who made Wrath: Aeon of Ruin?
KillPixel Games and Slipgate Ironworks handled development, while 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing served as the publishing partners.
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