Forgive Me Father

Lore & Background

Forgive Me Father takes place in and around Pestisville, a New England port town overrun by a plague that has turned locals into zombies, with a local cult adding further danger. The player awakens in a house and travels through the neighborhood, fighting zombies and cultists, culminating in a descent to the abyss and a battle against Cthulhu. After slaying Cthulhu, the player awakens in a mental hospital and learns they slaughtered the town while hallucinating. The narrative is conveyed largely through optional documents and photographs scattered throughout the game.

The game was developed by the indie team Byte Barrel, founded in 2017, whose first project was a MythBusters game. The team of nine was inspired by retro shooters such as Doom and Marathon, as well as newer games like Void Bastards, Bioshock, Dusk, and Project Warlock. The game uses a '2D/3D comic book style' with hand-illustrated foes moving in a 3D environment, a decision made early in development. The game entered early access on October 28, 2021, with a three-level demo, and an exclusive trailer was released by IGN in April 2022 ahead of the full launch.

Reader's Guide

Forgive Me Father is notable for its deliberate homage to classic first-person shooters of the 1990s, particularly Doom, while introducing modern mechanics such as a skill tree and a madness system. The madness mechanic rewards aggressive 'run n gun' play by accruing through kills and drinking alcohol, which can be spent on abilities, but also adds distracting visual effects, creating a risk/reward dynamic. The game features a variety of weapons, including conventional guns and supernatural items like a throwing knife infused with dark demonic tendrils. Enemies have unique traits, such as a zombie that can recover from a headshot by placing a severed head on its own neck, and some enemies continue to crawl after being heavily injured. The difficulty is at times high, with players potentially overwhelmed by numerous damaging enemies. The early access version received positive attention from PC Gamer, which praised the visual style and animations, and CBR highlighted the madness mechanics. At launch, Destructoid gave an 'Alright' rating, praising the gameplay but noting repetitive elements and the lack of a quick melee kill, while Bloody Disgusting offered a mixed review, noting good visuals and gunplay but criticizing voice work and imbalanced level design in the second half. The game's success led to a sequel that entered early access in 2023.

Did You Know?

• A zombie enemy can recover from a headshot by placing a severed head atop its own neck.
• The madness mechanic is accrued by killing enemies or drinking alcohol and can be spent on abilities.