DERELIKT PC Review: The Old-School FPS That Pays Homage to Alien Resurrection

Among the many old glories I would have expected a modern reinterpretation of sooner or later, Alien Resurrection by Argonaut Games for PS1 was certainly not on the list. Yet here we are, with this DERELIKT by Visuwyg and Hyperstrange, a sci-fi FPS with horror undertones that closely resembles one of the very first games to adopt the dual-analog control scheme for movement and camera, which later became an industry standard. Its sources of inspiration also include System Shock 2 and Doom 3. No xenomorphs, crazy AI, or portals to hell here, though, but some good old cosmic horror, which always sets the mood. Ready to go back a quarter of a century?

DERELIKT: Plot and Setting on the Research Station Near Saturn

DERELIKT takes us to a research station built on an asteroid orbiting Saturn. An alien artifact seems to have been found, and the research team tasked with studying it appears particularly “captivated” by its properties. The player is not a scientist or a security officer, but rather a passing courier. However, during their brief stay on board, chaos erupts, and they find themselves the only one able to understand what is happening, save the few survivors, and stop the apocalypse unleashed by the monsters that have invaded our dimension. Nothing that a little lead and explosives can't solve.

Progression in Visuwyg's title is quite linear, as in each “chapter” we will visit new sections of the outpost, but at any time we can retrace our steps to retrieve missed collectibles and explore extra paths thanks to the tools obtained by advancing in the story. We won't be forced to do so, but it's a necessary requirement if you aim for the platinum trophy and, above all, to unlock the secret ending.

Level Design and Weapons: DERELIKT's Strength and the Limit of Repetitive Enemies

The levels aren't huge, but they compensate with a very intricate structure, full of dead ends, hidden alleys, one-way streets, and doors blocked from one side. Once cleared, they practically reduce to a corridor, but before that, you need to navigate a truly well-designed level layout, capable of guiding the player with a handful of references, without resorting to overly obvious or out-of-context solutions. If you do get lost, you can use the map, even if it's not very legible. The game does its best to diversify objectives throughout the adventure, but it tends to overuse vents to crawl through and passwords to memorize, especially in the finale. It's nice to deduce a combination from the clues provided, but when you have to chase the log of some unfortunate soul who died who knows where for the umpteenth time, it's a bit annoying.

We'll deal with several allies who will support us during the story, plus a few lunatics who will try to riddle us with bullets, but mostly we'll be alone, accompanied by a decent arsenal. The usual suspects are present: pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, and grenade launcher, but also more “exotic” options. Each weapon has a distinctive feel and is enjoyable to use (except the sting-shooter, that thing is useless and I would have gladly done without it), but there's never a need to prefer one over the others, except based on remaining ammo. In fact, there are few enemies and they all behave the same way; a couple more mutants and bosses, perhaps taking advantage of the Lovecraftian circumstances, would have worked wonders. The pace, at least, is fast, and the focus is on exploration, so this shortcoming can be overlooked.

One of the less successful aspects, in my opinion, is the grid inventory, which is superfluous and unnecessarily cumbersome. DERELIKT tries to sell itself as a survival horror, but the enemies are not threatening, and we have tons of healing and ammo available; there's really no reason to ration or be cautious, even on the highest difficulty. Then there's a bizarre management of ammo in your pouch, which doesn't automatically merge collected groups. The intent, I believe, is to limit reloads as much as possible to avoid having half-full magazines lying around (a bit like in Helldivers), but at any time we can pause and balance the numbers, so it loses a bit of its meaning. Not being able to deposit weapons, although none preclude progression (except the detonator), nor even swap the position of items on the grid, completes the picture of a system that perhaps needed to be rethought or removed entirely. In that case, we lose the ability to combine two medical kits to create a larger one, but no big deal.

Grid Inventory and RPG Mechanics: Alien Glyphs and Insights

More interesting are the pseudo-RPG mechanics related to alien artifacts. Hidden on the station are nine mysterious glyphs. Collecting them will teach us a series of “words,” which, when equipped, will provide bonuses, and penalties, to the protagonist's damage, maximum health, and dexterity. Collecting Insights, on the other hand, will grant skill points to upgrade parameters and unlock additional slots. Not only that, when we have three active, we will gain a skill, based on the assigned words, such as breathing underwater, attracting less attention, and seeing secrets on the map. It's an entirely optional dynamic that fades into the background after the tutorial, but it can greatly enrich the experience.

As for longevity, a casual campaign takes between 8 and 10 hours, which increases to 12-15 if you aim for 100%. Replayability isn't very high, but it lends itself well to speedruns, and there are cheats to discover, to be entered in the main menu like in the old days. Nothing exaggerated, but some fun sessions can come out of it. It's a shame not to have at least a document where the in-game codes obtained (through a simple hacking mini-game) are reported, if not those already used. Remember to write them down or use them immediately.

On the technical side, DERELIKT proudly flaunts its fictitious pedigree as a PS1 title, from the (legally distinct) Sony and PlayStation logos at startup, to the menu with memory cards for data management (auto-save didn't exist back then, but I'll grant it). The graphics adopt essential low-poly models, with grainy textures that deform as the camera passes, while the levels abound with squared geometries, static light sources, and shades of gray and bronze, evoking Alien Resurrection and framing the darkness due to the poor draw distance (simulated, of course). Important details, however, are well highlighted, and the final effect is very effective, although some particulars do not belong to the reference period. Here too, a little extra variety in the environments wouldn't hurt.

Technical and Sound Department: PS1 Aesthetics, Bugs, and Toaster Requirements

If you prefer a more “modern” rendering, or at least a sharper image, you can turn off the retro embellishments in the settings. I wouldn't have minded being able to do it in the short pre-rendered cutscenes too, where rather aggressive scanlines don't show much, fitting, perhaps, but not beautiful. Solid performance and short loading times (and I wouldn't be surprised if artificially prolonged); natural, considering the “toaster requirements,” however, it's not uncommon to run into annoying bugs, such as weapons that don't reload, miscounted ammo, cures that don't register, and the flashlight that “jumps” from one surface to another, unable to illuminate two at once. Once it hadn't registered that I had exited the water, and it was making me swim (and drown) in the air; dangerous, but I see potential in it.

The soundtrack rarely makes itself heard, letting the sounds of our footsteps on metal and the mechanical hums in the background create atmosphere. Occasionally, gloomy motifs accompany the darker moments, while in firefights, tension is sought to be pumped up. It works, but I would have preferred more moments similar to the gym siege, with a heavy metal track blasting at full volume and hordes of monsters assaulting us from every angle. The weapon sound effects are just noisy enough, and those of the various creatures are recognizable, who despite their habit of attacking us treacherously at least have the courtesy to announce themselves. No voice acting; dialogue windows replace conversations with NPCs, however, in a couple of cutscenes, some (terrible) '90s-style voices didn't sound out of place at all.