Selaco: A Brilliant New Shooter... Based on Classic Doom Tech!

[@SelacoGame]

It's an incredible honor to be featured on one of our all-time favorite channels. There are many things that took a considerable amount of work but aren't often talked about, so we're glad to see them brought up here. Fantastic video!

[@tyo101]

Thanks for all of your good work!

[@PixelBaller]

I'll buy it five times if you bring it to modern consoles!

[@MBeeching]

A pleasant surprise indeed. Congrats upon the launch, it's a superb looking title and I hope to pick it up in the not too distant future.

[@razor_no1]

Thank you for this game! We are looking forward seeing this on modern consoles like PS5 or Series X. ♥

[@meanmole3212]

Hi, where can I find the source code?

[@xeniamorph]

OMG John just casually dropping "and in fact, if you type 0451 into any of the games keypads, you take damage" incredible stuff.

[@DarkReturns1]

What was the reference?

[@xeniamorph]

@@DarkReturns1 in system shock the first code you type in to unlock something is 0451, and many other immersive sims since have paid homage to system shock by also using 0451, so it's just a funny subversion of a genre staple and his matter-of-fact delivery really sold it for me

[@DarkReturns1]

@@xeniamorph that's hilarious, I was just playing the System Shock remake a couple months ago. I didn't catch that, thanks!

[@Baxtexx]

It's the game equivalent of the wilhelm scream un movies. 😊

[@dalton2k538]

Forgot to mention the developers send you a message in game to stop typing it in, telling you it's not an immersive sim if you do it more than once.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

Indie developers are keeping the game's industry alive right now.

[@Im_Behind_You]

Always have been

[@Ghost-pb4ts]

In recent 3-4​ years they and Nintendo are the one who's taking the charge in gaming EA, ubisoft, Bethesda, Capcom, xbox,square Enix, Sony were average at best. Remakes remasters sequels live service, if you weren't gaming in recent years. I would say you haven't missed much@@Im_Behind_You

[@DavidHilton80]

Been saying this for years

[@devonmarr9872]

Imo AA devs are. Games like this are single A and are also helping for sure.

[@CJP.-pq3kr]

Uh guess you forgot Nintendo exists?

[@DaedrinMolkre]

As someone who plays a lot of Doom in GZDoom but never really took time to look at any other content made using the engine, this is blowing my mind to see. I had no idea it could be used to make something like this. Absolutely gonna be getting this.

[@mikewhy709]

Definitely check out Ashes 2063, and Siren.

[@cikame]

@@mikewhy709 I'll add Hedon which is phenomenal, and Brutal Doom + the Extermination Day mission pack, it's a bit buggy but the best experience i've had on GZDoom.

[@DeadPixel1105]

Oh yeah, the GZDoom engine can do some very impressive things. I've even seen some GZDoom-developed games and tech demos that have graphics that are nearly on par with PS3 graphics.

[@lordshemp3324]

Total Chaos is also a GZdoom showcase.

[@icyjiub2228]

EVITERNITY 1&2 VALIANT ANCIENT ALIENS

[@yoshivu8236]

Just like RE2 on N64, or even Doom on SNES, I'm always a sucker for art made under restrictions and limitations... it really pushes creative use of tools and advances in technology.

[@KevinJamesHannant]

Just imagine if they overclocked the BBC Micro 🤣 they could call it the Macho with Sinitta.

[@Lord_Deimos]

These guys made a better Ion Fury sequel than Phantom Fury Also lol at Spongebob's house at 7:10

[@commandershepard9920]

ty; your one comment here is the best review I could hope for in regards to this game. I liked, but did not love Ion Fury as much as I wanted to, so skipped the sequel. This has my attention!

[@Jayy997]

@@commandershepard9920 Ion Fury is shit. No idea what people see in that game

[@baloghcsaba88726]

​@@Jayy997 It's a great game until the last third or so, and the final boss fight sucked ass. Phantom Fury looks crap though, not even gonna play that one.

[@sharpiefps7630]

​@@Jayy997what is not shit? Boltgun?

[@Jayy997]

@@sharpiefps7630 are you hallucinating? Who mentioned Boltgun?

[@rodylermglez]

I have done a bit of gzdoom modding myself and I can add to this review that the level of enemy chatter revealing the state of its AI is amazing. That is no lazy job to accomplish on this semi-ancient heavily script-dependant game engine.

[@MINI_91]

This is the type of game people should buy and support instead of AAA slop.

[@didyfinkise9033]

Game is amazing, people NEED to know about it.

[@Wesker3107]

The game looks sooooo good. Had it on my wishlist for a while now. Thanks for the coverage, John!

[@sir.fender6034]

This game takes me back to the Unreal/Quake/System Shock days in the late 90's, early 2000's. Love it!

[@EastyyBlogspot]

To go forward in gaming we have to go back

[@thebham95]

cue jack "we have to go back!"

[@desertfish74]

Sad, but true

[@andreabriganti1226]

Doom, Unreal, F.E.A.R. , Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Legacy of Kain, RE1 RE2 and RE3, Halo trilogy, SH 1 & 2 and many other games, all high tier in they'r prime. Compare those to what we get today and embrace the depression effect.

[@Pointman11111]

​@@andreabriganti1226 We got Trepang2 and Robocop tho

[@deathtoinfidelsdeusvult2184]

@@andreabriganti1226 elden ring, baldur's gate 3, hades 2, helldivers 2, yakuza like a dragon, cyberpunk after patches, . Although the "good" games are diminishing. There are still good games out there. The difference here is AAA titles tend to leave boomer shooters as a genre now , that indie most of the time the only one making it alive.

[@LainiWeiz]

Been having an absolute blast with this game, it honestly puts some AAA games to shame with the amount of love and care that's been put into it.

[@tyo101]

That intro speech by Linneman was enough to make me curious about this game! The Steam Deck part of this video is much appreciated.

[@mangaas]

Trust me its good. If you've ever dabbled in replaying original Doom, mods like Brutal Doom, or the solo projects like Ashes 2063... this game is the pinnacle of that entire modding community. A polished, entire game of its own. Well worth the budget price.

[@SeeOHZee]

This game runs on Linux natively which along with low system requirements makes it great on Steam Deck

[@tyo101]

@@mangaas Thanks!

[@tyo101]

@@SeeOHZee Thank you 😊

[@thaigrocer]

You had me at bespoke.

[@DeadPixel1105]

John really does love that word.

[@MadX8]

@@DeadPixel1105 "Bespoke" and "Mind you"

[@fabio78]

​@@MadX8and "this is key"

[@Khanemis]

It truly was a transformative word in this video!

[@thiagovidal6137]

9:02 Nah, they are clearly not just 2D artwork. They were obviously fully 3D modelled and animated then pre-rendered into sprites sequences.

[@milanpolak1793]

Well, GZdoom is capable to have 3d models, but having 2d artwork and voxels in Selaco is choice of developers.

[@thiagovidal6137]

@milanpolak1793 I know. What I mean is those weapon sprites are not really 2D artwork. They are pre-rendered 3D animations like Donkey Kong Country on the Snes as opposed to pixel art.

[@thiagovidal6137]

@RicochetForce Exactly. It is 2D sprites, but they are still 3D artwork.

[@SeeOHZee]

The GZDoom engine is single thread heavy in rendering performance. It shows when running the Project Brutality mod for GZDoom and especially with a bunch of addons. So I'm not surprised Altered Orbit is pushing the engine for this game.

[@mrsittingmongoose]

I believe they have modified the engine to be multi threaded. I remember talking to them about that, they put an unbelievable amount of work customizing the engine and fixing cpu issues was high up on the list.

[@theblobconsumes4859]

I'm pretty sure it's multi-threaded for this version of it.

[@mhjmstultiens]

I instantly knew John was going to cover this. Seems like a great shooter. Love the fact enemies are reminiscent of Fear, in the sense they are very mobile and tactical aware.

[@nonnygb]

Had this on my wishlist for a while now. Played it yesterday on the OLED steam deck both natively and via Xreal AR glasses and yep... It's absolutely awesome stuff.

[@rangerpopo6702]

Finally a not frozen world that actually reacts to the player

[@richardthomas8371]

This game looks & sounds awesome! Definitely going on my wishlist & I'll check back in at 1.0. Would love to see John cover MULLET MADJACK on this channel. It seems like a game John would like, but more interestingly, I would love his take on the game because it is so fast, and the player has to parse everything happening on screen in fragments of seconds. So from a technical, art, & sound perspective it is a fascinating game to me.

[@Cheynanigans__]

Played through Selaco after having it put on my radar by this video. Let me say, I'm blown away. Pre-release and STILL more polished than most games releasing. The enemy AI seemed very advanced and challenging, the graphics are pretty (especially in HDR), the puzzles are fun and adequately difficult without being senseless like some "puzzles" are. Guess-and-check trial-and-error stuff is NOT a puzzle, it's trash XD there needs to be SOME indication of what to do or where to go, and Selaco delivers.

[@zq7246]

This is definitely one of the best shooters I’ve played. Everyone needs to buy it. This developer deserves success.

[@malcolmar]

What an incredible looking and sounding game. I did not even realize the characters and guns where sprites. I can't wait to see how this game develops.

[@camehill4399]

Selaco was my number 1 awaited game of this year and it did delivered. Go buy it

[@lunex8783]

Excellent game spotlight, John. While I tend to share your taste in games and am aware of most of what you review, many people aren't and it's great exposure for the devs and viewers. May the indie projects LIVE ON!

[@IuriFiedoruk]

Nice to see some commercial projects using GzDoom. This engine is an old friend of us, Linux users. I loved how it did improve the game allowing you to target up/down, that is why th z (x, y and z directions) of the original zDoom comes from, while adding nice real 3D to the map and objects.

[@Simte]

Nothing like the breath of fresh air independent gaming brings to this industry.

[@TimI1S]

Thanks for showcasing this, I dig it. Going to wishlist it.

[@aL3891_]

Damn, those sound effects are really good

[@Fazeshyft]

John, yours are my favorite videos of all of Digital Foundry. You've got your finger right on my pulse and have impeccable taste. Stellar work on this video.

[@randybobandy9828]

Absolutely, I probably wouldnt watch this channel much without him.

[@oneandonlyjark]

Linneman to you

[@evostu7814]

“A Chaotic Ballet of Death” no way I could pass this up, downloading now.

[@Shady272]

as a huge GZDoom fan, I was already sold

[@Milan____]

I played the Selaco demo a few years back, and you know it's a good sign when watching your video I went "Yeah! That level! That boss fight! There's turret over there!" The level design and gameplay really shine. HROT is another favorite from recent years. Ironically, Selaco scratched the retro itch a lot better than Ion Fury and Rise of the Triads: Ludicrous Edition (not that they're bad though).

[@JS-rm2ws]

Back around 2005/2006, I remember I used to love playing Criterion's Black and to a lesser extent, FEAR by Monolith. Those two games made it fun just to fire a gun at nothing in particular. This video reminds me of those two games; I want this to be good. Haven't bought an FPS in years

[@rorysimpson8716]

GZDOOM has been constantly updated for decades. Don't steal GZDOOM Crew's thunder. This is not the primitive IDTech 1 engine, but something people have been pouring blood and sweat into, for free, for a very long time. Not coming in to call names and cast aspersions, but credit where it is due.

[@Marisa_Magician]

I spent six years of my life contributing to the engine. It was time well spent just to see how much my additions would help other modders.

[@arvindhmani06]

@@Marisa_Magician you are the kind of unseen hero we don't deserve mate!

[@plume...]

YES!! I'm so glad you are covering this, it's one of the best shooters I've ever played!

[@jjforcebreaker]

Very happy to see it covered here. Long live GZDoom!

[@LeMMingSlayeR]

I got this game couple weeks ago and recently started playing it. I’m just about 11 hours in right now and I got to say it is amazing. I’m having a ton of fun playing this game, the enemy AI is smarter than most modern games and the retro aestheticreally takes me back to the classic boomer shooters.

[@danielberrett2179]

This team could do a faithful Perfect Dark remake

[@therealpizzagirl]

This game is absolutely amazing. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites :)

[@JuhoSprite]

Dude I remember seing gameplay and being so hype about this years ago, now it got randomly recommended on an article to me again, so glad I found this once again

[@retrosean199]

Another entry in the annals of games inspired by retro classics but that do things actual old games couldn't. Great stuff.

[@Quizack]

As a developer, you couldn't ask for a better, more glowing review. What a achievement this game is. It's the logical conclusion of decades of evolution. Doom's effect on the entire gaming industry cannot be understated.

[@johnatanpole6942]

Game purchased! Thanks Digital Foundry!

[@thedeegee1601]

Yeah, don't get fooled by the DOOM engine requirements. When i still had my GTX 1070 the Demo struggled at 1080p and i had to lower settings. One of the developers also made some fantastic GZDoom mods that are worth playing. Ashes 2063 and Ashes: Afterglow, with Ashes: Hard Reset on the horizon.

[@pipgoesthepossum]

Something about it evokes both Syndicate and Jedi Outcast to me. Love to see you covering something like this John. Great vid.

[@rahulpandey9472]

I didn't knew about this game but this is right up my ally, I will buy it today, thank you DF for covering games like these.

[@jedreadsbooks7203]

4:52 the spaceorb 360! Great Easter Egg there.

[@BlueShadow-dark23]

This game looks really fun, I love boomer shooters. That’s crazy that they were able to do all this in the GZDoom engine, devs are very talented.

[@fullauto86]

ive been waiting for this to become a full game since the demo came out, it just gets bigger and better over time. hell of a project

[@WarlordRising]

I love Quake and Unreal, and their engines have pioneered new technological landscapes for the gaming industry. However, the DOOM WAD community is truly something else. I look at it like the "too many cooks in the kitchen" analogy. This applies to most things throughout the artistic community. When you have a couple of dedicated developers using old traditional tech in new imaginative ways, you can sense the love that went into the product more than something produced by an assembly.

[@windownpc39]

Did y’all hear that music towards the beginning? A rendition of the Resident Evil 1 save room theme!

[@speedracer2please]

I tried the Next Fest demo and it's some of the most satisfying shooting I've played in years! I couldn't put it into words, but you nailed it. also Trepang2, for different reasons. Indie shooters are INCREDIBLE these days, beyond the brown boomer shooters

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

I’d love to see something like this but with powers like the biotics in Mass Effect. Casting throw, push and pull and singularity etc in such an interactive environment would have things flying all over the place.

[@Bryan-T]

It's pretty amazing what people are able to get out of the gzdoom engine.

[@johnsimon8457]

9:36 - YES - that every other GZdoom mod uses the default menus, which are extensive to the point of confusion, you wind up having to use the search functionality to find what you want. so any improvements in this area, like better organization or separating the settings into Basic vs. advanced vs. 'really only for developers' would be welcome

[@mleise8292]

Ooh, indeed this does look intriguing. It blends the decades of shooters so smoothly. Like magic. "All the damage remains intact." - Awesome. :D

[@cooperm211]

I picked this up earlier in the week and it's been excellent. Enemies really want to get in behind you and don't let you just do your thing - it's awesome.

[@OriginalChrizum]

This is one of the best looking games I've ever played and it's running on a hugely limited engine. Proof that art direction & interactivity trumps sheer power everytime.

[@termitreter6545]

I never played the classic Dooms, so no nostalgia, but I really enjoy the classic Dooms and games building up that framework/taking inspiration. Its funny how the old Doom games were clearly built around technological limitations, but they created just a really, really fun thing. And how low budget games can be so visually nice, even complex stuff like destruction, which tripple A studios would spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on.

[@ThatBlackGuy1337]

This game is like if Prodeus and FEAR had a kid. Its awesome.

[@Netsuko]

The level design and the attention to detail really remind me of a mix of Duke3D and System Shock 2. And that is a great thing! (I just realized that this was also mentioned in the video. Seems like I am not the only one)

[@KurtQuad]

This looks like something I would definitely play on my Xbox or PS5..Love the look of this game! And an another fantastic review :)

[@TheCrewExpendable]

Unfortunately it basically can't come the console. GZDoom is GPL3 licensed. tl;dr is that requires the end user (i.e. the player) to be able to modify and make copies of their own copy of the game. But Playstation and Xbox don't allow the player to modify copies of games they own nor do they allow you to copy it off the console's harddrive.

[@cheapbstard]

OMG you literally play as Paul Blart, a securty guard lmao im sold!!! So i got it i played it, and its... its.. its good its REALLY fkn good.

[@spencerhon4430]

Really excited to finally play this game. I've had it on my wishlist for a while. Love me some GZDoom games!

[@swaghigi1266]

It pleases me to know John/whoever edits these knows about myhouse and appreciates its artistry

[@moosemaimer]

4:45 lol, the SpaceOrb makes a cameo

[@brinewind8732]

There is just something about the look of this that lights my brain up like the 4th of July.

[@frankjohansen3132]

Indie developers = Main focus is gameplay. AAA developers = Main focus is to turn a game into a movie.

[@struggopuggo]

I'd happily take a Perfect Dark-esque shooter in this engine.

[@Gutter_bird]

Been a long time since anyone sold me on a game so quickly. Great video, John.

[@itchyisvegeta]

Modern consoles that require more table space than a breadbox, more heat disipation and power requirements than a small electical heater are over rated. There is a reason why Switch and Xbox and Series S impress me more than PS5 and XSX. This game proves my point. This is more than juat creating something that looks modern with old tools. This is art!

[@vanceg4901]

First thing I did in Selaco is decrease the size of the onscreen sight and make it red, similar to the sight I use in Battlefield 4, good to go with this fantastic game. Runs solid 60+ fps on my budget laptop with many settings on high. This one is fun to tweak. I'd put this right up there with Ion Fury/Aftershock. After dealing with Tomb Raider III mazes, I can navigate any level. Would like a Aliens Trilogy Remake by Nightdive Studios, they mostly dive at night...mostly.

[@lukasjozef1774]

I love retro shooter, they reminds me the good 90s like Ion Fury, Wrath Aeon of Ruin, Graven, etc...those games got by far much better gameplay than all those current AAA fps.

[@fzz6716]

I love the thump sound of the gun

[@vonbleak101]

My favorite nostalgia gaming era is the late 90's to late 2000's - I was a teenager going into my 20's (born 1980)... So many great games from that time... I love the fact its coming back with games like this... Bring on System Shock 3 (if it ever actually happens) and surely we need another Deus Ex game by now - Imagine a retro inspired Deus Ex game that was more like the original 2000 game - Which for all young gamers out there, is hailed as one of the greatest PC games ever of all time...

[@WT83]

This looks pretty sweet. It's like Doom, but cyberpunk, if it was a Dreamcast title made at that time but everything blows up like in Control.

[@codyalves3862]

This game is unbelievable. Just get it. If you like these kinds of games , don’t think just get. It’s one of them games

[@MetalJody1990]

Looking forward to the full release. I played the demo about a year ago and loved it. I had to turn down some settings for a good frame rate.

[@krazykoolz88]

this game looks kool, I'll buy it when it officially launches

[@Khanemis]

I would say there is also a bit of first Deus Ex in here, all that interactibility and the level design truly remind me of this classic as well. Anyway, it looks fantastic and it oozes atmosphere. Thank you for the video.

[@joshuawalker7038]

That animation style is so satisfying, is the framerate of the character lower or something?

[@1wayroad935]

Been playing the game. My only real complaint about it is that it's sometimes really hard to figure out where to go next. The moment to moment combat is excellent though.

[@kosmosyche]

Is there any way to make blood red? For some reason this purple jelly grinds my nerves. Repressed memories or something, idk.

[@rx1834]

I also got stuck a lot and found the level design lacking. The developer said it gets better, for what it's worth.

[@MadX8]

@@rx1834 Maybe it's because I'm used to those games but I find it very easy to navigate. As soon as you understand that you have to follow those green lights, it's good. Duke Nukem 3D is still way more complex than this imo.

[@MadX8]

Just pay attention to those green lights. As soon as you understand that you have to follow them, it gets easier.

[@Saxappealed]

This looks great, props to the developers for using an older engine instead of going the "easy" route.

[@KimberlyMartin-bg8ji]

You're a natural on camera, keep shining!

[@HoroJoga]

are bots back?

[@Beardodoomus]

I like big bots and I cannot lie.

[@METR0lD]

I wish I could say I've enjoyed the game so far. But man, that first stage is *rough.* It took me nearly two hours to finish the first stage after I spent over an hour just wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out where to go. It desperately needs better direction.

[@trickydog3933]

yepp, almost all the youtube reviewers just overhype this game, like it's the greatest thing ever, when in reality there is just a huge clusterfuck of nonsense (interactive stuff) going on, while you just wander around to find the next switch or keycard, without any sense of direction. The encounters are also not that great, you trigger a spawn and they swarm you from multiple angles, you reload a quicksave and have an easier time, because you know what to expect (trial and error). Played through 3 levels so far and it was the same every single time.

[@METR0lD]

@@trickydog3933 Exactly. And I'm not saying that it needs something extreme like waypoints or anything. It just needs better level design or visual queues to lead the player in the right direction. I played the heck out of classic Doom games back in the day, and while you could get lost, it was never anything like this. The level design always prevailed in the end and you found your way.

[@StuntzMcKenzy2D]

Same problem. I like what the game is going for. But the gaps in the action are too much for me.

[@pogkappen]

That's interesting, as somebody that very easily gets lost in games (I actually like waypoints for this reason) I found myself getting lost here less than in actual key-based FPS from the 90's. I think a lot of that was the pretty great automap system that I was able to follow. Just my thoughts of course but I was almost never actually lost because I figure I'll just go to an icon placed on the map menu.

[@Ryuujin1078]

Old technology seems to breed and inspire new levels creativity which is a breath of fresh air with all the hyper realistic games that are starting to impress less and less, cost assfull of money and taking to damn long to make

[@macdealer7936]

Finally, a fun game with no realistic graphics where Digital Foundry will zoom 4x and nitpick its imperfections.

[@RKramer105]

Shout out to Remedy for being one of the last big budget devs to pay attention to the little world details. It really makes all the difference in a playspace. One of those things that even if you don’t directly/consciously notice - your brain did!

[@David_Banner]

I remember when we were promised destruction of environments on a massive scale. But very few games ever delivered it. As mentioned in this video, we have kind of forgotten about it.

[@iseptimus]

Loving it so far. Needs a lot of quality of life improvements, but well worth the price. Feels like Prodeus.

[@matuzaato]

Thanks for covering this game! Will be efinitely playing it

[@romulino]

Is it finally out???? I need to make time for this, absolutely loved the demo! ❤️

[@nothingisawesome]

Thanks for the video John. I’ve been trying to tell people how it’s different than a typical boomer shooter so I’ll just send them here

[@vanceg4901]

#1 issue I'm having with Selaco is constantly getting lost. I'm currently studying up on how to read the map better to see where I've been and need to go and marking the map. I'm determined to figure this out.

[@paul1979uk2000]

Didn't know anything about this game but it looks like my kind of game and I've put it on my Steam wishlist for when it's released. Speaking of the A.I. one of the Fear games, can't remember which one, but anyway, that was one of the first a few games that actually made me think more tactically on how I take enemies out, I could feel how the enemy was trying to outsmart and outflank me as I play and it kept me on my toes, and the remarkable thing about that, it's rare to see that in any other game even now, they basically have dumb A.I. that becomes easy to take on and doesn't adapt to your play, and I've got to say, it was rewarding that I actually had to think and keep on my toes as I played, unlike most games today where it feels like I'm just going through the motions once I've beat a few enemies, apart from bosses that is. That's probably the biggest disappointment in gaming today, there's so much obsession in pushing visuals that it feels like we are seeing little progress in areas of A.I. and physics, two things that can make a massive difference to a game if used right.

[@estefencosta1835]

Coding AI is tough because there's a difference between coding enemies that are smart vs. enemies that are fun to play against. But yes enemy AI is generally underbaked in pretty much every game.

[@Conoido]

what resolution should I play this on a CRT?

[@GameplayandTalk]

Game looks pretty sweet! Thanks for taking a look at it.

[@zanegandini5350]

The sprite animation has a stop-motion look to it. I'm assuming it's pre-rendered, because Mortal Kombat 1-3 also have that same appearance, and I quite like it! I'd never guess this was made in GZ Doom though, as it looks way more impressive than anything else I've seen on that engine.

[@estefencosta1835]

GZDoom is capable of incredible stuff. You can build full 3D in it sort of like the original Unreal Engine stuff. It has so many features and capabilities that a lot of people don't use, but the option is there. The engine was further modified for this game which is probably why it seems so impressive. I think you're spot on about the pre-rendering as well. Gives it a very distinct look.