Wrack is an indie, super-retro FPS very much in the high-speed vein of the original Doom, but pinning proper, and attractively cel-shaded, 3D graphics to those old bones. It even boasts the musical involvement of Bobby Prince, the composer of Doom, so it’s not exactly making any bones about its inspirations.

In a bold breaking from the nu-tradition of crowdsourced pre-funding, it’ll soon be selling a 3-level early version to anyone who cares to pick it up, with promises of the finished version once it’s, er, finished.

I’ve been playing said early build, and while I’d argue there’s still work to be done (it feels a tad sparse and the enemies are brazenly robotic in their behaviour) it’s definitely recaptured something substantial of the Doomsome spirit – fast-paced wild abandon in wide-open yet maze-like levels against hordes of foes.

Mostly it nails the movement, that sliding around on oiled castors run-feel that Doom did so well and that me makes feel both comfortable and excited even today. And there’s an electro-sword, just to ensure it’s really 90s-esque. It’s also fairly punishing. Old people like to be punished, I hear. They miss their regular spankings, because today’s games are too forgiving and all that.

Here’s a small taste:

This comes from the creator of the apparently still-popular Skulltag mod for the original Doom, so it’s got heritage’n’all.

It’s also going to be highly mod-friendly, and will ship with its own level editor WrackEd. More details, screenshots and, soon, a pre-order page here.

I wonder if Doom would still be as fondly-remembered if it had been called Brian Demon-Botherer?