Anopek first playthrough
4Anopek is a relatively short tile-based first-person shooter that was shown at Realms Deep 2021. It's been sitting in my Steam library for a while, and now that I just got done playing a whole bunch of Blake Stone, this seemed like a good time to finally play it.
Anopek may be an FPS, but its stand-out feature is really its metroidvania elements. Instead of comprising separate linear levels, the entire world is connected, and there are obstructions that you will only be able to pass after finding new weapons. There are things worth backtracking for, including health/armor upgrades, and some extra collectibles that unlock a special challenge... (Although this was seemingly bugged, as I was allowed to access it with only one of the several allegedly-required collectibles.)
In the FPS department, Anopek stands out mostly in its boss fights, which feature some interesting mechanics. Normal/filler enemies are probably the weakest aspect of the game for the most part, unfortunately. Some seem overly spongy, and not many of them seem to make audible activity noises, so you can quickly find yourself clobbered out of left field, which can add up very quickly in later areas - meanwhile in earlier areas you will almost never find yourself taking damage from enemies because they pose no real threat.
Anopek typically goes for $7 on Steam, but has sometimes been seen for as low as $1.75, and it's easily worth at least that. Pick it up if you want a relatively chill exploration FPS that you'll probably plow through in a single sitting.