March 29, 2024

Ritual: Crown of Horns is a top-down twin-stick shooter developed by Feardemic.

AT A GLANCE
Title: Ritual: Crown of Horns
Genre: Action
Developer: Draw Distance
Publisher:Feardemic
Release Date: 7 Nov 2019
Available On: PC(Reviewed), Switch

Ritual Crown of Horns puts you in the shoes of Daniel Goodchild. Daniel was a lawman, one of the best, and was sent by the government on a mission to track down a dangerous witch.

Upon his arrival, he finds himself in a fatal ambush prepared by cultists. Now being brought back to life by the magic of the witch he was supposed to kill, he finds himself in an alliance against a common enemy.

Overall the story does a good job of keeping things moving but it’s definitely not the selling point here.

The game plays out in a fairly straightforward and linear manner. You start out in an arena with the core objective being protecting the witch as she performs her ritual. As the timer runs down the enemy spawns keep getting more and more and it can quickly overwhelm you if you don’t plan your moves properly. You’ll be dashing around swarms of cultists as you frantically shoot them back to kingdom come.

Smashing the trigger won’t get you out of tricky spots, and you will need to carefully balance your rotations around the map or you will find yourself overrun.

You are equipped with an impressive arsenal that consists of pistols, shotguns and even a good old crossbow. You can also use spells that are powered by the souls of the enemies you kill. It’s important you know which weapon to use where, a shotgun might get the job up close and personal but when you find yourself surrounded, those two shells won’t do you much good.

Completing missions rewards you with materials that you can use to upgrade your weapons and unlock new spells. You can also equip yourself with various clothing to gain buffs.

I highly recommend a controller for playing Ritual, and even the game tells you that “The west was won with a controller”. The controls are accessible and sensibly done which is important for a twin-stick shooter like Ritual: Crown of Horns. You use the L stick to move around and the R stick to shoot, triggers can be used to shoot while the other buttons allow you to swap weapons and spells.

Visually the game is good looking with fairly well-done character sprites and a bloody art style. The music also does a good job of setting in the tone.

Final Thoughts
7/10

Summary

Ritual: Crown of Horns is great for a few minutes of kicking back and enjoying some gore-filled action. Just don’t go expecting a deep experience and you won’t find yourself disappointed.