illWill

illWill is a 2023 first-person shooter developed by Slava Bushuev, channeling the brutal, fast-paced action of classic 90s shooters like Doom and Quake. Players awaken as an amnesiac demon slayer in a derelict building overrun by grotesque hellspawn, battling through surreal environments like fungal forests and container mazes. Armed with weapons like shotguns, they face off against hordes of enemies including spiked Painheads, acid-spitting Slaughterers, and crowned boss monsters, all drenched in the game’s signature over-the-top gore and powered by Unreal Engine 4.

illWill: Review

Introduction

In an era oversaturated with nostalgia-driven “boomer shooters,” illWill emerges as a blood-soaked love letter to the genre’s roots. Developed primarily by Russian programmer Slava Bushuev and released on April 13, 2023, this Unreal Engine 4-powered homage synthesizes the frenetic combat of Doom, the surrealism of Blood, and the spectacle of Serious Sam into a cacophony of carnage. Its thesis is clear: to deliver uncompromising, old-school action wrapped in modern visuals, unburdened by narrative pretense. But beneath its gory surface lies a surprisingly atmospheric meditation on isolation—a game that asks not why you’re tearing through hordes of demons, but how viscerally you’ll enjoy it.

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Development History & Context

The Solo Visionary
illWill is the brainchild of Slava Bushuev, a one-person powerhouse who handled game design, programming, art, and level design. Assisted only by sound designer Ilya Smelkov and composer George Naugolnov, Bushuev’s project began as a passion experiment—a “cocktail made from bits of Doom, Blood, Quake, Serious Sam, with Unreal Engine 4 as the blender,” as described in its TV Tropes entry. Notably, Bushuev had previously contributed to seven other games, but illWill marked his most ambitious solo endeavor.

Technological Constraints & Ambitions
Built on Unreal Engine 4, illWill leveraged modern tools to simulate ’90s-era gameplay fluidity. However, budgetary and team constraints (Bushuev’s prior freelance work included horror movie VFX) meant prioritizing core mechanics over polish. The result is a game that oscillates between technical ambition—physics-based gore, dynamic lighting—and occasional instability, such as crashes during save-load sequences (per Indie Hive).

The Boomer Shooter Renaissance
Launched amidst a resurgence of retro FPS titles (DUSK, AMID EVIL), illWill faced stiff competition. Its April 2023 release date positioned it as a niche but earnest contender, banking on its surreal aesthetics and uncompromising violence to carve a space among genre titans.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

A Story Told Through Silence
True to its Steam description—“the game doesn’t have a plot in the usual sense”—illWill casts players as an amnesiac protagonist awakening in a derelict room. With no backstory or dialogue, the narrative unfolds through environmental cues: abandoned mental hospitals, hellish fortresses, and shipping yards choked with monsters. This ambiguity invites interpretation: Is the protagonist damned, dreaming, or deranged? TV Tropes notes themes of existential loneliness and absurdity, accentuated by contrasts between claustrophobic corridors and Dali-esque dreamscapes.

Monsters as Metaphor
Enemy designs reflect this existential dread. The Slaughterers—lumbering, cleaver-wielding humanoids adorned with human skull necklaces—evoke industrialized violence, while Painheads (imp-like creatures with nail-studded skulls) embody visceral suffering. The absence of human survivors suggests a world devoured by its own nightmares, with bosses like the Mifiks King (a Conjoined Twins horror) serving as dissonant royalty in a broken realm.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Core Loop: Carnage as Catharsis
illWill’s gameplay is a masterclass in controlled chaos. Players battle hordes of 18 enemy types, from fodder Painheads (one-hit kills) to towering Behemoths. The arsenal spans classics (Double-Barrel Shotgun) to inventive tools like the Soul Ripper (a lightning gun that chars foes) and a Petrifying Spike Gun. Combos reward skillful play: dismember limbs to cripple attackers, or trigger environmental explosives for crowd control.

Progression & Secrets
Each of the game’s 10 levels hides three white violins, granting stacking damage bonuses. Exploration rewards players with Easter eggs and resources, though a lack of maps or fall damage risks disorientation. Notably, boss fights (excluding the finale) disappoint—reskinned “King” variants of standard foes with inflated health pools (Indie Hive).

Flaws & Frustrations
– Ammo Management: No melee weapon risks soft-locking players who exhaust ammo.
– Boss Design: Cookie-cutter encounters undermine late-game tension.
– Technical Hiccups: Save-file crashes and inconsistent alt-fire mechanics.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

A Surrealist Hellscape
illWill’s environments shift from grimy realism to psychedelic absurdity. Early levels evoke Quake’s Gothic industrialism, while later stages embrace Salvador Dalí-inspired surreality: London’s Hyde Park shrouded in fog, forests with sentient mushrooms, and dilapidated mansions oozing decay. Lighting contrasts—pitch-black corridors versus neon-lit arenas—heighten the dreamlike unease.

Sound as Atmosphere
Naugolnov’s orchestral score oscillates between melancholic strings and frenetic percussion, mirroring the gameplay’s pacing. Sound design accentuates brutality: shotguns roar with bass-heavy weight, while enemy death rattles sell the impact of each kill. The absence of footsteps, however, breaks immersion (per player reviews).

Gore as Art
The game’s commitment to High-Pressure Blood and Your Head A-Splode animations borders on comical—a nod to Soldier of Fortune’s dismemberment system. Enemies explode into chunky salsa, leaving corridors painted in crimson and alien ichor. This spectacle isn’t just gratuitous; it’s illWill’s core identity.

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Reception & Legacy

Launch & Critical Response
illWill garnered a “Very Positive” Steam rating (92% of 251 reviews), praised for its authenticity and spectacle. Critics like Indie Hive lauded its “breathtaking locations” but noted its “lack of innovation” (6/10). Metacritic user scores averaged 6.9/10, reflecting divides between genre enthusiasts (“pure fun!”) and detractors (“repetitive bosses”).

Cultural Footprint
Though not a genre-redefining title, illWill cemented Bushuev as a solo developer to watch. Its modding community has embraced the game, creating VR compatibility via Praydog’s injector and custom levels. However, its legacy remains tied to the boomer shooter niche—more a cult classic than a mainstream breakthrough.

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Conclusion

illWill is a paradox: a technically flawed but artistically confident ode to FPS history. Its refusal to innovate beyond homage may limit its appeal, yet its strengths—hyper-kinetic combat, surreal visuals, and unrestrained gore—make it essential for genre devotees. In Bushuev’s own words, it’s a “life experience… down to specific emotions.” While not every emotion resonates, illWill succeeds as a cathartic, blood-drenched playground—one where story takes a backseat to shotgun blasts and the splatter of alien viscera. A flawed gem, but a gem nonetheless.