Dusk dev unveils Gremlins inspired retro FPS game Chop Goblins

Dusk developer David Szymanski has unveiled his latest project – a one-sitting retro FPS game inspired by Gremlins called Chop Goblins, which sees you travelling across time after the eponymous antagonists and is positioned as an “all killer and no filler” experience. Following in the vein of classic games in the first-person shooter genre such as Doom, Quake, Half-Life, and Daikatana, Chop Goblins features a handful of unique weapons to wield across a number of globe-trotting locations, and it’ll be arriving on Steam at the start of January 2023 to bring in the New Year in style.

“You thought it would be fun to break into a nearby museum and root through the artifacts stored there,” reads the game’s opening description. “Little did you know that a dusty chest in the basement imprisoned the evil CHOP GOBLINS. Now they’re loose, wrecking bladed havoc on the world once again.” Determined to fix your mistake, you set off on a chase across space and time to track down and put a stop to the titular troublemakers in a shooter short that Szymanski says is scaled to suit a single sitting.

He describes the game as a ‘microshooter’ – “An FPS designed to be completed in a single sitting, without sacrificing depth, variety, or creativity in its gameplay and level design.” If you want a bit more time with the Chop Goblins, however, don’t fear – despite its estimated 30 minute runtime, Szymanski promises leaderboards, achievements, and secrets that could keep you coming back for many hours more. Even better, its short runtime could make it the perfect lunch break special, for when you just want to unwind and blast some baddies.

Chop Goblins features five levels across a range of time periods – a modern day setting, 1800s Transylvania, ancient Greece, and the “not too distant future” are all teased. You’ll also have five bespoke weapons to experiment with, and given Dusk’s pedigree we can’t wait to try them out for ourselves. These range from an antique flintlock pistol to the rather imposingly named Mk. II Impaler “Vlad” automatic stake gun.

Chop Goblins launches on Steam on January 2, 2023. Szymanski says that the project was initially planned as a surprise for the New Year, but decided to announce it early after concerns around changes to discovery on Twitter following the social media platform’s recent acquisition. He adds that the planned price is $5 USD.

While you wait for Chop Goblins to arrive, we’ve got plenty more of the best indie games on PC for you to check out. If you’re looking to save some money, here are the best free games on PC in 2022, which should give you lots of options to keep busy with.