History VideoGame / Cultic

* BoomHeadshot: Oh, and how! Any headshot-based kill, be it from the is guaranteed to shoot up a geyser of gibs. As [[WebVideo/Civvie11 Civvie]] put it, you can see the headshots in this game from ''space''.

* HeavilyArmoredMook: Adepts and Snipers are dangerous because they can survive attacks that would otherwise kill normal cultists in one hit, like a Lever Action Rifle or Shotgun headshot. The only weapon that can reliably kill these enemies in one shot is the upgraded grenade launcher (snipers are unique in that they can't be killed via headshot while they're lying down; any shot that lands will make them stand up, at which point they can be headshot normally...snipers that are already standing up can be headshot without a problem).

* HomemadeFlamethrower: The Incinerator flamethrower used by the eponymous Incinerators is clearly not based on any existing flamethrowers at the time and made from scrap. Being
custom-made allows it the SecondaryFire of an explosive fireball.

* LawmanBaton:[[spoiler:The police officer's]] starting weapon in ''Interlude'' is a simple nightstick. It's not as an effective melee weapon as the hatchet but it doesn't break and is overall handy.

* WeHaveReserves: the cult ''never runs out of cultists''. This gets increasingly apparent as you progress through the game killing literally hundreds of them. Even losing [[spoiler: a ''tank'']] doesn't slow them down.

* WhereItAllBegan: the game starts with the Detective arriving at the Asylum, only to get jumped by the Cultists and dragged very far away. You finally get back to the Asylum [[spoiler: and the eldritch caves beneath it]] halfway through level 7.

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler: As of ''Interlude'', it's revealed that the Chief of Police is in cahoots with the cult and so are several of its officers. The non-Dirty Cops end up being massacred with only one surviving.]]

* HandCannon: While the standard Mauser is a potent weapon in of itself, there's also the Mare's Leg if you want something that's an intermediate between pistol and rifle.

* LawmanBaton:[[spoiler:The police officer's starting weapon in ''Interlude'' is a simple nightstick. It's not as an effective melee weapon as the hatchet but it doesn't break and is overall handy.]]
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: [[spoiler:The playable police officer from ''Interlude'' can grab one of the shields from the cultists and use it to defend himself from a few hits, but just like with their previous owners. It can break if it takes too much damage.]]

** Lampshaded in ''Interlude'': [[spoiler: various notes found in the police precinct question what the hell the Outsider was geared for, noting that he had a high-powered handgun, an illegally modified lever-action rifle, an illegally modified double-barrel shotgun, an illegal fully-automatic submachine gun, a military-grade pump-action grenade launcher, a military-grade high-powered paratrooper rifle, a homemade flamethrower, and "many explosives".]]

* SawedOffShotgun: Your shotgun is a compact double-barrel, naturally. Kicks like a mule, hits like a truck, can fire both barrels with alt-fire, the standard retro shooter fare. The ''Interlude'' chapter adds the SASG, a sawed-down Browning Auto-5. A note on the typewriter reveals it was confiscated from an armed robber who tried to hide it in their coat.

[[caption-width-right:350: The Outsider lives, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge and he won't stop until they don't]].]]

* CoolGuns: The available arsenal in the game is a mix of these and rare guns. The standard handgun is a Red 9 model Mauser C96, the submachine gun is a Sten Mk V and you can even get a Mare's Leg. On the rare gun side, the sniper rifle is an FG 42/II, while the grenade launcher is the prototype China Lake pump-action model. The ''Interlude'' level adds a Browning Auto-5 to the mix.

* ScrappyWeapon: [[invoked]] ''Strongly'' averted. ''Cultic'' goes out of its way to make sure that its vast plethora of weapons finds its own niche and isn't useless. For example:
** ''Hatchet'': One of the first weapons you have in the game, the hatchet is a decent melee weapon that never runs out of ammo and serves its purpose as a ammo-efficient way in breaking boxes to reveal hidden areas. The ability to hold 10 of them and throw up to 9 is also very powerful: the attack is silent and a headshot ''will'' kill lower level cultists, letting you avoid angering an entire map of bad guys.
** ''Baton'': The first weapon in ''Interlude''. The Baton deals less damage than the Hatchet, however, the Baton does not break and is a handy secondary backup in case the player runs out of ammo. Like the Hatchet, the Baton could also serve as a ammo-efficient way in breaking boxes.
** ''Handgun'': The ''other'' weapon you first have in the game. Ammo is plentiful, deals decent damage and relatively accurate. The Handgun acts as the [[Main/BoringButPractical jack-of-all trades of the lot.]] With upgrades it becomes a SniperPistol without a scope.
** ''Magnum'': The first ranged weapon in ''Interlude''. The magnum follows the RevolversAreJustBetter trope completely straight, being a more powerful and accurate HandCannon than the Handgun at the expanse of having a poor ammo economy due to using Magnum Rounds instead of handgun rounds. It will pop heads on headshots easily, though.
** ''Lever-Action Rifle'': A strong, long-ranged weapon that deals high damage with decent ammo lying around. The game's marksman rifle if you will. Balanced by having a small pool of ammo reserves, long reload time and lacking a scope which makes long-range combat difficult but not impossible. Alt-fire allows you to quickfire the entire magazine, which is devastating in close combat against enemies not vulnerable to headshots.
** ''Double-Barreled Shotgun'': Your typical shotgun, lethal up-close, useless further away. Ammo is very plentiful with a large ammo pool. Balanced by the fact it can only hold two shots and is utterly useless against anything more the ten meters away. Upgrades make it more powerful, but also increase the choke to reduce the pellet spread: it's still useless at long range, but becomes an insanely reliable headpopper at close-to-medium range.
** ''SASG'': A sawed-off Browning Auto-5 shotgun available only in ''Interlude''. Fulfills the niche of the 'traditional' shotgun, being a relatively all-rounder that is great at mid-to-short range with more ammo and accuracy than the Double-Barreled Shotgun, but is offset with a long reload time. It sits somewhere between the Double-Barreled and the Lever-Action in terms of stats and in most cases, it is considered as the close-range opposite of the Lever-Action. A ''massive'' pellet spread (without upgrades) make it only useful within a few feet, but a long reload time makes it dangerous to use after firing through the magazine.
** ''STEN Submachine Gun'': Boasts a ridiculous high rate of fire and large ammo pool. But is offset by its piddling accuracy and the fact that it drains ammo like crazy. Far more effective than it seems due to heavy hit stun from repeated hits allowing you to lock down troublesome enemies.
** ''Grenade Launcher'': The horde clearer, this pump-action Grenade Launcher shoots out arcing grenades at a decent distance. A relatively late game weapon, the ridiculous damage it possesses is balanced by its extremely low and rare ammo pool, and that it is just as dangerous to you when fired at close range as to the enemy.
** ''FG-42 Automatic Rifle'': The sniper rifle of the game, the FG-42 is a lot like the Lever-Action Rifle, providing high accuracy, damage and shot consistency, with the drawback of being a late game weapon and rarer ammo. It possesses a scope for really long range work, and is slightly more powerful than the Lever-Action Rifle, making it useful in large areas outside the range of enemies (which start to show up a lot once you get this gun).
** ''Incinerator Flamethrower'': The single most powerful weapon in the game. A flamethrower that actually ''behaves'' like an actual flamethrower. Long range, high accuracy, large ammo pool and an ''insane'' damage output that melts ''both'' horde enemies and elites. It is balanced by being a late game weapon, its fuel tanks being the rarest type of ammo and that it is non-upgradable. The pools of fire it leaves behind will also hurt you, and [[spoiler: flamethrower enemies are immune]].
** ''TNT Bundle'': Lit the fuse and throw it. Or don't light the fuse, throw it and shoot it when you need a boom. Ammunition is everywhere, the blast is ''very'' powerful, and you have a dedicated button to throw an unlit bundle. TNT will also explode immediately if thrown full force at an enemy. Basically the grenade weapon of the game before you get the grenade launcher (and after).
** ''Molotov Cocktail'': A grenade that has a damage-over-time effect, the Molotov works the same as TNT (light and throw), but in addition to the (lesser) damage from impact, it will also cause pools of fire to appear on the ground, which will also do damage. As many enemies in the game are very vulnerable to fire, Molotovs are always useful, but not as common as TNT. Molotovs can also be taped to a TNT bundle to increase the damage of the explosion and create more fire pools over a wider area.

* BearTrap: Many bear traps can be found at the end of the first level, but they make appearances in other levels as well.

* BulletTime: Killing an enemy with a headshot or killing multiple enemies within a short timespan will trigger a slowdown effect.
* ChainsawGood: One of the enemies, the Harvester, wields one as it's melee weapon. And it can very well ''mulch you'', no matter the difficulty level. It doesn't act like a standard melee attack, either; the game makes it very much known that your character is getting carved to shreds if it hits.

* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: At the start of The Chapel, the player runs into plenty of supplies. This is followed by a large ambush, followed by the first proper boss fight.