Holy Shoot Review: Demonic Mayhem with Divine Arsenal

Tired of run-of-the-mill roguelike shooters? Holy Shoot’s demo feels like a blast from the pit with its cheeky humor, absurd firepower, and nonstop demon carnage powered by Unreal Engine. In this review, we break down its fast-paced gameplay, progression hub, visual flair, audio design, and the small studio’s grand vision.

Frantic Run-and-Gun Action

At its core, Holy Shoot is a top-down roguelite shooter set in ever-shifting hellbound arenas—from collapsing cathedral towers to glowing lava rifts and dust-choked archives. Environmental hazards—flame-spewing columns, toxic goo pools, and moving platforms—demand constant motion as demon hordes close in.

The arsenal is delightfully offbeat: a harp that unleashes sonic shockwaves, a censer that hurls incendiary grenades, and the tongue-in-cheek Bible Blaster firing explosive scripture. Shockwaves stagger wraiths while burn zones punish careless foes.

Five “sanctified warriors” await your command: the Gadgeteer Engineer places turrets and hackable relics; the War-Angel Sentinel trades raw speed for armored dashes and ricocheting wing-shields; the Hex Priestess curses enemies to amplify explosive damage. Layering curses, turrets, and harp shockwaves turns each run into a frantic strategy session.

Combat hurtles forward with ULTRAKILL-style intensity but lets weapon quirks shine. You’ll target weak spots, weave through chokepoints or dash to safety. The demo feels sharper than many twin-stick shooters, though its dodge precision could use the polish of Hades’ roll.

Meta-Progression in the Sanctum

After each run, you regroup in the Sanctum—a narrative hub where demon souls serve as currency. Temporary boon tokens earned mid-run grant one-off perks like extra splinters or armor plating, but only soul investments unlock lasting upgrades.

• Weapon Blueprints: Spend souls to access new celestial arms, from bouncing energy cannons to deployable homing shields.
• Character Perks: Each warrior boasts a tiered talent tree—dash cooldown cuts, projectile crit bonuses, and more.
• Global Blessings: Permanent boosts (higher crit rates, extra boon slots) keep later runs feeling fresh.

The demo’s early tiers open quickly, yet costs ramp up fast—balancing instant gratification with long-term goals will be key to avoiding grind fatigue.

Visuals and Art Direction

Holy Shoot serves up a cartoon-infused inferno: neon accents pop against deep blacks and molten reds, while stylized 3D environments retain hand-crafted charm. Angelic feathers and swirling hellfire embers land with satisfying weight.

Characters brim with personality—the Engineer’s glowing goggles, the Priestess’s pulsing curse tattoos, even minor imps strut with mocking speech bubbles. UI elements follow suit: fracturing glyph health bars, dripping-candle boon slots, and comic-style ammo prompts that never obscure the action.

Soundtrack and Audio Design

The score fuses gothic organ drones with propulsive electronic beats. Grim organ tones build tension until synth-laced rhythms ignite once demons appear. Each class move triggers a unique sound cue—thundering dashes for the Sentinel, clockwork chimes for the Engineer.

Enemy taunts range from operatic baritones to irreverent jabs, and weapon effects—harp twangs, censer clangs—feel tactile and distinct, steering clear of generic pew-pew clichés.

Developer Insights

Behind Holy Shoot stands an eight-person team blending industry veterans with recent graduates. They’ve prioritized “laugh-out-loud satire over shoot-first seriousness,” aiming to fuse tongue-in-cheek quips with robust gameplay loops. The Sanctum, they quip, acts as “Purgatory’s VIP lounge,” complete with plush seats and cocktail-sipping NPCs—an absurdist flourish that cements the game’s self-aware tone.

Unreal Engine 5 enables rapid level iteration and dynamic lighting, though closed-beta tests flagged occasional frame dips during particle-heavy boss rushes—issues the team is actively ironing out.

Positioning Among Roguelike Shooters

The 2025 roguelike shooter landscape is crowded, with titles like Gunfire Reborn 2 and Project Inferno vying for attention. Holy Shoot sets itself apart by focusing on solo spectacle and comedic storytelling rather than co-op mayhem. It strikes a middle ground—more deliberate cover-dodging than ULTRAKILL, yet quicker weapon swaps than Hades.

If Tale Era enriches weapon variety, deepens hub content, and maps out a clear post-launch roadmap, Holy Shoot could carve out a unique niche—melding strategic buildcraft with self-aware humor.

Verdict: Devilishly Delightful?

Holy Shoot’s demo delivers a high-octane blend of run-and-gun chaos, genuine laughs, and meaningful progression hooks. The ultimate test will be endgame depth—boss relics that upend class roles, rotating seasonal challenges, and fresh one-liners. Early impressions suggest this indie hellstorm is aiming skyward—and so far it lands with devilish flair.