Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first few minutes ask you to meet Euijeok: Im Kkeokjeong on its own terms. You are not entering a gun-heavy shooter; you choose one of seven warriors and start with a melee weapon or unarmed fighting. Swords, flails, maces, and fists immediately give the action a more physical flavor than the era’s standard arsenal. That difference is the reason to try it. If the thought of pressing forward with a blade in a first-person 3D game sounds exciting, the premise has real pull.

Your chosen fighter is not locked into only one approach. Ranged pickups such as darts and throwing knives give you options once fighting gets dangerous at close range, while health pickups and temporary power-ups can alter the pressure of a run. The mix of melee starts and found ranged tools makes exploration matter: moving ahead is not just about reaching the exit, but about improving your chances against what is waiting around the next corner.

Combat is complicated by enemies that bring weapons and magic of their own. Medieval warriors and demons keep the roster rooted in the game’s fantasy martial world rather than making it feel like a simple historical brawler. Progress also occasionally depends on operating switches, and traps punish careless movement. That can be a welcome change of pace if you like old shooters that make you pay attention to the space around you; if you only want uninterrupted fighting, these stops may be where frustration starts to creep in.

Graphics

The game puts you in a first-person 3D view of feudal Korean fantasy combat, facing armed warriors and demons at eye level rather than directing units from above. Its use of the Build engine makes it an interesting early landmark for that technology, and the immediate view suits the close-range focus of swords, flails, maces, and unarmed attacks.

Story

This is a setting-led adventure rather than a detailed narrative showcase. You play as one of seven available warriors in feudal Korea, pushing through areas inhabited by medieval fighters and supernatural enemies. That is enough context to make the fighting feel more distinctive than a generic fantasy dungeon crawl.

The seven-character choice gives the game a small but meaningful role-playing edge. Each warrior specializes in different weapons, so your starting identity is expressed through how you fight, whether that means a sword, flail, mace, or empty hands. The shared ability to collect ranged weapons keeps that choice from becoming too rigid.

Do not come expecting the drama to carry the game. The story’s contribution is its martial-fantasy frame: warriors, demons, weapon specializations, and a feudal Korean backdrop. For this kind of early shooter, that is a stronger hook than it may sound, particularly if you are tired of interchangeable space stations and military bases.

Overall Experience

Euijeok: Im Kkeokjeong is most rewarding as an offbeat early first-person shooter whose combat vocabulary is built around martial weapons. The first commercially released Build-engine game has historical interest, but it would be a mistake to treat it only as a curiosity. Choosing a warrior, beginning with a melee specialty, and gradually adding darts or throwing knives gives its action a character many contemporary shooters lack.

The payoff depends on what you bring to it. You will get more out of it if you enjoy the directness of older DOS action games and do not mind being interrupted by switches, traps, and exploratory obstacles. The enemy mix keeps things from settling into one-note swordplay, since armed opponents and magic-using demons demand respect in the same compact first-person format.

For a gamer chasing polished modern convenience, this is unlikely to be an easy recommendation. For someone who enjoys unusual corners of shooter history, though, it is worth a serious look. Its Korean fantasy setting, seven fighter choices, and emphasis on close combat make it more than a footnote: it is a strange, specific action game with an identity all its own.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10