Warlock: Haplo's Top-Down Slasher Lands on the C64

Warlock, the newest Commodore 64 project from developer Haplo, is out now. It borrows the mood of old first-person fantasy shooters and drops it onto a top-down map. If you remember Heretic and still keep a breadbin computer within arm's reach, this one is worth a look.

Haplo isn't new to the scene. The developer's earlier C64 titles include Shift and Tenebra, both well regarded in retro circles. Warlock looks like the most ambitious of the three so far, at least on paper.

Heretic, Seen From Above

The idea behind Warlock is simple. Haplo wanted the intense, gloomy energy of classic fantasy shooters like Heretic, but from a completely different angle. Instead of peering down a corridor in first person, you look down on the action from above.

That's a smart fit for the C64. It's no secret that 3D shooters push 8-bit hardware close to breaking point. We've seen brave attempts, like the DOOM64 demake for the Commodore 64, but a top-down view lets the machine focus on what it does well. You get readable sprites, quick movement and screens full of enemies.

The fantasy setting carries over from Heretic, too. There are weapons, monsters and secrets tucked into the walls. It's a slasher at heart, so expect plenty of hacking through the enemy hordes.

No Roguelike Here

A lot of modern action games in this style lean on procedural generation. You die, the dungeon reshuffles, you start over. Haplo has made it clear that Warlock isn't one of those.

There's no permadeath hanging over every run. The maps are not generated on the fly either. Every level was built by hand, which means the layouts are deliberate and the secrets were placed there on purpose.

Honestly, I find that refreshing. Roguelikes are great, but they've become the default answer for small action games. A hand-made level has a different feel. You learn its corners, you remember where the trap was, and you get to feel clever when you find the hidden room on your second visit.

What's Inside

Warlock packs in 25 handcrafted levels, and each one hides secret areas for curious players to sniff out. Explorers who like poking at suspicious walls should be well served.

Combat revolves around an arsenal of 5 distinct weapons. You'll use them against 8 different enemy types. Those enemies don't just sit in rooms waiting for you. They appear through an event-triggered spawning system, so walking into the wrong spot or grabbing the wrong item can bring trouble out of nowhere.

There's also a progression layer on top of all that. Warlock uses upgrades, perks and a curses system, and together they let players shape a playstyle that suits them. The curses part is the most intriguing bit. It suggests a trade-off where you might take on a drawback in exchange for something useful, though the exact details are something players will have to dig into themselves.

The levels aren't just empty rooms, either. Teleporters, environmental hazards and hidden treasure are scattered around the maps. That gives the exploration a bit more texture than simply clearing out monsters and heading for the exit.

Sound and Atmosphere

Haplo didn't skimp on the audio. Warlock ships with 5 original music tracks and custom sound effects. On a machine famous for its SID chip, that matters. A good soundtrack can carry a C64 game a long way, and a dark fantasy slasher needs the right mood to work.

Early reactions seem warm. One commenter under the original IndieRetroNews report summed it up neatly: "Sounds very cool! I'll try it." Not a review, sure, but it shows the kind of curiosity a new Haplo release tends to spark.

Who It's For

Warlock is aimed at anyone with a Commodore 64 who wants an action game with some depth. The mix of fixed levels, secrets and character building points toward a game you can replay, not one you finish and forget. Fans of fantasy dungeon action, like the torchlit Greed & Darkness, may find something familiar here in a much older package.

Our Take

Warlock fits a pattern we keep seeing on Relaxed Gamers. The C64 scene isn't just producing nostalgia pieces anymore. Developers are building games with real systems, from the sci-fi shooting of Void Lancer to Haplo's perks-and-curses design here. That suggests the hobby is maturing, borrowing ideas from modern design while still respecting the hardware's limits.

The decision to skip roguelike mechanics is the most interesting part. It feels like a quiet pushback against a trend that has taken over much of the indie world. Whether handcrafted levels hold up better over 25 stages than a shuffled dungeon would is something players will decide.

It is worth watching how the curses system plays out in practice, and whether Haplo keeps building on this formula. Given the track record with Shift and Tenebra, the next project could be just as interesting.