Only Lead Can Stop Them Review – Modern Wolfenstein or More?

Only Lead Can Stop Them is a new retro shooter that draws influence from Doom and – in particular – Wolfenstein 3D, to the point that the cover art for the game is a nod to Id’s classic fascist fighting game that helped kick off the modern genre of 3D FPS games. But Only Lead Can Stop Them isn’t purely an homage that rips off the original; it’s a game that adds its own thematic flavours and modern mechanics to make a unique game that carves out a very interesting niche in this little corner of the gaming world. 

The premise of Only Lead Can Stop Them is very similar to Wolfenstein, but whereas Wolfenstein focuses on taking down the Austrian painter and his brown-shorted minions, Only Lead Can Stop Them is set during the Spanish Civil War. Raging from 1936 to 1939, the Spanish Civil War was a precursor to World War Two and saw Spain’s more democratic, Republican forces squaring off against the right-wing nationalist’s backed by the bad guys, most notably the aforementioned Austrian painter. This war is lesser known outside Spain itself, but spoiler alert, the bad guys win and the dictator Franco scooped up power in the country. Needless to say, your job is to take down Franco and his fascist soldiers – with added supernatural elements, of course – so fans of any of the Wolfenstein games and BJ Blazkowicz’s freedom-loving antics will be right at home here. 

Enough of the history lesson, how does it play? The simple answer is, unsurprisingly, that Only Lead Can Stop Them has basic gameplay mechanics similar to games like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, but there are added features that actually make this an evolution of the genre, rather than just a copy. For example, you can build up a rage meter and then press C to give yourself an adrenaline rush that allows you to move and shoot faster, allowing you to really stick it to the fascist regime. Using this feature also affects how the guns and music sounds, and it’s a nicely done little touch that adds more style to the shooter. 

At the start of the game, you can choose whether you’re a man or woman, and embark on one of a handful of campaigns that are comprised of numerous levels. Only Lead Can Stop Them follows the same formula as other games in the genre. You find a silver key to unlock silver doors, gold key for gold doors, or secret buttons to open secret doors. These secret areas usually house collectables that you can pick up along the way, too, giving the game an added layer of replayability. 

Throughout the levels, you’ll encounter increasingly dangerous opponents. Enemy types start off as your basic fascist soldier types, then you’ll fight dogs, then dogs with armour, stormtroopers, and it gets even crazier from there. Only Lead Can Stop Them might look like Doom or Wolfenstein, but there’s a slight heaviness to the movement that adds more realism and reminds you of other DOS games of the late 90s, like NAM and WW2 GI.  

There are 9 weapons in total, from basic knife and pistol to Vickers machine guns, flamethrowers, rifle grenades. The physics of the projectiles fired when you shoot these weapons is spot-on, and they are accompanied by cool effects, like the shotgun spreading pellets everywhere when you fire it in a crowded room. Headshots also count and do more damage in Only Lead Can Stop Them, and you can perform sneaky one hit knife kills if you sneak up on patrolling bad guys. The weapons are period accurate and it’s nice to see a selection of weapons that aren’t the usual suspects, which adds yet another layer of uniqueness to the game that shows how much effort the developers put into the game to set it apart from just being another rip-off of the classics. 

As you explore the levels, the Spanish setting of the game really starts to shine through. For example, you’ll find Paella and other Spanish foods as health pickups, as opposed to your basic health pickups in other similar games. You’ll also find other objects, like artworks of relevant historical figures – antagonist Franco, for instance – adorning the halls, and this is where Only Lead Can Stop Them really starts to come into its own and set itself apart with a unique identity. 

What’s also pleasing about this retro shooter is the number of settings and options it gives you to tailor the experience to how you want to play. When it comes to shooting preferences, you can choose whether to lock the vertical axis of the crosshair to give you that authentic Doom style, or you can unlock it so that Only Lead Can Stop Them plays more like Quake. This is something you might want to actually do given the added headshot damage multiplier. Looks-wise, a nice touch is that you’re given three different options of graphical style to fit your preference, those being early 90s, late 90s, and modern. Whichever you choose affects colour palette, pixelation level, and more.

I was pleasantly surprised by my time with Only Lead Can Stop Them. When I first looked at screenshots, I thought that this might just be another homage game; a game that says it’s inspired by the classics but is just a carbon copy. I’m happy to report, though, that what’s on offer here carves out a distinct identity for itself in the crowded space of retro shooters. The Spanish Civil War historical setting is one that’s greatly underutilised in media, and the developers have done a fantastic job of embracing what makes Only Lead Can Stop Them different by adding in lots of nods to Spanish culture. The game feels great to play, too, and this is definitely an experience that has had lots of polish put into it. 

The only downside to Only Lead Can Stop Them is to do with the genre itself. While you won’t find yourself having a terrible time, the basic nature of the titles that this game is based on – notably Wolfenstein and Doom – hold it back. It’s not an overly long game, clocking in at at a few hours, and there is only so much that can be added to the pixel art corridors before it still all looks like, well, a retro shooter based on Wolfenstein. This is all to say that while Only Lead Can Stop Them is clearly unique, it can’t push the envelope in the way more modern games can.