The first experience - the player is greeted by an ordinary everyman in a calm everyday environment (third person), that is quickly thrown into madness. The people start to beam up into the sky in a bright pillar of light. There is confusion everywhere and some explosions after which everything goes quiet. The electricity is cut, the cars stop working. There are a few terrified people looking around cautiously. An old homeless man starts crying out loudly that the Rapture is upon us and all sinful have been condemned to death on earth. As he says it, the ground below him cracks and a huge crevice opens, through which an otherworldly being pulls him into the ground. Everyone goes into full panic mode.
The game is easy to get into – there are quite few mechanics, that are easy to learn. That being said, the way how the levels are crafted makes the game more difficult to go through. There will be levels that need several attempts to be completed. When the players die, they can start again from the beginning of the level. (if “Permadeath” mode is not active, in which case the players would have to start the whole game from the beginning) Through their failures, the players will have the chance to learn how the level is built up and what items they need to use.
The game will not have written tutorials, but there will be a safe prologue level, in which the players can try out the controls and build up their game-related knowledge and skills.
When the players reach the end of the level (a church), they are rewarded with vials of holy water. After completing the level, players are made aware of the optional achievements that they could have completed to receive the maximum amount of holy water. Completed levels can be run again to get the best results.
Holy water can be used to upgrade character traits and skills and to repent for Johnson’s sins. All skills are not upgradable in the beginning since they must first be unlocked through progression. This indicates that both the player and the character need to improve to progress in the game.
As the game progresses, the horde of enemies gets larger, and the variety of demons increases. The levels get more difficult to navigate in with more frequent environmental hazards and higher chances of falling into the abyss and/or lava. There are always sufficient items in the environment that allow the player to somehow beat the level.
The player is made aware of their progression through the dialogues between demons which indicate that the player’s efforts could indeed lead to the moment of the main character being granted passage into Heaven.
The End Game – Mr. Johnson is granted an audience with The God. The ending varies depending on how much holy water the player used to repent for the sins. The players are encouraged to replay the game to unlock other endings.
If enough was used, Mr. Johnson is accepted into Heaven.
If not quite enough was used, he gets laughed at and is thrown back down to earth again. The game ends with a dark note as he gets dragged down to hell by the demons.
If not nearly enough was used, he also gets thrown back down to earth, but the game ends with Mr. Johnson spitting on the idea of Heaven and accepting the Hell’s challenge with a menacing voice. He would like to “see the Devil try” to take him to hell.