Overview
Catechumen (an ecclesiastic term referring to those in the process of converting to Christianity) is a first-person shooter for PC and one of the highest profile Christian video games to be released commercially. In an interview, the company's founder Ralph Bagley changed the theme of the game from a regular violent FPS to a non-violent religious game in the wake of the Columbine shootings, which had put violent video games under a harsh light by the mainstream media. With this new direction, the struggling game was able to find sufficient funding to continue.
The game features a Roman soldier, the titular catechumen, as he eludes the imprisonment that sees his mentor and many others of the same faith behind bars. The Roman Empire is infested with devil worshippers and demonic creatures, not least of whom is Satan himself, and the player's task is to destroy the demons and convert the worshippers back to the light. The player is given an assortment of holy weaponry to complete their objective, most of which are projectile firing swords.
The developers, N-Lightning, would go on to create another FPS with similar themes in Ominous Horizons: A Paladin's Calling the following year. After this, the studio appeared to shut down.
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