Boomer shooters are quite possibly experiencing their golden age right now. Not only is this the easiest time in history to play the best version of the classics, but new boomer shooters are polishing the formula to a shine.
So here are a bunch of excellent boomer shooters, both old and new, that I think fans of the genre should play today. I have left out obvious, super-popular titles like DOOM (1993) and Duke Nukem 3D because everyone knows them already. Instead, I hope you boomer shooter lovers find at least one game here that you didn’t know about.
While most of these games are also available on console, they really play best using a mouse and keyboard, so I’ve linked to the Steam versions.
10
Amid Evil
Not every boomer shooter has to be about guns. As classics like Heretic and Hexen have proven, there’s some good shooting fun to be had with swords and sorcery as well.
Amid Evil is one of a few modern games (the other being Graven) that bring back those classic magic-themed shooters, but with a nice lick of modern polish. If you have the computer for it, you can even turn on some delicious ray tracing for total immersion in this colorful world of spell-slinging, or simply punching monsters until they expire. It’s a fast-paced game with a moderate amount of platforming, but if you liked the games that inspired it at all, you can’t miss Amid Evil.
9
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Speak of the devil, and you just might have to take him on in a 1V1 battle. Some people might prefer the first game Heretic, but for me Hexen is the better of the two games and really does its own thing. Heretic is more a straight DOOM clone with a fantasy paintjob, but Hexen was the first game (in my opinion) that really made first-person action RPG gameplay work.
Make no mistake, Hexen is a tough game, and can be confusing, but when the gameplay and level design click for you, it’s something special. Even better, the game has a ton of replayability. Each character class with their unique weapons feel very different to play. Also, before you ask, I much prefer this game to Hexen 2, if for no other reason than the visuals in this game aging much more gracefully. Speaking of which, while I’ve linked to the original game on Steam above, the screenshot is from Hexen running on my Mac using GZDoom, and once you’ve bought the game I highly recommend installing GZDoom and copying the Hexen data files over for a much better, more modern experience.
Related
8
Ion Fury
Ion Fury is an excellent shooter in its own right, and not enough games like these have female protagonists, but what I really love about the game is that it’s basically from a parallel universe where the Quake engine wasn’t what caught on, and instead the Build Engine from Duke Nukem 3D formed the basis of future games.
Ion Fury shows what’s possible when you apply modern computing power to this iconic 2.5D game engine, and the results are spectacular. Vast levels with hordes of enemies, all rendered with gorgeous sprite work and lighting.
The game is hard but fair, the shooting feels amazing, and it even plays decently on my Nintendo Switch using gyro aiming, though I’ve seen quite a few people complain about how gyro aiming performs for this game on Switch, It seems fine to me, but it may have been patched in the interim. It’s on PC with a mouse where the game really shines though, and if you liked Duke Nukem 3D or Shadow Warrior, you’re more than likely going to love Ion Fury.
Related
10 Classic PC Games That Now Run on Mac (And How to Play Them)
Relive classic PC gaming in enemy territory
7
Selaco
The second shooter with a female protagonist on this list is Selaco, this time with an anime-inspired art style, and honestly an anime-inspired level of action and violence to go with it. Be warned that this game is still in Early Access, but what I’ve played so far is very impressive, and quite polished.
Selaco has interesting destructible environments, punchy weapons, slick semi-retro graphics, and enemies that are a decent challenge. They’ll take cover, stalk you, wait for the right moment to attack, and basically jack you up if you don’t pay attention. Overall, I think there’s already a great game here, and boomer shooter fans can buy in now with confidence.
Related
Eyeing an Early Access Game? How to Tell if It’s Worth Buying or Not
The early bird catches the bugs.
6
Prodeus
shooting-enemies-in-prodeus.jpg
I wasn’t very happy with the direction that DOOM: Eternal went compared to the marvelous gameplay of DOOM 2016, but Prodeus might just actually be the true spiritual successor to that brilliant revival of a classic shooter franchise.
The atmosphere is undeniable, and though it lacks the punch of Mick Gordon’s musical talents, the pumping soundtrack is nonetheless a pleasure to slaughter hordes of enemies to. The game allows for various graphics toggles to change how retro it looks, the guns look and sound amazing, the art direction is its own thing while still evoking the classics—honestly the worst thing I can say about Prodeus is that the overworld map system is a little unnecessary, but otherwise it’s an almost perfect antidote to the platforming chaos of Eternal.
5
Warhammer 40K: Boltgun
Warhammer 40K: Boltgun is another slam-dunk for video games based on the tabletop wargaming franchise, alongside games like Rogue Trader and Space Marine 2.
Boltgun is actually set during the same time as the Space Marine games, at least as far as I can make out, since your player character mentions Captain Titus from those game by name.
Unlike those games, Boltgun is going for a distinctive retro graphical style, but the chunky sprites are beautifully designed and animated either way. The levels are expansive, the action brutal, and this is the best depiction of a space marine as a one-man army I’ve ever seen in video game form. Like DOOM and many other boomer shooters, your companions are out of the picture; There is only the mission and those that stand in your way.
I love that there’s a dedicated taunt button you can use to mock your enemies, and ripping your foes apart with the chainsword never gets old. The story is pretty decent as well, which is a nice bonus since usually the story in a boomer shooter matters about as much as a single-barreled shotgun.
Related
4
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
Remember when I said Ion Fury shows us what’s possible if you give the old Build Engine over to new hardware, well Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is literally built using the Quake 1 engine and though Quake itself still holds up pretty well today, it’s nothing like this!
It’s also a little weird seeing Build Engine owners 3D Realms publish this one, but time has a funny way of changing the lines between allegiances.
Wrath takes more from Quake than its engine. The game manages to capture that same dark fantasy, industrial, gothic, thing the first Quake had going on, and more importantly it feels excellent to move and shoot around these levels.
Related
How Quake Shook the World: Quake Turns 25
Through its expandable nature, Quake moved beyond gaming and became a cultural force.
3
DOOM 64
I specifically wanted to avoid including games here that most boomer shooter fans would already have played, but there is at least one DOOM game that fits that bill, and that’s DOOM 64. This is often considered the “real” DOOM 3, but I, like most of you, was not one of the 30 or so million people to buy a Nintendo 64, and I never got to play this gem when it originally released.
The good news is that 22 years later DOOM 64 is available on just about every platform, with remastered visuals to boot. Although its pacing and atmosphere are different, with a stronger emphasis on puzzles, this is just as good a game as the 1993 original, and that’s saying something. While I do miss the thrash-metal music, if you like classic DOOM, you need to give DOOM 64 a go. Like the other classic DOOM games that don’t have vertical aiming, this game plays particularly well on consoles, and in my case it’s a favorite on my OLED Switch.
2
Powerslave:Exhumed
Despite being absolutely enthralled by first-person shooters in the 90s, I somehow completely missed the existence of Powerslave, but thanks to Nightdive Studios, it’s been retooled for modern systems in the form of Powerslave Exhumed. I’ve heard this game referred to as a proto-Metroid Prime, and unlike mostly linear boomer shooters, Powerslave sees you going back and forth between areas, collecting items that give you powers that unlock previously unreachable parts of levels.
Set in Egypt, there’s a convoluted story about space aliens who want the ghost of a pharaoh or something, and you take orders from this ghost’s big floating head. Honestly, I wasn’t paying too much attention, because the shooting bits are just so much fun. The enemies vary from spiders and scorpions to tall dudes with dog heads and lava worm dragon things. The sprite work is amazing, the death animations are satisfying and, overall, Powerslave deserves its cult status.
That said, this remaster is based on the PlayStation and Saturn versions of the game, which are significantly different from the DOS version. The good news is that the original DOS PC version is still for sale, though it has no modern upgrades, of course.
Related
1
Mullet Madjack
Mullet Madjack is a hard game to describe. It’s like Ultrakill and Hotline Miami had a weird 80s anime-inspired Cyberpunk baby. This game is a relentless, mulleted retro-shooter frenzy that doesn’t just give you a par time to beat at the end of the level, you need to keep up your kills to have enough time to finish.
This is a really fresh title in the genre, but it’s not going to be for everyone. The good news is that it has a demo on Steam, so you can try it out without paying anything upfront.
As much as I love modern story-driven AAA first-person shooters, I hope the boomer shooter genre never dies. Sometimes, you just want to be pointed in a direction with a big gun, and end some dudes. That will never go out of style.
