First-person shooters, broadly speaking, have existed in their current form since the release of Wolfenstein 3D in 1992.
Obviously, computers weren’t nearly as strong as they are today, so the graphics were made up entirely of pixel art moving around in a 3D space. It was simple, but it worked.
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Technology has evolved by leaps and bounds since then, and modern big-budget shooters have ridiculously realistic graphics.
However, there are still quite a few shooters released in the modern age that stick to their pixelated roots, both withthe classic “boomer shooter” frameworkand other, more varied gameplay types.
Some games go for the classic approach, with 2D sprites in a 3D space, while others split the difference and opt for 3D models with a deliberately pixelated, low-poly style.
I am specifically highlighting modern games that deliberately use a pixelated art style.
10Ion Fury
Never Enough Bullets
Much like the retro shooter genre as a whole,Ion Furyhas something of a reputation for being highly resilient.
The game wasoriginally called “Ion Maiden,”but then the band Iron Maiden sued the devs, and they had to change it. Luckily, it endured in spite of all that, and all the better for the players.
Ion Fury is a straightforward boomer shooter, giving you large arenas full of punks to bust and a respectable arsenal of guns to do it with.
How it differentiates itself is in your ammunition; every gun fires large quantities of bullets in subtly unique ways, some more than others.
Your default revolver, for instance, packs several magnum bullets in each shot, and by fanning the hammer, you can unload around 18 rounds for the price of 6.
Your shotgun, meanwhile, can swap on the fly between a tight-spread auto-loader and a six-round grenade launcher. For every situation, there is a gun and alotof bullets.
Guns, Lasers, And More
As the shooter genre evolved, things gradually started to move past plain old guns. Games like the original Quake and Unreal Tournament added all sorts of wacky death implements, a design framework followed largely by Prodeus andits varied arsenal.
You start out with the usual pistols, machine guns, and so on, but as the game goes on, your weapons only get stranger and more elaborate.
You have a plasma rifle with an auto-lock feature for automatically tracking enemies, a bizarre alien weapon that fires in massive brackets, and even a handheld railgun that launches both solid projectiles and lightning bolts.
It’s rather telling that one of the game’s most “normal” weapons is the super shotgun, and even that thing has four barrels. it’s also got beautiful engraving on its stock, but that kind of goes by the wayside.
Dy-no-mite
One of the most important qualities for a good shooter game is satisfying feedback. You want your guns to look chunky and sound punchy. You get some good examples of this in games with old wartime weaponry, with Cultic being a good example.
Nothing tears through a crowd of demented cultists better than military pistols, shotguns, and machine guns. Unlike in a war, though, there are no hard and fast tactics to be had here.
you’re able to go the stealthy approach, the loud approach, the tricky approach, whatever approach works for you.
The guns are all highly customizable, with each able to equip various upgrade parts for more damage and tighter spreads. If the ammo ever runs dry, well, you’ve always got a lighter on you, and that means you can very easily light up a bundle of TNT.
7Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
Smells Like Heresy In Here
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
It’s always fun when franchises that largely stick to one genre branch out into others. Warhammer, for instance, has mostly existed in the realm ofstrategy games and third-person shooters. However, it had one, very deliberately retro-inspired first-person shooter.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is the ideal Ultramarine fantasy. It’s just you, your chainsword, your trusty Boltgun, and a whole lot of heresy that needs sorting out.
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Despite the lack of 3D characters, you still very much feel the full weight of your Ultramarine as he stomps all over the place, pumping lead slugs into anything that looks at him funny.
It’s rather refreshing to play a Warhammer game that’s so focused on a single element of its world. No one cares about factions or moral ambiguity, just grab that Boltgun and shove it in a cultist’s face.
6Chop Goblins
Delightfully Stupid
In the late 90s, when shooters finally reached the territory of full 3D models, there were quite a few random, low-budget games floating around the internet and hobby shops.
What these games lacked in modern graphics and novel gameplay mechanics, they made up for with sheer gleeful madness.
Chop Goblins is a deliberately cheap-looking shooter, evocative of those random games you’d stumble upon while surfing the web.
The weapons are bizarre and eclectic, ranging from an antique flintlock pistol to a motorized wooden stake launcher. The levels run all across time and space, from a modern history museum to the castle of Count Dracula.
The game bills itself as a “micro FPS,” short and sweet enough that you can finish the whole thing in one sitting. It doesn’t stick around for a long time, but after you finish it, don’t be surprised if it’s found a small nook of your brain to occupy.
Still Nicer Than Most Hotels
Have you ever been in areallyunpleasant hotel? You know, cobwebs everywhere, peeling paint, weird smells, murderous fiends all over the place?
Well, maybe not that last one, but you’re pretty close to the general experience of Cruel either way.
This speedy roguelike FPS has you surmounting a demented hotel building one floor at a time, kicking down doors and blasting murderers with whatever you happen to find lying around.
Expedience is the name of the game; if you’re stopping to take a breath, you’re playing it wrong.
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Between levels, you can feed the cans of soda you find to a dog to unlock new upgrades, and no, that does not make any more sense in context.
you’re able to also take a gamble by checking the public restroom for more goodies, though there’s also a chance you’ll be instantly merked by a horrifying monster.
4Fashion Police Squad
You Have The Right To Remain Fabulous
Fashion Police Squad
Not all retro-styled shooters are about endless blood and gore. Some of them put your sharpshooting skills to more practical purposes, such as ensuring the continued existence of good taste.
In Fashion Police Squad, it’s your job as a member of the titular Fashion Police to scrub the streets of fashion nightmares like saggy pants and socks with sandals.
Each of your guns rectify a specific kind of fashion crime, such as trashy colors or poor fits, soyou can’t just blast away endlessly with whateveryou happen to have on hand. You have to watch your targets and determine what kind of help they need to be properly presentable.
It’s also a surprisingly vertical game, as you can whip off your belt and use it to swing from high points and explore the level’s nooks and crannies. It’s one of the most steadfast elements of a retro FPS: big levels full of secrets.
The Most Realistic Pixels
The enemies in the original shooter games had relatively simplistic AI. They followed you and shot at you as soon as they saw you, and that was about the long and short of it.
Even if a newer game is invoking that aesthetic, though, that doesn’t mean everything about it has to be the same.
Case in point, Selaco prides itself on its highly-adaptive enemy AI. They may be flat sprites, but they’re just as capable of strategizing as you are. Enemies will hide in cover, advance on your position, and try to flush you out with suppressing fire and grenades.
As much fun as it is to rush out into the fray in other shooters, guns blazing, Selaco is a game that demands a little more from you. You’re not a one-man army, you’re one soldier. One single, squishy soldier.
2Ultrakill
Doom By Way Of Devil May Cry
Fast-paced shooters have a lot in common with another genre of games:character-action games like Devil May Cry. They’re both about pummeling large numbers of punks in speedy, stylish fashion, after all. One game that really latches onto that similarity isUltrakill.
Ultrakill follows the usual paradigm of retro shooters, pitting you against large quantities of enemies in massive, blood-soaked arenas. The twist is that your score for any given level goes up if you can put a little panache on your firefights.
Swapping out your guns and using their abilities in tandem, as well as deftly maneuvering about without taking damage, will earn you better style ranks than just standing there and popping away.
Ultrakill is a game that demands your absolute attention at all times, not just to put on the best performance, but to know when it’s time to suck up some blood from a foe and top off your health.
1Turbo Overkill
You Get A Chainsaw, You Get A Chainsaw
Turbo Overkill
It’s a highlight in just about every Doom game when you finally get your hands on a chainsaw. It’s a beautiful ballet of destruction to whip through a crowd of enemies with one chainsaw, but you know what’s better than one chainsaw? Four chainsaws.
In Turbo Overkill, you start the game with a pair of chainsaws embedded in your legs, which allow you to perform the game’s signature Chainsaw Dash. It’s both a fast way to get around large arenas and an immensely entertaining means of mowing down hordes of jobbers.
Later on, you receive another pair of chainsaws, this time in your arms, which are powered up the more you use your chainsaw legs. It’s quite a feedback loop.
Of course, there are plenty of guns to enjoy as well, such as magnums you charge by spinning, a grenade-launching sawed-off shotgun, and a sniper rifle that can teleport you right into an enemy, telefragging them in the process.
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