Ion Fury

Description

Ion Fury, announced as Ion Maiden before a trademark dispute with the band led to its renaming, was positioned as a prequel to Bombshell (2016). While Bombshell was a top‑down action shooter, Ion Fury is both stylistically and technologically a spiritual successor to Duke Nukem 3D.
Players take on the role of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a bomb disposal expert working for the Global Defense Force. When transhumanist cult leader Dr. Jadus Heskel unleashes cybernetically enhanced soldiers across the dystopian city of Neo D.C., Shelly fights through sprawling, multi‑path levels filled with enemies, secrets, and explosive set‑pieces.
Ion Fury is a deliberate throwback to 1990s shooters. It runs on EDuke32, a modern fork of the Build engine, making it the first original commercial Build‑engine game in 20 years. The design emphasises fast run‑and‑gun combat, non‑linear maps, hidden areas, and an arsenal of over‑the‑top weapons. Notable among these is Shelly’s signature revolver, the “Loverboy”, a tri‑barrelled handgun capable of both single shots and rapid fanning fire. Other weapons include grenade‑launching shotguns and Bowling Bombs that shred enemies with violent flair.
Unlike modern shooters, Ion Fury avoids regenerating health and checkpoint‑driven progression. Instead, it embraces classic difficulty, manual saves, and arcade‑style pacing, while still incorporating modern conveniences like widescreen support, physics interactions, and autosaves. Reception was very positive, with critics and players praising its faithful recreation of Build‑engine gameplay, level design, and weapon variety. Reviews often described it as a “true successor” to Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood, while also recognising its modern polish. It is both a nostalgic homage and a fresh entry in the retro‑FPS revival movement, bridging the gap classic design philosophy and contemporary gaming. Having grown up playing games like Duke Nukem in early childhood this was a throwback I didn’t know I wanted.