Summary
Boomer shooters have been around since the 90s and introduced Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. With a first-person camera, pixelated yet 3D enemies, and plenty of weapons to fight your way through labyrinth-like levels, boomer shooters offer plenty of action to keep you entertained.
Some boomer shooters still feel like they haven’t aged a bit, while others take inspiration from what worked in the past and add gameplay elements to keep things fresh. This can mean better lighting, new mechanics, or even new modes for replayability. From a Lovecraftian infestation to futuristic action, these are ten boomer shooters that feel perfect outside the 90s.
10Dusk
Evil Around Every Corner
Dusk is ahorror-centric boomer shooterthat takes a few notes from other classic shooters while adding its own unique spin on the gameplay. With cultists, possessed scarecrows, and giant bosses lurking in a wide variety of biomes, Dusk takes advantage of modern designs to give each area a distinct look.
Switching between rifles, pistols, and even dual-wielded pump shotguns, you must explore each level to uncover hidden switches and destroy any abomination that crosses your path. There are also plenty of collectibles to raise your score and upgrade your weapons.
9Ultra Kill
Fast Gameplay
Ultra Kill is a fast-paced first-person shooter that speeds up the action and forces players to keep moving. There’s no standing still here. With bloody kill animations and over-the-top violence, it’s everything that parents complained about in the early days of gaming.
Ultra Kill rewards players for keeping up with the fast gameplay. So creative kills and quick finishes net you a higher score. This adds another layer of replayability to the experience as you dual-wield weapons and jump across the map to avoid getting killed.
8Forgive Me Father
A Lovecraftian Twist
If you loveLovecraft-inspired gameswith tentacled monsters and fish-like abominations, then Forgive Me Father is an absolute gem to play. Enemies each have their own flat 2D models that roam the 3D overworld. Each has its own unique attack, movement, and death animations, and the game has so much visual eye candy to appreciate.
Forgive Me Father also brings in a modern upgrade mechanic. Leveling up means enhancing the weapons you collect throughout the game into cooler Lovecraftian versions of themselves. It also has two unique characters to play, with unique unlockable skills and items.
7Metal Hellsinger
Music And Mayhem
Metal Hellsinger has the aesthetic of Doom witha musical twist to the gameplay. If you can shoot on the beat, the music will intensify, and the more destructive you will become. This is perfect for getting you in a slaying mood.
There are plenty of modern mechanics, such as upgradable skills and weapons. You can even fill up a meter to unleash a devastating ultimate. For fans who just love the combat in a boomer shooter, a horde mode is available to provide players with a non-stop experience.
6Project Warlock
Fight With Magic
Project Warlock takes the classic look and feel of a boomer shooter and mixes in some fantasy elements. Rather than just using guns to fend off the baddies in this game, you also have melee weapons and magic powers.
One aspect of Project Warlock that keeps things feeling old school with a hint of modernism is the variety of biomes it likes to explore. From frozen caverns to Egyptian dunes, each area gives the levels a unique look that makes you want even more.
5Amid Evil
Roman Combat
You were once a heretic. Now you are a champion. Amid Evil looks like it was made in the early 2000s. The game has a unique twist to the boomer shooter genre, focusing less on guns and more on magical staves and melee weapons.
You can wield a trident that can shoot magical shockwaves at your enemies or staff that produce dark orbs of destructive power. Melee weapons have their own unique twists, too, with an axe that can spin like a blender blade to really put the pain on your enemies.
4Doom
The Classic Boomer Shooter
There is a reason every boomer shooter takes inspiration from Doom. Even after all these years, the original Doom still feels fresh. With classic 3D graphics, running across the cramped spaces looking for enemies still feels fantastic.
The soundtrack still slaps even today as you fight demons with your arsenal. Who could forget the iconic BFG? Doom is also a great game for speedrunning, giving players a whole new way to experience the classic boomer shooter.
3Blood West
A Boomer Shooter With Stealth
Something strange is happening in the Wild West. The dead are returning to life as vicious mutants and monsters roam the western prairie, and the wildlife has become twisted. Luckily, you have a revolver and a curse that won’t let your soul leave the mortal realm.
With a perk-based progression system and a bit more emphasis on stealth, Blood West gives the boomer shooter genre an entry that is just a bit slower but just as bloody and heart-pumping.
2Postal Brain Damaged
A Wacky Shooter
The Postal franchise has its own boomer shooter. Postal Brain Damage lets you shoot, kick, and pee your way through a variety of stages taking place inside your own head. This leads to many wacky scenarios, such as fighting demons or even aliens.
Levels all have their own unique look to them, which keeps the world looking fresh. From suburbia to prison and even a spaceship, the game does its best to keep that same Postal feel that the franchise is known for.
1Cultic Chapter 1
Destroy A Cult
There is a sinister cult on the loose, and it’s up to you to stop it. you’re able to burn them, blast them, or even chop them up into pieces. Every weapon has its own unique animation, and the world around you is as detailed as it gets with its retro graphics.
The physics in the game make it apparent that the game belongs in the modern day with explosions and bullets feeling precise and destructive. Meanwhile, modern lighting creates unique visual moments when combined with pixelated graphics.
