Retro FPS Ion Fury is coming out of Steam Early Access on August 15th, with a physical release up for pre-orders now. Check out the announcement trailer.
Ion Fury is part love letter to Duke Nukem 3D and yet another FPS releasing in this wave of early 3D era nostalgia among Amid Evil and Blood: Fresh Supply. This one’s got a bit of a long development history: After losing development rights to a Duke Nukem game, developer 3D Realms inserted side character Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison as the protagonist to the same game and renamed it Bombshell. The game was a critical failure and commercially equally so, but that didn’t stop them from trying again. A prequel to the Bombshell’s story titled Ion Maiden was announced, released under Steam Early Access and hit with a $2 million lawsuit by metal band Iron Maiden for trademark infringement in several elements of the game.That hasn’t stopped the folks at 3D Realms, renaming the game to Ion Fury and moving on with a release date for August on Steam.
This time around the game is squarely focused on designing an FPS with the visuals and physics of a Build engine game. That being said, the developer touts modern features:
- The true successor to classic shooters such as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood.
- Experience the original BUILD engine on steroids, pumped up and ready to rock again after 20 years!
- Duck, jump, climb, swim, and blast your way through 7 exciting zones packed with multiple levels of mayhem!
- A beautiful game world assembled from thousands of hand-crafted textures and sprites
- An awe-inspiring arsenal of devastating weapons, including multiple ammo types and alternate fire modes. Tri-barreled revolvers, grenade launchers, and heat-seeking smart bombs are your best friends!
- The classic ’90s FPS action you love, meshed with modern inventions like locational damage and seamless level transitions
- ZERO PROCEDURAL GENERATION. All levels are hand made and full of multiple paths, cool effects, and complex set pieces!
- Thumping soundtrack comprised of true tracked module music, in authentic FastTracker 2 format
- Easy access on to level editor and other development tools on day one, plus Steam Workshop support
Ion Fury is available now on Steam Early Access. Buying the game during Early Access is $5 off the full release price of $24.99, and gives you access to a preview episode in true shareware style. You can also pre-order the Big Box edition, which gets you a USB key with a DRM-free version of the game. PS4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One versions are planned for a later release.
