Ion Fury

released on Aug 15, 2019

Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison earned her nickname as a bomb disposal expert for the Global Defense Force. When transhumanist cult mastermind Dr. Jadus Heskel unleashes a cybernetic army on Neo DC, Shelly decides it’s time to start chucking bombs rather than defusing them. Her journey will leave trails of blood and gore in huge, multi-path levels filled with those famous colorful keycards and plenty of secrets and Easter Eggs to discover behind every corner. There’s also no regenerating health here, so stop taking cover and start running and gunning. Honestly, Ion Maiden should probably come out on three hundred floppy disks. Shelly’s quest to take down Dr. Heskel’s army will see her use an arsenal of weapons, all with alternate fire modes or different ammo types. Her signature revolver, Loverboy, brings enemies pain and players pleasure with single shots, or Shelly can fan the hammer Old West style. Shotguns are fun, but tossing grenades down their barrels and firing explosive rounds is even better. Bowling Bombs are just as violent and over-the-top as one would hope. Ion Maiden laughs at the idea of constant checkpoints and straight paths through shooting galleries. But just because this is a true old-school first-person shooter doesn’t mean there won’t be all the good new stuff the last two decades have brought. Headshots? Hell yeah. More physics and interactivity? You betcha. Widescreen, controller support, and Auto Saves? 3D Realms and Voidpoint took the best of both worlds and cooked it all into a bloody stew.


Reviews View More

I think this may be my new favorite retro shooter.

I love everything about this game, the art, weapons, levels and sfx, etc. Everything is so tight and refined, I feel like this game really is the peak of Build Engine. (This or Blood. It's hard to decide which one I like more lol)

Unlike a common issue in a lot of boomer shooters, there wasn't really any low points within this game I feel, like the entire playthrough I was completely engaged and had so much fun.

Extremely fun build-engine FPS.

A ridiculous but really fun and punchy arsenal (I'm pretty sure dual-wielding SMGs that shoot burning flechettes is a violation against the Geneva conventions somewhere), really good level-design featuring a ton of secrets, and fast shooter action.

If you liked Blood or Duke Nukem for their action, I wholeheartedly recommend this game. Be warned, however, that the levels in this game are significantly longer.

This review contains spoilers

What catb0mb said.


(Also I fucked Shelly)

The doctor sighs as he gives me the news. "Son, you've got a terminal addiction to generally decent retro throwback shooters." My head hangs in defeat. I should have known all along.

It's ok. I liked the game enough to finish it, but the guns just felt underwhelming. Maybe it's because I don't have nostalgia for the build engine, but I wouldn't recommend this over other retro/retro-throwback shooters.