Ion Fury

Disclaimer: After reviewing the game on Steam I received feedback from the devs saying I probably won't enjoy the final game, meaning some of my issues with the game are deliberate design choices. So take it as you will. Boring enemies. The roaster so far consists of 3 types of "dudes with guns", two of which are almost-hitscan. They don't do anything special, just run at you and shoot. Their visual designs are pretty uninteresting too. Later on spiders appear, and unlike the green blobs in Duke or hands in Blood, those guys have no cool gimmick either, just walk at you and deal damage. The devs promised a more diverse enemy cast in the final game though. Expansive but linear level design. Every area feels larger than it should be, and there's nothing in them to justify that. They feel empty and boring and only seem serve as padding, having you walk much longer distances to explore the level. The game also opts for more modern level design, with less opportunities to get lost and, at least in the preview campaign, much more linear paths to your goal. Modernized gameplay. No inventory, only portable medkits. Good change, though I would still prefer the inventory to be expanded upon with useful stuff rather than scrapped entirely. The game also adds headshots, which is something it never really tells you about, as the enemies don't even have separate death animations. And it's essential, as on my first playthrough I found myself running out of all ammo constantly before I learned about them. Performance. Atrocious, mostly due to aforementioned large areas. Framerate can drop from 300+ to sub-30 even on high-end machines. The devs promised performance boosts in next patches, so I'm hoping that this will be adressed soon. The main character also lacks any personality, not in the design nor her voice or voice lines. Not a deal-breaker, but doesn't help the game either. Overall it's not bad, just disappointing, especially when compared to the other Build games.

This game isn't finished yet, but the first episode is extremely fun. Smooth, fluid, fast paced, and loads of secrets to uncover. This is a game I cannon't wait to be released. Try it out, or wait until the full version is released!

This is a game people will still play and love 20 years from now, as evidenced by the fact that Duke Nukem 3D is still replayed by thousands to this day. If you like Duke 3D, well, here's more of that same goodness. The weapons, setting, protagonist and enemies are all different, of course, but this is the successor to Duke 3D.. The gunshots pack a more satisfying punch and headshots actually matter now. The cyberpunk setting is gorgeous. The soundtrack sets the mood just right. You can travel back to areas you've already been to if you want. This game has it all, if you're a Build Engine freak. If you've beaten Duke 3D countless times, if you've devoured every last expansion level of Shadow Warrior, if you've beaten Blood on the hardest difficulty and know that it makes you an FPS king, then you owe yourself this game. This is the fourth triumph of the Build Engine, a classic that will be played for decades. In 20 years, will CoD Black Ops 4 still matter? I doubt it, though I'd bet Ion Maiden will still have a place on many hard drives by 2039.

Ignore all the review bombing - 1 star reviews because of 2 texture changes, what utter horseshit. The game plays & feels great - fast, huge maps with endless secrets, enemies that are just on the right side of hard (Normal difficulty). There are some technical issues - infrequent slowdowns (hope this gets patched) but overall the game runs fast. Also notable is how little hand-holding there is - this is proper 90s FPS style, making the player discover secrets, way-points, even how the gun's secondary fire works. And it's released at a budget price, to boot. tl;dr: If you're bored of corridor shooters & need to shoot some robots in the face - BUY THIS GAME!

Not perfect but a very well made game. While I have some issues all in all a very fun and challenging game. Thoroughly recommended for anyone that wants a great old school game.