Duke Nukem 3D 20th Anniversary

🎮 Steam ⏳ 19 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Celebratory Modernization #

This Duke Nukem title is a celebratory remaster of the iconic 1996 shooter, aiming to modernize the experience while staying faithful to its roots. It introduces true-3D rendering via the Build engine, dynamic lighting, enhanced visual effects, and improved sound quality, alongside re-recorded voice lines by Jon St. John. I have limited experience with the original title, which I played back in the day on PlayStation, and never got past the first few levels, but I have played other Build engine games and I can safely say this is a very high quality product of it. Although it doesn’t have a ton of options such as more recent Build titles, it has a good amount of them, while at the same time, it has excellent defaults, especially when it comes to controller support. So much so that I’ve played this game completely using a controller, which is something that I never do since these titles are best suited for keyboard and mouse.

Classic Gameplay Expanded #

The standout addition is a completely new episode, Alien World Order, which expands the campaign with several large, original levels designed by some of the game’s original creators. And by far this additional content is the hardest levels of the bunch, being the most chaotic and unpredictable, displaying the creators’ evolution in level-design. At its core, the game preserves the fast and old-school gameplay that made it famous. Combat is immediate and aggressive, levels are dense with secrets and interactive elements, and the game’s irreverent humor and pop-culture satire remain front and center. And even though it can start to become annoying like on Shadow Warrior, Duke is way less frequent with his comments. The level design, while sometimes maze-like, still rewards exploration and experimentation, offering a refreshing contrast to more linear modern shooters.

Subtle Technical Enhancements #

The new episode generally fits well with the classic content, even if its level pacing can feel uneven at times. The presentation upgrades are subtle rather than transformative. You can really notice a big difference compared to other similar titles when it comes to the level-design. This game tries to use the most out of the tech available at the time, to try and mimic real-world objects and structures. I’m particular fond to levels that tries to replicate cities and more detailed environments, rather than alien-like or otherworldly scenarios, and this title is packed with those. Improved lighting and rendering give environments more depth, and the cleaned-up audio enhances weapon feedback and atmosphere. Control adjustments, including mouse input and camera behavior, have also been criticized for feeling less precise than expected on PC.

Nostalgic Yet Incomplete #

Content-wise, this game is somewhat incomplete as a “definitive” release. While it adds new material, it omits some classic expansions found in earlier editions, making it less comprehensive than alternatives available to PC players. Overall, this title is a strong nostalgic package that succeeds in preserving the spirit of a landmark shooter while offering just enough new content to justify its existence. It is best enjoyed by fans of retro FPS games or those with fond memories of Duke’s best days, but newcomers may find its dated mechanics and uneven polish a barrier compared to more modern reinterpretations of the genre. I highly recommend this game if you like old FPS to any extent, especially because it is easily available for modern platforms, there is no reason to play the original inferior versions, it’ll absolutely be a good time.