The first-person shooter is among the most saturated video game genres in the modern day, recently enjoying a resurgence in theboomer shooter subgenre. This sub-genre is particularly notable for its use of pixelated textures and 2D, pixel-art sprites.
While not all first-person shooters in this niche make use of 2D characters in 3D environments, many of them do. These are just a few excellent examples of modern shooters with an old-school, pixelated look.
8Fashion Police Squad
An Old-School Arena Shooter Without The Gore
This old-school arena shooter features a rich andvibrant pixel-art style, with 2D directional sprites for its various enemies and an arsenal of pixelated weaponry.Fashion Police Squad, if its name didn’t give it away already, takes a humorous approach to its theme, setting, and light narrative. This, along with the lack of gore, allows it to stand out in an increasingly saturated genre.
Fashion Police Squadisn’t the most complex or expansive entry in the resurgence of boomer shooters, but it provides a light-hearted experience with fluid movement controls and vibrant art direction. For fans of retro-styled arena shooters that don’t mind the tongue-in-cheek tone and theme,Fashion Police Squadis worth a shot.
Project Warlock’senemies, weapons, and environments are all visualized with well-crafted pixel-art. Like many of the games it takes inspiration from,Project Warlockfeatures 2D characters and props in 3D environments, allowing for a combination of stylized art andexpressive battle arenas.
Thankfully,Project Warlock’svisuals are given plenty of time to shine in the game’s wide variety of distinct environments. The frequent changes in setting also ensure the game rarely gets stale, keeping things fresh from beginning to end.
This psychedelicaction roguelikehas players speeding through various rooms and corridors at a breakneck pace, taking out enemies as fast as they can on their way to the exit. To be successful, players must blast their way through each zone before the liquid in their idol runs out, representing a constantly-draining health bar.
Post Void’sfrantic, chaotic gameplay is only matched by its psychedelic, pixel-art style. 2D, pixelated sprites represent the various unhinged enemies in the game, as well as the player’s skinny arms and arsenal of snappy guns. The environments are painted in pixelated textures, featuring a vast array of bright colors that can frequently be disorientating.
This gory,heavilyDOOM-inspiredold-school FPS is packed with punchy gunfights and a low-resolution, pixelated art-style.Prodeusis incredibly old-school, despite its recent release, and follows the same formula of 90s shooters, tasking players with gunning down enemies to acquire color-coded keys.
Prodeus'2D, pixelated enemies are plentiful, giving players plenty of reasons to use their arsenal of old-school weaponry. Furthermore, despite the environments using a variety of pixelated textures, atmospheric lighting prevents the screen from getting too messy.
4Fortune’s Run
A Combination Of Tactical Stealth And Fast-Paced Action
Fortune’s Runis a strange game that’s slow to start, but players that are patient with its slower pace will find a truly distinctive experience that offers a combination of tactical stealth and fast-paced action gameplay. The slower pace of the game, in comparison to other boomer-shooters, can likely be attributed to the game’simplementation of immersive-sim elements.
Fortune’s Runfeatures expansive, industrial science fiction environments that are packed with pixelated detail. Furthermore, the game’s character sprites, portraits, and weapons are all visualized in crunchy pixel art and pixelated textures.
Developed inthe classic Build Engine(the very same engine used to make iconic shooters such asDuke Nukem 3D and Blood),Ion Furyis an inherently retro-styled first-person shooter. As a result, it’s no surprise that its visuals are packed with pixelated sprites and textures.
While it’s by no means a carbon copy of the games it’s inspired by, theDuke Nukem,Shadow Warrior, andBloodinfluences are apparent from the get-go inIon Fury. From the fun but somewhat limited arsenal of weapons, to the game’s approach to level design and plethora of secrets,Ion Furyis a retro shooter through-and-through, with a pixelized aesthetic to boot.
This high-octane gore-fest is a fast-paced boomer shooter that puts players in the hulking shoes of an Ultramarine.Warhammer 40k: Boltgunfeatures a variety of pixelized 2D sprites for both its enemies and the player’s FPS rig.
As with all boomer shooters,Boltguntakes a great deal of inspiration fromclassic 90s shooters, both in its visuals and its gameplay. However, the faithfully recreated Warhammer 40k setting, excessive gore, and a chainsword allowBoltgunto stand out among the crowd.
Taking several pages out ofBlood’sbook isCULTIC, a faithfully constructed retro shooter with horror elements inspired byResident Evil 4.CULTICfeatures the freedom of movement that fans of 90s shooters have come to expect over the years, thoughCULTIC’smovement arguably feels more advanced than its influences.
CULTIC’sgameplay is non-stop, action-packed fun with a dense atmosphere. This atmosphere is facilitated by strong art direction and an old-school approach to sound design and music. Sound effects are crunchy, matching the pixelated visual style perfectly. 2D sprites represent the player’s FPS rig, as well as directional 2D sprites for the enemies, with a wide array of pixelated textures for the 3D environments that players explore throughout the game.
