Boomer Shooter December: Duke Nukem 3D Review

The final game of Boomer Shooter December is one of the purest hits of nostalgia for me and it’s probably one of the games I remember most vividly from my childhood. Duke Nukem himself is a big part of that. Those crass action hero one-liners, Duke’s attitude and the way it felt like the game dared you to laugh at things you probably shouldn’t. In some ways, it felt forbidden. Back then, schoolyards were full of kids quoting Duke Nukem, saying things like “you’re an inspiration for birth control” to each other with absolutely zero understanding of what it actually meant. Well… uh, probably. That didn’t actually happen at my school, but I’m sure it happened somewhere. In Australia, the outrage surrounding Duke Nukem 3D was very real. The game was initially denied classification here and eventually released with a permanent parental lock, which really only added to its appeal. That lock was easily bypassed with a patch, of course, but that really just made it feel more like it was something we weren’t supposed to be playing and that might have made it better than it probably was. Coming back now, some of that nostalgia definitely hit early on, but I really tried to approach this Duke Nukem 3D playthrough with the nostalgia goggles mostly off.

Duke Nukem 3D arrived on MS-DOS in 1996 from 3D Realms, it’s a major shift from the side-scrolling platformers that previously carried the Duke Nukem name. It’s widely regarded as one of the pillars that helped popularise the first-person shooter genre through the ’90s and beyond. Duke himself is the embodiment of Hollywood action heroes and pop culture references, presented in a way that was over the top even at the time. The story picks up directly after the events of Duke Nukem 2, which of course we all remember vividly. Like most shooters of the mid-to-late ’90s, the story isn’t the main draw. Duke returns to Los Angeles after being shot down in his space cruiser, supposedly in search of a holiday, only to find the city under alien invasion and the LAPD grotesquely mutated. What begins as a pretty crude plot to abduct women quickly descends into a full-scale assault on Earth, with Duke fighting these alien bastards in the city streets, space stations and even the Moon as he works to dismantle the alien invaders piece by piece. The original Atomic edition expanded the game with a final chapter that reveals the birth of an Alien Queen and Duke’s final push to completely wipe out the alien threat. You may know it better as: get gun, say line, kill thing, save babes. And not necessarily in that order.

Duke Nukem 3D keeps things pretty simple, but that simplicity is exactly what makes things like the weapons and enemies so memorable. Duke’s trusty shotgun is as basic as they come, but it feels perfect from the first shot and never stops being satisfying. Pipe bombs add a touch of chaos and creativity, whether you’re setting up a trap, using them to blast into another room or just lobbing them around a corner to see what happens. The shrink ray is pure nonsense that turns firefights into slapstick as you use your mighty boot to squish your now shrunken attackers. The Devastator is unique and absolutely melts anything in its path, it still feels absurdly powerful today. The enemies themselves are just as iconic, with pig cops being an obvious standout. The joke itself lands immediately, but starts to wear thin the further you progress, but they’re still as instantly recognisable as they are loud and dumb. Just like The Dude’s rug, the soundtrack ties the game together. The main theme, Grabbag, is an all-time classic, but the rest of the soundtrack deserves more credit than it gets for how well it fits each level. It drives the action without getting in the way and gives every area its own distinct energy.

Gameplay in Duke Nukem 3D feels about as pure as the boomer shooter formula can get. It blends light exploration, a keycard system and constant combat into something that feels immediately satisfying and replayable. There’s always something to interact with and it could be a switch, hidden area, the environment, yourself in a mirror and there is never a shortage of enemies to turn into a fine red pulp. Episodes One through Three are where the game really shines. The experience is incredibly cohesive, with confident level design throughout. Each area flows naturally into the next and the coloured keycard system keeps you moving forward without feeling restrictive or confusing. The story kinda fades into the background, but it really doesn’t matter. The levels are just plain fun to play, they don’t overstay their welcome and rarely rely on cheap gimmicks to stay interesting. Yes, I’m well aware there are cheap gimmicks within the levels, but the levels themselves consistently feel like a lot of thought was put into in how these spaces were built and that quality holds steady from start to finish.

Added as part of the Atomic Edition, Episode Four: The Birth is where Duke Nukem 3D starts to lose some of its momentum. It’s immediately clear that there was a different design approach at play here and not in a way that really benefits the game. I think some of the levels opt more for cheap gags and obvious jokes than strong layout and flow and the overall quality takes a noticeable dip as a result. There definitely are a few moments that still land and occasional pop culture reference that earns a good laugh, Duke Burger’s speaker box is always a good time, but that’s really not enough to carry an entire episode. In comparison to the confident design of the first three episodes, the fourth feels messy and far less cohesive. The additional DLC follows a similar pattern and rarely hits those same highs. Don’t get me wrong here: it’s all still very playable and there’s plenty of fun to be had, but it definitely feels like optional extra content rather than anything essential. I own the Megaton Edition and totally understand the appeal of having (almost)everything in one place, but it’s hard to argue that the later additions to the game meaningfully elevate the experience or that anything of real value is lost without them.

Duke Nukem 3D clearly wears its age on its sleeve, but the thing that surprises me on every playthrough is just how strong the game’s foundations still are. If you were to rip out Duke’s attitude, pop culture baggage and leave the controversy behind, you’re left with a genuinely excellent shooter built around solid level design, memorable weapons and constant forward momentum. Episodes One through Three are still an absolute blast to play, full of clever layouts, secrets that are worth hunting down and pacing that rarely lets the game drag. Episode Four, unfortunately, doesn’t quite hit the same mark. I get it, it’s kinda in the name, but the additional DLC released over the years often feels like completely optional content rather than anything essential, but it definitely doesn’t undo what makes the core experience so strong. Duke Nukem 3D is crude, dated and probably doesn’t hold up quite as well as you might remember, but it makes absolutely no apologies for that. For pure boomer shooter design, it absolutely cements itself as one of the genre’s defining pillars. Love it or hate it, Duke Nukem 3D knows exactly what it is. Hail to the king, baby.

Verdict:
Duke Nukem 3D is proof that strong fundamentals can outlast shock value. Even with the rough edges and pretty uneven additional content, the core experience delivers smart level design, solid weapons and some of the best pacing the boomer shooter genre has to offer.

Deck Compatibility: 10/10 
Overall Game Rating: 7.5/10 – Come Get Some