

Duke himself is a character that is clearly a parody of the testosterone-fueled 80s-90s action film archetypes (even spouting off macho catchphrases from countless films), but the amount of violence and misogyny on display here is something that gamers may still find shocking today, even as pixelated and quaint as it is. That “product of its time” thing also applies to the game's themes. Make no mistake – this game is absolutely a product of its time, and that will become immediately apparent from the moment you start playing it. Characters are still rendered as sprites in a 3D environment, which can make things look very strange if you pay too much attention when circling around objects or when watching an enemy who is much higher or lower than you.


Definitely more graphically advanced than the original Doom, but not by much. Having said that, there's no amount of sugar that can coat the fact that this game is extremely archaic to look at. On the one hand, this is a big improvement over the original game – the improved textures, resolution, and framerates alone make this game so much better to play. So there are two ways you can look at this game's presentation. It is this version of the game that has been released to the Switch in 2020 with added gyroscopic motion controls and HD rumble. Duke Nukem 3D was released in 1996 when the genre was still catching up to the double-barreled shotgun blasts that were Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, and with it, Duke brought a new level of verticality to the gameplay, a new level of interactivity with the environment, as well as a huge amount personality.Ģ0 years later, in 2016, the original game was re-released to multiple platforms with all of the original content intact, most of the expansion content (minus the expansions from Kill-A-Ton Collection and Megaton Edition versions of the game released over the years), a completely new fifth episode designed by the original game's creators, developer commentary, a nifty rewind feature, optional re-recorded dialogue, and an optional graphical makeover that, while not even close to bringing the game up to modern standards, does at least improve textures, resolution, framerates, and overall makes the game look a great deal better. However, there was a time when Duke was arguably the king of the genre, and one of the games that helped to form what the genre would become when it was still in its infancy. Players: 1-8 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Wireless / Online)ĭuke Nukem is something of a joke these days after the countless years the game Duke Nukem Forever was delayed, only to release in a pretty sorry state. Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour
