We’ve Been Waiting for Ion Fury for 19 Years – Review (PC)

By Ben Smith Last updated Aug 14, 2019

Anyone familiar with Shadow Warrior, Blood, or Duke Nukem 3D won’t have to make that far of a leap to understand exactly what kind of game they are getting into with Ion Fury. The newest title from 3D Realms is built by Voidpoint on the same engine (Build) that was the genius behind these 90s classics and there seems to be nothing about it that isn’t a direct homage to its first-person shooter forefathers.

In Ion Fury players will assume the role of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a bomb disposal expert for the Global Defense Force and an all around badass lady. Her goal is to defeat Dr. Jadus Heskel (voiced by none other than Jon St. John, the original voice of Duke Nukem) who has prepared an army of modified soldiers to help him accomplish his evil plans. Though Heskel appears throughout the game via television monitors to harass Harrison, the story is really built on nothing else but the idea of defeating evil through whatever form it takes. If you come to Ion Fury for the story, you’re coming for the wrong reasons – but that doesn’t take anything away from the game.

Shelly begins her quest with nothing but her revolver named Loverboy and an appetite for enemy destruction. While making her way through Neo D.C., she’ll encounter a variety of enemy types that would challenge Duke Nukem on his best days. Part first-person shooter and part puzzle game, players will have to navigate through sections of levels in order to defeat the evil Dr. Heskel.

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In each level there are a variety of weapons, enemy types, secrets, and challenges that need completed. You may find a door through which you know you must pass, but the key lies elsewhere. Shelly will need every ammunition drop, health pack, and armor addition in order to survive the treacherous world around her.

Shooting bad guys in Ion Fury is a lot of fun and incredibly satisfying. Your beginning weapon, Loverboy, seems like a fairly standard revolver. Don’t be deceived though, because it packs a punch. The alternative fire for the Loverboy can target multiple enemies and dispatch ammunition in pairs to take down these monstrosities in quick order. Although using this standard weapon is a lot of fun, there is an arsenal at your behest. Other weapons include the incredibly satisfying Disperser – a shotgun that doubles as a grenade launcher. Most players will find immense satisfaction from the Penetrator, an automatic handgun that can be dual wielded, along with the Bowling Bomb, the Ion Bow, the Clusterpuck, an electric baton of some sort and, of course, a Chaingun. After all, what kind of Build Engine game would it be without a chaingun? Every weapon inflicts damage a bit differently and there are often some tricks to each of them that makes every one even more effective.

As previously mentioned, Shelly has the ability to pick up health packs and armor fragments along with a wet suit and some special double-jumping boots to help her on her way. Players will need every bit of help to navigate through the maze-like levels in Ion Fury.

Enemies are both plentiful and fierce. Though the game doesn’t make their names or classes known, we’ve assigned what we think their names should be based on how they look. For starters, there’s the Cult Guy, your generic enemy type that you’ll see way too much of throughout your time in the game. Next up is Macho Man, an enemy that doesn’t appear to have different stats than Cult Guy, but does have different weapon and appearance. Nothing is more terrifying than having Daddy, a head on top of a mechanical spider body, appear in front of you while navigating through an air duct. And let’s not forget The Demogorgon. It’s not actually a monster from Netflix’s Stranger Things, but it reminds us enough of one that we think the name is appropriate. Of course, there are other enemy types you’ll encounter, but we’ll leave those for you to discover on your own.

Movement in Ion Fury is remarkably smooth, much like you would expect from a traditional Build game, or nearly any first-person shooter from the mid-90s. With ease, players will find that they can fluidly move Shelly from one side of a room to another without feeling like the world is weighing them down. Sure, this takes away from any realism that may have been left in Ion Fury – but we’re willing to bet realism isn’t why you’re playing anyway.

All in all, Ion Fury is a phenomenal modern game built on an incredibly old engine that pays homage to some of our favorite games from years gone by. You won’t find many story elements and the enemy types get a bit repetitive, but this is still probably one of the most enjoyable experiences we’ve had in 2019.