Despite not having grown up during the heyday of early FPS titles, particularly the likes of Duke Nukem and other Build engine games, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with 2018’s Ion Fury, a modern title utilizing the decades-old game engine to deliver a novel action-packed shooter that bridged the gap between old and new.
Flash forward to 2024, and players once again assume the role of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison in Phantom Fury, a brand-spanking new FPS romp, this time utilizing Unreal Engine 4, but make no mistake, the reliance on a modern game engine does not take away from the lovingly crafted and fully realized retro-feel permeates throughout Phantom Fury’s 15-20hour campaign.
Like its predecessor, which faithfully recreated the look and feel of 2.5D graphics that relied heavily on sprite work for its characters and enemies, with polygonal 3D assets used sparingly, mostly relegated to the environments, capturing the essence of the Duke Nukem era, Phantom Fury, instead, pays hommage to games like the original Half-Life, more specifically, Half-Life: Blue Shift, with its emphasis on action, for the first couple of levels in its introduction.
“The shooting mechanics in Phantom Fury also successfully translate Shelly’s arsenal from the previous game to the third dimension in a way that preserves the mechanics found in Ion Fury with its bobbing and weaving.”
Eventually, by the game’s end, Phantom Fury cranks things up to 11, relishing in its over-the-top violence and laundry list of exceedingly bombastic weapons thrown to the player, aping elements of other late 90s GoldSrc engine darlings like Quake.
Like any retro-inspired shooter, Phantom Fury’s difficulty is appropriately reflected in its level design, which can often feel obtuse or vague for those who may not be accustomed to older FPS games, but as a fan of the original Half-Life, I found Phantom Fury’s curve to be enjoyable throughout, minus a couple of encounters and puzzles by the end of the game, which felt like they existed more to inflate your playtime than anything else.
The shooting mechanics in Phantom Fury also successfully translate Shelly’s arsenal from the previous game to the third dimension in a way that preserves the mechanics found in Ion Fury with its bobbing and weaving, but now elevated thanks to its fully 3D sandbox. Iconic weapons like the Bowling Bomb and Lover Boy revolver make a return and feel better than ever, particularly the Bowling Bomb’s secondary incendiary AoE variant, which causes havoc in short corridors and narrow spaces.
Like its first entry, most weapons in Phantom Fury feature a secondary mode of operation or function. Brand new to the sequel, however, is a sizable list of unlockable powerups for Shelly’s new bionic arm and, later, a power suit that further augments your abilities, with subtle but useful unlocks like the ability not to have to reload dual-wielded guns, a deployable energy shield and a strong charge and windup for your bionic fist, there are a lot of ways to balance the sometimes the overwhelming odds.
Ultimately, Phantom Fury is not a game for everyone, but if you’re a fan of the source material or enjoy retro FPS games, Phantom Fury easily lives up to the glory days of early 3D shooters.
