Rating: 4.0/5 stars
Playing a game in 2019, you expect it to have top of the line graphic, smooth 4K character rendering, high-quality visual sound, interactive menus and the like. Ion Fury takes a trip down memory lane in a way that is surprising as much as it is entertaining. Playing the game feels like having a trip into the 90s with a difficulty level that will make the most proficient gamer feel challenged. The game was highly entertaining due to its storyline and gameplay transitions.
The protagonist is Shelly Harrison and the game was originally planned to be called Iron Maiden however, legal action from the band caused it to be named Ion Fury instead. Even though there is no similarity between the band’s name and the game, the game is named before the protagonist.
Ion Fury is an FPS shooter that brings back memories from the original DOOM era. The game has a lot of 2D model animation objects and the sounds very similar to games from the ’90s. The prime reason behind that similarity is that the Ion Fury is actually building using a gaming engine called Build. The same engine was used for a number of the retro games from the past. One of the best elements of the game is its originality. It does not merely feel like a game that pays homage to the golden era of gaming but truly feels like an original with authenticity.
It was truly mind-blowing for us to play a game of this nature and it truly felt like a blast from the past. We found the game notoriously difficult to play. Maybe it was the years of coddled up gaming experience from playing modern shooters that effectively have smoother mechanisms, health recovery and all sorts of healing mechanisms. Ion Fury has none of these. There is no tips, no health recovery, and no cover-up options. The only assist you can get is turning on the autosaves to allow you to reload the game.
However, despite the graphic limitations and difficulty, the game does not become boring at any point. The weapon options are dynamic and almost all weapons feature alternative fire modes. We personally loved the revolvers and their ability to target multiple people. Each weapon is essential to the gameplay and ammo needs to be used conservatively as it is scarce. Accuracy is also extremely important in the game as the game has consequences for lapse shooting.
The final enemy of the game was too much for us to handle at high-difficulty and we had to turn down the difficulty a notch in order to get to see the ending credits. The ending battle throws enemies of all sorts at you while you’re dangling from a rope. The ending battle summarizes the game; a quirky, fun retro game that does not make things easy for you at any point.
The Anxious Gamer 