Darkenstein 3D

I would legit put Darkenstein 3D up there as one of the best free-to-play games ever made! That is right, this game is free to play, no BS microtransactions or trying to hustle you in other ways. This is a 100 percent passion project of a first person shooter, a true love letter to the greats of the 90s, and it really does shine through the whole time you are playing the game. Boomer shooters are very popular as I write this, and I am having a hard time thinking of one that I have enjoyed more than this masterpiece right here!

The Love Shines Through The Blood

Before we dive into the game, I have to talk about the deep dive into Darkenstein 3D that I did as I was playing this, which made me love this game even more. The developer is just such a good dude, and I loved reading all that they had to say about the game and how they were inspired by the classic first person shooters of the 90s. The most obvious comparison here is, of course, Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, and it goes without saying that if you have a lot of love for those games, you are going to have an amazing time plowing through this game. Plus, you can play this without even spending a penny!

Doing It All For A Good Boy

To say that I got a massive kick out of the story in Darkenstein 3D is a massive understatement. The game takes place during Nazi occupied Germany, and we play the role of a hobo with a gun… no relation to the movie with a similar name. Our beloved dog is kidnapped, and we are going in, all guns blazing, to this Nazi facility to get him back. Only, we find that it is not just soldiers that we need to be wary of here! Turns out that there is a big dark conspiracy at play here, and in addition to trying to save our favorite pal, we are going to try and put a stop to this evil force that could result in doom for the world, although at the end of the day, getting our dog back is our main concern!

Balls To The 90s Wall

Look, you do not need me to tell you what the gameplay here is all about! Darkenstein 3D is a classic first person shooter, and as I have already name-dropped Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, you probably have a good idea of what to expect. This is super action packed with 13 levels for you to blast your way through. The gameplay is very challenging, challenging, but fair. There is no aim assist, cover shooting, or a generous health regen here! You want to get through this, you need to get good. For me, getting into a nice groove with the strafing and shooting was key to getting through this. While this game certainly did tug on my nostalgia strings, due to it was a throwback to the classics I grew up loving. I do feel that as a modern “boomer shooter,” this more than stands on its own and is one of the most fun ones that I have played. Oh, I nearly forgot about the rat! You have this very weird rat that you can use as a weapon, either just throwing it at the enemies or using it as some kind of bomb. He is awesome!

A Generational Leap

You know, it was games like Wolfenstein 3D and the original Doom that made me see just how much more powerful a PC was than my beloved Super Nintendo. Darkenstein 3D is a retro-inspired shooter as far as the gameplay goes, but I would not say that they have tried to emulate those earlier first person shooters as far as the visuals go. For me, this has more in common with something like Return to Castle Wolfenstein on the original Xbox than it does an older PC game, if that makes sense. The game has a nice variety of stages, ranging from castles to creepy caves and a strange town, too. The enemy designs are a ton of fun, especially the more sci-fi stuff that the game has. It moves at a great pace, too, and I did not have any technical issues the whole time I was playing the game.

Pros:

• The setting was a ton of fun
• I loved how it was a love letter to classic FPS games
• The game is hard, but it is also very fair
• This is one of the best boomer shooters I have played

Cons:

• It may be a tad challenging for some
• This was so good, it left me wanting more