I would love to see a retro take on the Halo universe built into a 90s style FPS (colloquially being known as “boomer shooter” or “doom clone”). Halo has some of its legacy roots in this genre - just as it does in RTS which is why 343i took a chance on Halo Wars. Bungie’s first successful game before Halo was actually Marathon, look it up if you’ve never seen it. Anyways I was playing some Ion Fury recently which is actually a modern game built in the style of these older 90s FPS games. Super fun and nostalgic, would be straight up Halo’s alley imo. What do you think?
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Serious Sam is my favourite boomer shooter & it features some pretty wacky weapons with unique places in the sandbox
Halo already has that foundation of unique weapons for certain situations so I think Halo would be pretty well fit for the genre, it’d depend on how they tackle movement for it to work in my opinion.
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As a lower budget spin off its a neat idea.
But not before 343i have actually delivered a core halo game.
Few slight misconceptions btw.
Halo wars is prior to 343i announced the year prior to 343i being established as an entity.
Marathon was not bungies first successful game.
They had released many successful ges before marathon, including the game marathon is the sequel to, pathways into darkness and minotaur.
Bungie was a pretty major player for apple gaming culture.
Remove space in links.
Ion fury is a hoot you should check out some of these if you haven’t.
https://you tu.be/AOBu90N5o7c
Prodeus, pretty basic Doom 2016 clone but fun. On gamepass.
A little dated and perhaps not as modern as you like.
But a great conversionod of doom to be halo exists.
“Halo Doom Evolved”
https://you tu.be/C1nQZGZ phhc
ULTRA KILL this game is not really a boomer shooter but what it does have is this early 2000s late 90s fps energy with some of that DMC character action influence and the result is a pretty special game I highly recommend although its not finished yet.
https://you tu.be/Pw63IVgYLDc
Speaking of marathon. The trilogy hold up well, remain some personal favourites of mine and if you havent played them, they are free.
https://alephone.lhowon .org/
Great trilogy.
Alternatively Marathon 2 is available as an arcade download on xbox.
If you havent played Quake, the original is a classic for good reason and has a fantastic remaster available on pc and xbox.
And if you are on xbox try getting a copy of quake 4.
It comes with an amazing port by Rare of Quake 2 that was a bit mind blowing for the time.
Also while not as good as ion fury there is a build engine game (the duke nukem engine used for ion)
Its free on steam and a bunch of fun.
Game is called A.W.O.L.
I think all these are worth playing as they show a sense of how wide a definition “BOOMER SHOOTER” is and how publications seem to generalise too much.
Even just playing a level from each would show how unique a halo boomer shooter could be.
Hope theres something there for you to enjoy in the mean time.
Edit: OH and AMID EVIL check out that ge its ludicrously good fun my friends.
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Thanks man! Yeah I’ve recently been jumping into this genre (I’m excited for Warhammer 40K: Boltgun) and I just can’t help but notice Halo would be perfect for it, and developing it wouldn’t be very much of a hard lift. They could even do a Fireteam Raven game following along the arcade game but maybe expanding on the story etc.
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Boltgun looks killer an i cant wait to play it.
Actually know a few the folks at auroch.
But its a fantastic genre with some really great titles and a diverse one.
Its interesting how many people im seeing who talk about halo in relation to boomer shooters these days considering back when ce and 2 dropped many would have claimed halo was an fps for those who couldnt handle hardcore pc shooters haha.
Definitely an interesting topic though
Grew up in quake and halo and id never have compared them because i like most about each what seperates them from each other.
Another few suggestions worrth your time and cheap to buy are:
Unreal, the og beforebthe tournament or championship it was graphical powerhouse in the day but does some really clever things in the level and world design.
https://yo utu.be/J4fJWvckmFQ
Dusk, honestly probably the best boomer shooter in terms of being true to the source of the genre and blazing its own trail.
Some pacing issues but stellar game
https://yo utu.be/LbqNRDPd5_k
Also amid evil has an expansion on the way and pretty sure it has a demo on steam.
Of the lot
Unreal
Dusk
Amid evil
Are highly recommended
The free marathon trilogy
And Quake 1 are like required reading haha.
Quake 2
And duke are also great.
Obviously doom 2 is considered king by many
Personally the added dimensions of quake are where the genre reaches its potential.
Happy shooting.
These should keep you busy a while.
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No one cares about the UN anymore, except for Boomers.
What do you expect?
Don’t forget the build engine trinity: Blood, Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior <3
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I mentioned duke.
Personally the only of the 3 i would say has solid design.
Controversial i know.
But neither blood nor shadow warrior stacked up back in the day imo.
And a revisit lead me to see why.
They certainly have their own charms and are nostalgic but i do t believe them to be top of the list of games to check out if you were new to the genre.
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Opposite for me actually. I like the first episode of Duke 3D but the rest is kinda meh.
The best Duke game for me is the Life’s a beach expansion for D3D. I revisit this one once every 1-2 years
Shadow Warrior has some hit or miss levels but I like it overall a bit more than most of Duke except for the voiceover since most lines are kinda cringey.
Blood is very close to perfection but has some insanely hard levels and unfair encounters like the fire enemies and these annoying dynamite throwing athletes.
Rise of the Triad is also a good but very wonky game.
Big fan of LaB but I also like the new stuff in world tour also.
Episode 1 before it all wore sort of thin was the peak imo.
Builds interactivity and Dukes bad jokes arent replacements for doom 2 or quakes combat loops imo.
Shadow warrior(1997) is arguably the best showcase of build from the 90s.
And coming with Duke atomic edition made is super accessible.
The katanan is forever the most cathartic of the builds melee options and satisfying but the combat encounters and sometimes overly large(not lengthy) levels feel detrimental to the core for me.
I also never particularly like lo wang.
Mostly due to that asian stereotype humour never hitting the mark for me I assume.
Although he had his moments and subjectively probably better lines than dukes plagerised film nods.
I enjoyed the first reboot for what it was it was only like 10 bucks on a sale when I picked it up.
Blood has some great level and combat design.
But for me is the weakest of the bunch.
Especially when you are new to this style of shooter.
Presentation is easily the best of the build trio.
Weapons are great.
It was so close to being the doomkiller.
Easily the purest doomclone of the 3 but by extension the most derivative.
Its the most atmospheric of the build games and ill always adore calebs gory undead vengeful odyssey.
Many of the explosives are closest to my heart among fps.
But the enemy mechanical design is pretty bad.
So under all this excellence is a base of 
.
Hitscan and the aim tracking make for spikes in difficulty and frustrating rather than fun encounters.
Subjectivity and priorities will yield different results.
I think in this day and age it isn’t something to be recommended to a new fan of the genre.
But rather one for those who have already seen much of the franchises diversity and is looking for a pure distillation of the core design principles.
And then the discussion invariably becomes dusk or doom 2.
I only mentioned Doom combat evolved because it specifically features what op asked for.
And AWOL due to it being free as a case study in diversity. But it isnt all that good imo.
But really if you are new to boomer shooters id have to say my recommendations are:
New:
Dusk: my pick over blood as the creepy cult boomer shooter that has greater ambitions than its source materials. Faithful graphics amazing designs.
Amid Evil: my pick over recommending heretic or hexen, you can shoot planets from a staff! Amazing graphics.
Ion fury: Duke Nukem 2020’s edition.
Prodeus: classic doom meets doom 2016 with super mario over world to confuse your nostalgia nerve center. Amazing graphics.
None of these outright replace the inspirations but they are for me closer to my memories of those games over their reality.
Classic:
-
QUAKE (NIN!!!)
QUAKE 2
because both do so much in evolving level design and encounter design.
Is an important shift into true 3d and architectural verticality and 2d dimensional navigation.
It had been done in early games but quake made it a core mechanic.
Both have great yet default weapon rosters.
Nothing too unexpected but DOOM set the standard.
The big change really being hiw fragging would bece as core as the workhorse shotty.
And the nail gun(s) test of accuracy in a tri-axial space is nothing short of sublime.
-
Marathon trilogy:
Becaues it played with similar concepts of interactivity as build.
And while not as robust in it’s physics it used what it had less as set dressing or scripted spectacle and more as encounter modifiers in gameplay.
Beat HL imo to making story a core facect of fps and had its own more subtle take of cinematism.
Durandal and tycho would have lost much of there enigmatic nature in a post Half Life scripted design structure.
A voiceless image conveyed more character than most AAA protagonists today.
The diagetic optional approach to narrative in marathon is for the essential qualia of what make story in games so powerful, theres an agency.
Not only must you read you must also observe the world and seek out the page itself and this all changes the context of your actions should you engage.
Or remains a mindless monster mulching doom clone if you dont.
Excellent presentation on a limited asset budget.
A roster of monsters that rival doom and quake but have a deep narrative to define them as more than just another demonic horde.
The use of momentum conservstion in the campaign. While this would be a necessity to gib friends in an mp setting marathon was the most overt in it being a mechanic and uses it heavily at even the lowest campaign difficulty.
My success in QUAKE3 is owed heavily to my time in marathon’s sp and mp.
Movement was more robust than contemporaries in it’s use of the Y axis and side stepping mechanics.
It also had the option of dual wielding over the usual beefed up upgraded version of a weapon trope populised by ID.
It also utilised more varied objectives and puzzle solving than it’s peers.
Especially as a halo fan marathon is an important evolution in the genre.
Sadly seen as a foot note or unknown by many due to PC dominance over the MAC.
If you cant tell I highly recommend the entire trilogy and as stated they are free to own.
Although sony might interfere with that if the rumours of a new 3person squad extration service game is accurate.
So down load those suckers for preservation!
The marathon games are probably the closest thing to what OP proposes.
The most Halo-esque of the classic boomer shooters.
@Qwerty_polopus sorry for the essays, but I hope reading these gives you something useful in choosing what you play next.
Enjoy!
Let me know your thoughts on any, always interested to see what a fan of one genre notices in another.
I would sign that assessment. These 3 were incredibly fun new interpretations of the old school stuff. I always thought of Amid Evil in a more Unreal+Hexen kind of way regarding the level locations/design and the weapons.
Mandalore Gaming on YouTube has a very good 3 part playthrough and story deep dive of the Marathon series.
ill check it out mandalore’s vids not familiar with his channel/content.
UNREAL vibes are for sure in AE it also does more with glassy textures and lighting, curved geometry and alt fires that for sure evoke unreal.
unreal gold/ut4/uc2 still have some of the best weapons in gaming and at the tine unreal was a marvel to look at certainly good company to be lumped in with.
such a shame UT4 and any single player title are lost to Epics service only output but im getting off topic…
I’ve recently played through Amid Evil, Black Mesa, Dusk, Ion Fury, Graven, Viscerafest and Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
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Nice good selection. Wrath has a few issues but still a great time.
Graven was a great time also.
You should dig all the rest just fine going off this list haha.
haha oh yeah, and I forgot about HROT. But yeah been down a rabbit hole with these games lately, Halo would make a fine addition.
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Damn I forgot to even play that.
The art was so cool in the previews back logs gonna back log.
Ok you gotta play the marathons.
They are a little slower, cramped at times compared to others.
And it lacks halos tringle or vehicles but its as close as it gets.
DOOM Evolved is really just doom in halo make up.
Marathon is like if xbox had a portable and it got one of those ports from a big home console ip that is different but better in ways to its big home console halo brother.
The writing is insanely good imo and its gameplay for time while not as action orientated as doom was innovative.
Far as I mouse look was only in system shock prior to it launching
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