Just the other day I was wondering whether these old games were just so much fun because I was much younger and it was simply something new and exciting to me, or whether there's something else to it. You know, sometimes less is more, if the game world is just about detailed enough that you can make out what things are supposed to be, you have to let the creative part of your brain do much more work to fill in the blanks, which ultimately gives the final product that your consciousness consumes a more personal note, since it's filled with <i>your</i> fantasy. Maybe this is part of why Minecraft is so successful. Everything is so chunky and rough, you have to <i>imagine</i> what things are. And your crude buildings and creations easily fit in with the rest of the game world, there automatically is consistency in detail, so your mind accepts it.<p>I tried Unreal Editor a few years ago. The engine is really impressive, there's a ton of assets, high res textures, it's easy to create a natural looking terrain, but then bringing it to life is <i>hard work</i> and takes skills. Everything I built looked clunky, out of place, lacked details, lighting seemed off, it was rubbish. Minecraft fixes this problem. Everyone can build good looking stuff.
Just in case anyone is wary and is tempted to write Dusk off as just a cheap cash-in on some recent retro/low-fi trend. It really isn't - it's a spectacularly fun and creative game with solid mechanics. If you prefer a little more colour you can also check out Amid Evil or Ion Fury<p>There's another upcoming game I'm keeping an eye on - Hrot. It's a solo-dev effort with a home-made engine written in Pascal (!) set in a pre-revolution Czechoslovak(-style?) state. I have no idea about the developer's track record in gaming and haven't played any of the early-access stuff, but it's got a good look and the tech demos show some fun stuff so I'm kinda curious how it will turn out: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xovpHxsVRTQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xovpHxsVRTQ</a>
What I like about 90s shooters is how little fuss there is to get to the action. Doom, you launch it and can be killing things within 15 seconds. With modern shooters, it loading, loading, game selection, lobby, connecting, loading, cutscene, weapon selection, tutorial, realizing you need to grind to get better weapons, pay for better weapons, mission objectives, notified there's an update, enter your credentials, reset your password. Start game. die. wait in the lobby for the next round. maybe then you get your first kill. Mentally taxing. i miss the simplicity of old games.
Nah, there is a HUGE difference between Quake/QuakeWorld and any other game (even Quake 2) and it has to do with game physics and not graphics.<p>Quake 3 was an attempt to get a little of it back with some results.<p>Basically, simplistic physics model in Quake has a special quality that lets you move effortlessly, at great speeds, as long as you are willing to spend time to learn it.<p>So the question is, does it have the physics?<p>Does it allow you to jump out of lege at huge speed only to change your mind midway and get back to your starting point? Does it allow you to jump over huge distances not normally designed for the purpose? Is it possible to exchange a little bit of your health and a rocket to fly off in the air in a carefully selected direction?<p>As to graphics, I don't remember anybody playing Quake competitively and using stock graphics look and feel. I have been personally using software renderer with a ridiculous mipmap setting that caused all textures to go away except for entities. It caused all enemies and entities like health boxes to stand out and be much more visible / targetable from long distances.
Aside from the game itself, the soundtrack is an amazing 43-song piece of art made by Andrew Hulshult, which has jewels like Hand Cannon (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXnz2t1KMs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXnz2t1KMs</a>) or Departure to Destruction (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWnzazIvXI8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWnzazIvXI8</a>). You should definitely listen to it. Also, Andrew is the new soundtrack composer for Doom, so that tells something.
If you like this vibe look up Prodeus, its in early access but pretty much everyone is giving it 10/10. It runs in stylized ~480x270 resolution and looks like what DOOM Eternal (2020) would of looked like if it was released for DOS using heavily upgraded Quake (1997) engine.<p><a href="https://www.gog.com/game/prodeus" rel="nofollow">https://www.gog.com/game/prodeus</a><p><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806516315?t=01h05m24s" rel="nofollow">https://www.twitch.tv/videos/806516315?t=01h05m24s</a>
Civvie covered this one in depth, it seems to be a great game. Oh, and you can buy it at <a href="http://waste.money" rel="nofollow">http://waste.money</a> which is hilarious. (Edit: link seems to not lead to the steam page anymore)<p><a href="https://youtu.be/KiuC1DcgIMo" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/KiuC1DcgIMo</a>
What I miss in modern games is the unique textures that old games have. Just lookup "Sacrifice" game on steam. There's so much post-processing crap in modern games that it sucks out all the life from a game.
If you like the look of this I'd also suggest Hedon[1], built on a modern version of the Doom engine and very reminiscent of Strife in feel that it's levels try to replicate a world that feels real with shops and houses etc, combat feels really good in it more tactile than Doom and the art style/world building is very unique.<p>[1] <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon/" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon/</a>
The aesthetic reminds me of "Sir, You Are Being Hunted" (2013) with its procedurally generated haunted British countryside. <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/242880/Sir_You_Are_Being_Hunted/" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/app/242880/Sir_You_Are_Being_...</a>
It looks so much like Quake. I remember firing up Quake and being like, woh... Really did a good job capturing that vibe.<p>Also sounds a little like Quake too, but its hard to match the Trent Reznor/ Nine Inch Nails soundtrack of the original.
I just discovered the Pico-8. It has the retro feel but most of all, the games are awesome arcade games. They're fun but you don't feel addicted when you have to walk away from them.
Dusk is an amazing game. The gun, movement and general mechanics of the game are solid. The action is solid and the level and enemy design is great.<p>There are quite a few “wow” moments in the game.<p>For those that like these games I also recommend Amid Evil. The game is excellent and well worth a look for many of the same reasons.<p>Some of the other “boomer” shooters have been a bit hit and miss. Ion Fury was good but Tbh is a bit easy. prodeus is okay in bursts and wrath of aeon is solid but like the original quake can get a bit boring. Some of the other FPS games in the same vain have been "I've played it for a day and probably won't play it today".<p>These days I am playing Doom mods via GZDoom and there is soo much there now you could just play doom mods and never play anything else.