If people got to vote, pretty sure Doom would win the title of boomer shooter-in-chief. But is it really top dog? A bunch of folks might shout out for Dusk, that retro FPS from 2018—kind of like Doom’s long-lost cousin, right? Built by one dude mainly, it’s got killer reviews and Steam users just eat it up. And get this, John Romero, yeah the guy who co-created Doom, finally played Dusk, and spoiler: he’s digging it.
So, Dusk isn’t shy about who it looks up to—totally owns that vibe from “Doom, Quake, Blood, Heretic, Hexen, Half-Life, Redneck Rampage,” you know, the ’90s gang. Somehow, though, it’s outdone a lot of them, at least for the boomer shooter diehards. It’s got that gritty, creepy vibe, with a ton of hidden stuff, you just want to find everything.
Feel like numbers matter? Alright, check this: 88 on Metacritic, 89 on Opencritic, and a crazy 97% rating on Steam? I mean, come on, that’s like legendary status.
Anyway, back to Romero. He’s doing this Twitch series—playing all the revered FPS. His first time with Dusk? Yeah, he loved it. What did he say? Something like, “This game’s rad—love it. The vibe, the design, all the secrets, classic stuff everywhere. Really cool.”
Talking straight to New Blood Interactive—those are the peeps who publish and to David Szymanski, the main guy behind Dusk. Romero’s like, “Son, you nailed it. Right career move.” Coming from him, that’s huge, right?
So if you feel like trying Dusk, hit up Steam. Szymanski and his bros also dropped another quirky game, Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate. Like, ever wonder if Harry Potter could hack it as a PI? Might be worth checking out.
Into boomer shooters? Then Romero’s streams are probably your scene. We’ve got a list of killer old PC games, too, or if you want something newer, check our multiplayer games guide.
And hey, if you want more gaming chat, we’re on Google News, or hop into our Discord to gab with others about this story.
