Review: Ion Fury: Aftershock

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I remember some years ago thinking about how cool it would be if some modern developers created games in old engines. Specifically, I was thinking about Ken Silverman’s legendary Build Engine, a cluster of technical trickery that stands as, perhaps, the best 2.5D raycasting engine ever designed.

So, I was excited when Ion Fury popped up, doing just that. Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison was created as a stand-in for Duke Nukem, so it seems appropriate that Shelly (I’m not sure Bombshell is a nickname that will stick) would eventually make it to the engine that made him famous. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get into it.

Then I tried again later and still couldn’t get into it.

Then I tried another time, and it still wasn’t clicking.

Now, with its first expansion, Ion Fury: Aftershock, I’m trying yet another time. And, uh, well, there’s something here that still isn’t working. Unfortunately, I picked it up for review, so now I actually have to dig into why I can still enjoy Blake Stone but can’t get into what, on paper, is my dream game.

Ion Fury: Aftershock (PC)
Developer: Voidpoint
Publisher: 3D Realms
Released: October 2, 2023
MSRP: $14.99

Ion Fury: Aftershock picks up a short time after the end of the base game. Shelly won the battle, but the war wasn’t over. Heskel is alive and free from the repercussions of his war on humanity. Shelly is suspended from the Global Defense Force, and is drowning her sorrows in a bar when Heskel’s goons spill her drink again.

Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s a type of flirting.

So, Shelly resumes her bloodthirsty vendetta against Heskel, but this time, the GDF isn’t going to sit idly by as she does more damage than the machines she’s fighting. It really bothers me that I don’t know what