Ten Indie Boomer Shooters to Transport You Back to the ’90s
Blasting Like It’s On A CRT Monitor
“Boomer Shooter” is something of a contentious term; in reality it was largely Gen X-ers who were playing DOOM and Quake in the ’90s.
However, what isn’t contentious is that the indie sphere is seeing a deluge of new first-person shooters based on the ethos of these classics. Fast movement, massive arsenals, obscure secrets, the gang’s all here.
There’s plenty to pick from, but we think these 10 in particular are especially worth your time.
DUSK
by David Szymanski
Likely the best-known entry on this list, DUSK is all about facing down gothic and industrial horrors and shooting them in the face.
Between its incredible level design, bevy of fun weapons, and tons of visual customization options, this is an easy recommendation to anyone looking to see why this kind of shooter endures to this day.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Steam
Forgive Me Father
by Byte Barrel
Maybe you prefer your horrors less gothic and more cosmic? Or your visuals less blocky and more like a comic book? If so, Forgive Me Father is exactly the game for you.
With simple shooting mechanics based more on DOOM than its full-3D successor, the game gives you ample space to appreciate its positively stunning visual design and creative weaponry. It’s worth the risk of madness, trust me.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store
HROT
by Spytihněv
The product of a solo developer from the Czech Republic, HROT takes Quake-inspired gameplay to a novel setting: 1960s Soviet Czechoslovakia. Featuring levels based on real-world brutalist architecture and a custom engine written in Pascal, it’s an experience that’s both familiar yet wholly unique.
I talk more about this one in detail in our review here.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam
Prodeus
by Bounding Box Software Inc.
Trading classic horrors for sci-fi monstrosities, Prodeus is another game that wows thanks to its tight gameplay and stunning art design. Everything in the game’s environment is built out of 3D voxels, and the resulting carnage is a sight to behold.
It even boasts a simple and intuitive level editor, giving you lots to tinker with!
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4/5, Microsoft Xbox Series S/X, Microsoft Xbox One, macOS, Windows PC, Steam, GOG
CULTIC
by Jasozz Games
Another solo developer project, CULTIC is a loving homage to the BLOOD franchise with some seriously cool digitized graphics. It’s on the shorter side, but offers lots of replayability thanks to a weapon upgrade system that encourages you to search around for ways to boost your arsenal.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam
Hedon Bloodrite
by Zan_HedonDev
The source port GZDoom Engine has yielded some incredible indie titles and fan games over the years, and Hedon Bloodrite is no exception. A sprawling fantasy epic where you play as an amazonian Orc, Hedon’s gunplay is matched with the exploration and drip-feed storytelling you’d typically expect more from the immersive sim genre.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam
Project Warlock
by Buckshot Software
Rogue-likes have seen an even more meteoric rise through the indie scene than boomer shooters, so what if the two were combined? Project Warlock does so with aplomb, taking the tried and true shooter forumla and mixing it with customizable weapons and perks, letting you make each run through its world a different gameplay experience than the last.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, Windows PC, Steam, GOG
Amid Evil
by Indefatigable
Released by the same publisher as DUSK, Amid Evil eschews the Quake worship for a return to the dark fantasy popularized by games like Heretic and HEXEN. If the idea of a weapon that yanks planets out of their respective solar systems and fires them at enemies sounds like your kind of good time, then this is an easy recommend.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam, GOG
Turbo Overkill
by Trigger Happy Interactive
Taking ’90s-style visual excess to its utmost extreme, Turbo Overkill drops you in a cyberpunk hellscape and tells you to go nuts. The game is all about combining fast action with even faster movement, with the added bonus that most of your movement abilities come accented with chainsaws attached to your limbs. I’m sure I don’t need to explain to you why that’s rad.
Platforms: Windows PC, Steam, GOG
Nightmare Reaper
by Blazing Bit Games
The second Rogue-like/shooter hybrid on this list, Nightmare Reaper is a dungeon-crawler with attitude. All the Rogue-like staples like randomized loot and unlockable gear are here, combined with first-person combat that could easily feel at home in any of these other games. Definitely the peanut butter and chocolate combination these genres are capable of.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4/5, Microsoft Xbox Series S/X, Microsoft Xbox One, macOS, Windows PC, Steam, GOG
Let us know if any of these games caught your attention!
