3D realms, most famous for their work on the Duke Nukem and Shadow Warrior franchises, as well as published titles such as Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen. While the projects that 3D Realms have published as of late have been more modern takes on the FPS genre, the company is turning back the clock by publishing Voidpoint’s old-school FPS, Ion Maiden.
The upcoming title is meant to be the culmination of classic FPS goodness mixed in with modern design improvements found over the last two decades of shooters. Starring at the forefront of this pixelated blood bath is Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a bomb disposal expert for the Global Defense force. When transhumanist cult mastermind Dr. Jadus Heskel unleashes a cybernetic army on Neo DC, Shelly decides that instead of defusing bombs, it might be a good time to start chucking them at enemies instead.
Ion Maiden will feature a wide variety of weapons, ranging from a revolver to bowling bombs, and each weapon will have an alternate fire or have ammo variants. Because this is an old-school shooter, there will be no checkpoints, no regenerating health, but there will be plenty of colorful keycards awaiting players as they leave gore in their wake across sprawling levels. In addition, some modern features will be present in the title, such as headshots, increased physics and interactivity, widescreen play options, controller support, and auto save functions.
A multi-hour, polished preview of the Ion Maiden campaign is currently available on Steam Early Access for $17.99 for a limited time. Players who purchase the game now will get access to further content in the coming months, as well as the full game once it comes out. The title is slated for a full release sometime within Q3 of 2018, and will be available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.