If you were a gamer predominantly back in the nineties, you definitely have heard the name Duke Nukem. Duke did have a decent amount of games that were released back in that era, but it was Duke Nukem 3D that made his name recognizable to gamers. According to Wired, the classic first-person shooter has sold over 3.5 million copies, and it is still a game that’s considered to be the best in the series. Despite the nostalgia of the iconic Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem hasn’t been in action for a long time.
It was Duke Nukem Forever that was his last big entry to the gaming world. In retrospective, it certainly could’ve been a better reboot. Speaking of reboots, its 2025, and Duke Nukem truly deserves another chance to find success in the gaming world. After all, who doesn’t love a good comeback story, and the nostalgic energy that Duke has created, begs a reboot to happen. Here are five reasons why Duke Nukem should return in the year of 2025 or in the future.
Give Doom Some Competition
Doom is another big first-person shooter series that debut back in the nineties, and it’s been going through a massive success. There should be another game that can attract the modern Doom fanbase, and Duke Nukem would be the perfect alternative to that. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of healthy competition. It’ll also be interesting to see what kind of ideas a Duke Nukem reboot would bring to a nineties reboot styled first-person shooter.
Doom: The Dark Ages is the next installment for the Doom series.
The modern Doom titles have been going through many mechanical changes from its 2016 reboot to Doom Eternal. It’s to bring in something new to the series, but still remain familiar to the classics. There is still room for Duke Nukem to explore within this style of first-person shooters. A Duke Nukem reboot could end up finding the formula that will influence other future retro modern hybrid first-person shooters.
Those Excellent City Levels
I loved Duke Nukem 3D’s city-themed maps, and I would love to see how they would work within modern technology. I still remember being a kid, and just being embraced by the environments. It was fun to explore around the map, and of course, there were plenty of bad aliens to shoot. This was something that severely missing from Duke Nukem Forever, and it was definitely disappointing.
Imagine being able to explore an alien invaded city with detailed visuals. On top of that, it’ll be engaging for game designers to find creative ways to promote map exploration and combat encounters. To this day, I consider Duke Nukem 3D to perfected city levels within first-person shooters. It’ll only be more awesome to see a Duke Nukem reboot follow up this formula.
Great Weapon and Enemy Line Up
When it comes to first-person shooters, the arsenal and the types of hostile forces are important to the game. Duke Nukem 3D definitely nails both of those aspects. The conventional weapons like the Shotgun have always been memorable for being the tried and true weapon. There were experimental weapons like The Shrinker. A very memorable weapon for those that want to get up close and personal. The enemies are also great in terms of their purpose and the visual design is noteworthy.
The Octabrain looked cool in Duke Nukem Forever.
It’ll be great to see how these familiar assets would behave in a reboot. A Duke Nukem reboot should bring back most, if not all, its sandbox from Duke Nukem 3D. There should also be some new weapons for the player to use. It should definitely be an experimental type of weapon because those weapons were the highlights from Duke Nukem 3D. The same can be said for the aliens. Many first-person shooters have advanced their AI after Duke Nukem 3D’s inception. It would be enticing to see how much smarter the familiar foes will feel during combat.
Duke’s Personality
Gamers know that Duke Nukem is simply a video game version of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Personally, that is why Duke Nukem is so likeable. Duke Nukem is by far the most memorable video game protagonist I’ve encountered. Gamers can easily remember how senseless and badass his attitude is. On top of that, the cheeky one liners are iconic for sure. I am sure people who are as old as me will remember the Ventrilo video that went viral.
The funny one liners and Duke Nukem’s overall persona is simply enough reasons of why Duke deserves another game. I can’t imagine what kind of amusing moment Duke Nukem can put himself into. On top of that, it’ll be nice to hear some more one liners that can just be as memorable as Duke Nukem 3D’s.
It’s Been Way Too Long…
The last reason is a fairly self explanatory pick. It’s been so long since gamers have seen a proper Duke Nukem title. I certainly hope I’ll be able to play a brand new Duke Nukem game before I start growing gray hairs! With the success of Wolfenstein and Doom, there’s definitely space for Duke Nukem to get a similar treatment.
Duke deserves another respectable game like Duke Nukem 3D!
To this day, I consider Duke Nukem 3D to be a game that still stands the test of time. I can also say that the same to the classic Doom titles too. It’s obviously the old Doom games have an influence on the modern releases. So what that means is the Duke Nukem reboot should simply take inspiration from its current best game. One can dream if the player can move swiftly and shoot aliens with a wide range of arsenal again. I would also love to see better AI in the familiar or new aliens in the reboot.
Unfortunately, all of these reasons are simply personal wish lists. There hasn’t been any real information if a Duke Nukem reboot could potentially happen. However, as someone who loves first-person shooters from the nineties, I can only dream hopefully.
