New boomer shooter coming from MicroProse: A blood-soaked tribute to the golden age – and its free

I love a good shooter. The recent releases of Doom and Hexen have made this tired old games journo very happy, but alongside that, the new breed of boomer shooter, such as Witchfire, has also kept me occupied.

My old mind still remembers the days of the OG MicroProse back during my time on Amiga and ST titles, and I seem to be writing a lot these days from the new incarnation of the classic publisher, as a lot of the games in its pipeline seem to appeal directly to me.

Anyway, this is a slightly strange one as the latest game MicroProse has announced it will be publishing will be free, gratis, cost you nothing, so there’s very little to complain about in this age of games creeping towards $100 rapidly.

Darkenstein 3D gives away its concept right from the off with the name alone. Wolfenstein 3D, back in the day, was a Nazi blasting cracker, and while it has been redone since, nothing quite captures the original.

Darkenstein 3D has us shooting Nazis as well and is a homage to the 3D shooters of yore.

“I spent years immersed in games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory, making maps for the latter as well as Quake 3. Darkenstein 3D is my way of bringing that same fast, chaotic energy back. It is a raw shooter that lives between the first FPS classics like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D and the modern era. Louder, bloodier, sillier, and built to be played hard,” said Rowye, creator of Darkenstein 3D.

The trailer features Nazi imagery, which we don’t tend to see much anymore unless you are in the darker corners of society, so it remains to be seen how well that will go down without being removed. You can’t even buy a model kit of a German U-Boat anymore that hasn’t had the flag altered to remove the symbol, so it seems a bold choice to feature it prominently. Time will tell if that gets chopped.

There is a demo out now on Steam ahead of Darkenstein’s release on 21st October.

Features

• Fast, Old-School Gameplay — No cover, no aim assist, no handholding. Just movement, aim, and survival. Dodge bullets, strafe through firefights, and master the deadly rhythm of retro combat.
   
• A Story of Desperation (and a Dog) — Rescue your kidnapped companion, Gunther, while unraveling strange mysteries hidden inside enemy strongholds.
   
• 13 Handcrafted Levels — Castles, caves, valleys, and desert towns; each packed with secrets, keys, treasures, and escalating danger.
   
• Dynamic Rat Companion — Turn the battlefield into chaos with your vicious rat sidekick. Distract enemies, combo with grenades, and create absolute carnage.
   
• Explosive Physics & Gore — Enemies fly, gib, and ragdoll in spectacular firefights. Props shatter, debris scatters, and every bullet leaves a mark.
   
• Pure Package, No MTX — No microtransactions, no battle passes, no currencies. Just one complete, standalone retro FPS.
   
• Solo-Dev Passion Project — Developed over four years by a single creator, Darkenstein 3D is a labor of love turned full campaign.