Another year, another PAX East in the bag. I got to play many titles during my time at the convention. One such game I was itching to preview was Phantom Fury. A sequel to/reboot of Ion Fury and Bombshell, the FPS pays homage to shooters from the early 2000s.
Getting My Bearings in a Nostalgic Setting
Full disclosure: I am a console gamer and have not used a mouse and keyboard since the early ’90s when I played Doom on my cousin’s computer. As such, it was difficult to get adjusted to my Phantom Fury playthrough, but that is due to my rustiness. What I did notice, however, is that the path forward at the start of the demo wasn’t clear. 3D Realms’ Social Media manager, Eric Lesperance, was on hand to offer tips about where to go. I knew I had to go to the bar in front of me, reach the second floor, grab a key, and then head out the back door on the ground floor.
However, even with that knowledge, it was difficult to open the back door with the key. It appeared that you had to be looking at the door in a specific way to get the prompt to open it. Even after that, I had issues opening up the passage to the mine section with a set of explosives. Again, I had the equipment necessary to do the task, but the controls were a bit finicky. Luckily, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the demo. In addition, Eric said he would let the higher-ups know about the issues and hopefully fix them for launch.
Gameplay-wise, Phantom Fury was pretty solid. The main character, Shelly, moved with great speed, devoid of any clunkiness. Weapons were a blast to use, too, seeing as how each sidearm had a secondary function. Bowling Bombs could be thrown to explode on impact or could be turned into timed grenades. Shelly’s main weapon, Loverboy, had the best alternative fire. Players can lock on to multiple targets and then unload simultaneous headshots. Echoes of Perfect Dark, for sure, but it’s a welcome homage.
However, the enemy AI didn’t light my world on fire. Within the mine area and outside in the desert landscape, most baddies seemed to stick to a predetermined script, picking up barrels and throwing them at Shelly. Bigger foes stuck to one or two attacks and were easily flanked, even with my rusty mouse skills. Before my time was up, I was braving a stealth section where I had to dodge sniper fire. It was at this point the speedy movement slowed to a crawl as I looked for cover. Not a bad thing to include, but Phantom Fury‘s main strength is in how fun it is to dispatch adversaries with various weapons. Hopefully, stealth isn’t a big inclusion in the main game.
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Phantom Fury Burning Questions, Answered
Eric, being the great Social Media manager he is, stuck around to answer some important questions. No, Shelly and Duke Nukem don’t have a collaboration video game in the works because Gearbox owns the Duke Nukem IP, not 3D Realms. The graphics are heavily inspired by Half-Life 2 and look great, and the series will probably pay homage to a later era if another title in the franchise gets made. DLC for Phantom Fury could get made like it was for Ion Fury, but 3D Realms wants to see how well it will sell first. Over 20 unique weapons, all with secondary firing modes, will be included in the main campaign. There will also be unlockable skills and upgrades for your suit and powerful bionic arm.
Phantom Fury will launch on April 23 for Steam. Gamers can wishlist it here. It will be released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S | X at a later date.
