I didn't start with Doom (1993).
I started with Doom (2016).

That game made me ask a simple question:
"Where did this feeling come from?"
So I went backwards.
I played Doom, Quake, Unreal, Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior, DUSK, Amid Evil... and finally arrived at Ion Fury.
What I expected was another excellent boomer shooter.
What I got was the culmination of an entire lineage.
Every few hours I'd notice another piece of FPS history woven into it. The interconnected progression reminded me of Half-Life. The industrial sewer sections evoked Doom 3. The crisp, weighty combat carried the spirit of Blood, Duke Nukem 3D, and Shadow Warrior. Even small details, like the Quake-esque grenade launcher sound, felt like quiet nods rather than cheap nostalgia.

Yet Ion Fury never feels like a collage.
It has its own identity.
The greatest surprise wasn't the shooting, it was the level design. I found myself enjoying sewer levels because they were full of clever environmental puzzles and believable geography. The game feels like one continuous journey. You don't finish "levels"; you escape a cyberpunk city, descend underground, ride a train, and eventually emerge into the countryside. The transitions make the world feel real.
This isn't just one of the best boomer shooters ever made.
It's a love letter to the entire history of first-person shooters, written by people who clearly understand why those classics mattered in the first place.
10/10. A fitting culmination of one of gaming's greatest genres.

https://youtu.be/SxzZXIfLc-c?si=D-HE0jaS39_jmijw