Iron Curtain Call
Free demo
Field guide · six games compared

Fast FPS games like ULTRAKILL and MULLET MADJACK, where melee and parrying keep you alive

By Whale Development Studios, the studio behind Iron Curtain Call. Published 5 November 2026. Every date, price, platform and demo below was checked on the US Steam store on 5 November 2026; the sources are listed at the end.

Iron Curtain Call in first person: a cartoon glove punches a tin robot apart in a snowy night market, a shotgun in the other hand, under the comic words SHATTERED! and SHAKE WELL!
Iron Curtain Call, chapter 5, Kelvingrad: a Knuckle Sandwich. A real gameplay frame; the comic words are the game’s own.
The short answer

Get close, stay alive.

In these shooters, standing back is the risky choice and getting close is how you stay alive. DOOM Eternal made it a system: a glory kill heals, the chainsaw gives ammo, the flamethrower gives armor. ULTRAKILL heals you with blood at close range and with parries. MULLET MADJACK turns your health into a ten second clock that only kills refill. DOOM: The Dark Ages builds its fights around a Shield Saw that blocks and parries.

Iron Curtain Call takes the DOOM Eternal idea into a 1930s rubber hose cartoon, with a parry for pink attacks on top, and its demo is free on Steam. Fallen Aces is the noir option, built around your fists.

Three of the six had a free demo on Steam on 5 November 2026: Iron Curtain Call, ULTRAKILL and MULLET MADJACK.

At a glance

Six shooters, side by side.

Checked on the US Steam store and the games’ Wikipedia articles on 5 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars before any sale; Steam sets its own prices in other countries.
GameWhat close range gives youHow you moveFree demo on SteamUS priceOut
Iron Curtain CallOur gameHealth from Knuckle Sandwich punches, ammo from the Can Opener, armor from the Hot Take flamethrower; pink attacks can be parriedDouble jump, air dash and a grappleYes, free: Mission 1, about 15 to 20 minutesNot priced yet11 March 2027Free demo since 28 October 2026
DOOM EternalHealth from glory kills, ammo from the chainsaw, armor from the flamethrower; glory kills charge the Blood PunchDouble jump, a dash in any direction, wall climbing and the Super Shotgun’s grappling hookNo$29.9919 March 2020
ULTRAKILLHealth from enemies’ blood up close and from parrying their attacksModern movement in the vein of Titanfall and DOOM Eternal, rated by a style meterYes, free$29.993 September 2020Early Access
MULLET MADJACKTime, which is your health: kills, soda cans and finishing moves refill a ten second clockFloor after floor against the clock; a Classic Mode turns the timer offYes, free$19.9915 May 2024
DOOM: The Dark AgesA Shield Saw that blocks, parries and attacks, plus a gauntlet, an iron mace and a flailHeavier: the Slayer fights like an iron tankNo$49.9914 May 2025
Fallen AcesYour two fists, then whatever is lying around: knives, pipes, frying pans, Tommy gunsPlays like a shooter from the 90s, in comic book noirNo$14.9914 June 2024Early Access
The games

One by one, who each is for.

The facts under each entry come from its Steam page on 5 November 2026; the mechanics from its Steam page and its Wikipedia article.

Iron Curtain Call

Our game

Play it if you love DOOM Eternal’s loop and want it in a 1930s cartoon, free to try first.

Iron Curtain Call is built on getting close. A Knuckle Sandwich punch gives you health, the Can Opener cracks a robot open for ammo and the Hot Take shoulder flamethrower feeds your armor. Pink attacks can be parried, the Encore super is there for the big finish, and the arenas are built for aggressive movement: double jump, air dash, grapple.

The war is a satire: 1965, World War III, wind up tin robots run by a customer service machine called the Supreme Chancellor. Robots burst into bolts, springs and scrap; there is no blood.

The free demo is Mission 1, Welcome to Rubbleton: about 15 to 20 minutes, ending with the boss Major Disaster.

Developer and publisher
Whale Development Studios
Out
11 March 2027
Free demo out
28 October 2026
On Steam
Windows and macOS (demo on Windows, macOS and Linux)
US list price
Not priced yet
Demo
Yes, free

Play the free demoPlay 60 seconds in your browser, no download

Iron Curtain Call: Major Disaster, the first boss, a giant tin general, takes the finisher in a town square under bunting and comic sound effects
Chapter 1, Rubbleton: Major Disaster, the boss of the free demo, takes the finisher.

DOOM Eternal

Play it if you want the template.

id Software’s DOOM Eternal hands out its resources at close range: glory kills restore health, the chainsaw makes demons drop ammo and the flamethrower refills armor. Each gun holds less ammo than in DOOM (2016), so you keep reaching for the chainsaw, and glory kills charge the Blood Punch, a melee hit that breaks armor. You double jump, dash in any direction, climb walls and ride the Super Shotgun’s grappling hook into the fight.

It is the clearest model for Iron Curtain Call’s loop: health, ammo and armor each come from a different close range move.

Developer
id Software
Publisher
Bethesda Softworks
Released
19 March 2020
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$29.99
Demo
None on Steam

ULTRAKILL

Play it if you want speed, style ranks and a game that rewards aggression.

Arsi “Hakita” Patala’s ULTRAKILL heals you for being aggressive: soak up enemies’ blood at close range, or parry their attacks. A style meter, as in Devil May Cry, rewards flashy moves, time in the air and quick weapon swaps, and each level ends with a grade from your style, your time and your kills. The movement takes after Titanfall and DOOM Eternal, the graphics after early PlayStation games. It is in Early Access, with a free demo on Steam.

Developer
Arsi "Hakita" Patala
Publisher
New Blood Interactive
Entered Early Access
3 September 2020
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$29.99
Demo
Yes, free

MULLET MADJACK

Play it if you want a shooter where standing still is how you lose.

HAMMER95’s MULLET MADJACK gives you ten seconds to live. Killing enemies, drinking soda cans from broken vending machines and finishing moves all add time, so every floor is a sprint. The look is classic 1980s and 1990s anime; Steam also lists a Classic Mode with no timer, an endless mode and more than 50 power ups. It has a free demo on Steam.

Developer
HAMMER95
Publisher
Epopeia Games
Released
15 May 2024
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$19.99
Demo
Yes, free

DOOM: The Dark Ages

Play it if you want to stand your ground and parry.

DOOM: The Dark Ages, the prequel to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, moves the fight to a medieval war against Hell. The Slayer is built as an iron tank, and the new Shield Saw blocks, parries and attacks with a single input, next to melee weapons like a gauntlet, an iron mace and a flail.

Developer
id Software
Publisher
Bethesda Softworks
Released
14 May 2025
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$49.99
Demo
None on Steam

Fallen Aces

Play it if you want your fists to do most of the talking, in noir.

Trey Powell and Jason Bond’s Fallen Aces is a crime noir game that looks like a comic book and plays like a shooter from the 90s. One man with two fists takes on Switchblade City, and the world is your weapon: knives, pipes, bats, trash cans, frying pans, nail guns and Tommy guns. It is in Early Access.

Developers
Trey Powell and Jason Bond
Publisher
New Blood Interactive
Entered Early Access
14 June 2024
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$14.99
Demo
None on Steam
The look

If it is the cartoon you came for

Our first guide covers the 1930s rubber hose side: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Cuphead, Bendy and the other cartoon shooters, with the same facts checked on Steam, in ten languages.

Or skip the reading: play 60 seconds of Iron Curtain Call in your browser, no download.

Questions

Questions players ask

Which fast FPS games heal you for fighting up close?

DOOM Eternal (glory kills), ULTRAKILL (enemies’ blood up close, and parries) and Iron Curtain Call (the Knuckle Sandwich punch). In MULLET MADJACK, kills refill the ten second clock that serves as your health.

Is there a game like DOOM Eternal in a cartoon style?

Iron Curtain Call: health from punches, ammo from the Can Opener and armor from a shoulder flamethrower, in a 1930s rubber hose cartoon. Its demo is free on Steam.

Which of these have a free demo?

On 5 November 2026: Iron Curtain Call, ULTRAKILL and MULLET MADJACK. DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages and Fallen Aces had none on Steam.

Is ULTRAKILL finished?

It has been in Early Access on Steam since 3 September 2020. Its store page says where it stands today.

What is a boomer shooter?

A name for newer first person shooters, from the 2010s on, built in the style of 1990s games like Doom and Quake. Wikipedia counts DOOM (2016), DOOM Eternal and ULTRAKILL among the games that brought the style back.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these pages, read on 5 November 2026. Prices and dates change; the store page always has the final word.

  1. Iron Curtain Call, Steam store page
  2. DOOM Eternal, Steam store page
  3. ULTRAKILL, Steam store page
  4. MULLET MADJACK, Steam store page
  5. DOOM: The Dark Ages, Steam store page
  6. Fallen Aces, Steam store page
  7. Doom Eternal, Wikipedia
  8. Doom: The Dark Ages, Wikipedia
  9. Ultrakill, Wikipedia
  10. Mullet MadJack, Wikipedia
  11. Shooter game: Boomer shooter, Wikipedia

World War III now has a free trial.

Mission 1 of Iron Curtain Call is free on Steam. Play it, and if the war wins you over, wishlist the full war: it arrives on 11 March 2027.

Play the free demoWishlist on SteamPlay 60 seconds in your browser, no download

Rubber hose and cartoon FPS games

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