Iron Curtain Call
Free demo
Field guide · eight games compared

Games like DOOM: the boomer shooters that keep its spirit

By Whale Development Studios, the studio behind Iron Curtain Call. Published 7 November 2026. Every date, price, platform and demo below was checked on the US Steam store on 7 November 2026; the sources are listed at the end.

Iron Curtain Call in first person: a white rubber hose cartoon glove lands a WALLOP! punch on a golden robot in a theatre, the Care Package rocket launcher in the other hand
Iron Curtain Call, chapter 12, Curtain Call. A real gameplay frame; the comic word is the game’s own.
The short answer

The old way of shooting, made new.

The games built most like DOOM today are called boomer shooters: newer first person shooters made in the style of the 1990s classics, with fast movement, secret packed levels and a big arsenal. ULTRAKILL is all speed and style, and heals you with your enemies’ blood. DUSK is the one the name came from, with three campaigns of cultists and soldiers. Ion Fury runs on the Build engine of Duke Nukem 3D, Prodeus draws a 1990s shooter with modern rendering, and HROT puts the formula in a grim Czechoslovakia of 1986.

Turbo Overkill adds a chainsaw leg and a cyberpunk city, and CULTIC sends you out of your own grave against a cult, with dynamite. Iron Curtain Call is ours: DOOM Eternal’s idea of health, ammo and armor from close range, in a 1930s rubber hose cartoon, and its demo is free on Steam.

Five of the eight had a free demo on Steam on 7 November 2026: Iron Curtain Call, ULTRAKILL, HROT, Turbo Overkill and CULTIC.

At a glance

Eight shooters, side by side.

Checked on the US Steam store and the games’ Wikipedia articles on 7 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars before any sale; Steam sets its own prices in other countries.
GameWhat it keeps from DOOMWhat it addsFree demo on SteamUS priceOut
Iron Curtain CallOur gameResources from close range: health from punches, ammo from the Can Opener, armor from a shoulder flamethrowerA 1930s rubber hose cartoon world, a grapple, and a parry for pink attacks in the full gameYes, free: Mission 1, about 15 to 20 minutesNot priced yet11 March 2027Free demo since 28 October 2026
ULTRAKILLFast, ultra violent shooting inspired by the shooters of the 90sA style meter from character action games, and blood that heals youYes, free$29.993 September 2020Early Access
DUSKA retro FPS inspired by the 90s legends, against cultists and possessed soldiersThe game the name boomer shooter came from, on Windows, macOS and LinuxNo$19.9910 December 2018
Ion FuryFast FPS combat across huge levels packed with secretsThe Build engine of Duke Nukem 3D and Blood, in the cyberpunk streets of Neo D.C.No$24.9915 August 2019
ProdeusThe first person shooter of old, with a hand crafted campaignModern rendering over a look that invokes the limits of older hardware, plus co op and a level editorNo$24.9923 September 2022
HROTA single player retro FPSCzechoslovakia in 1986, after an unspecified disaster, as dark as the timesYes, free$19.9916 May 2023
Turbo OverkillFast shooting with more than 15 weaponsA chainsaw leg, a hovercar and a cyberpunk city called ParadiseYes, free$19.9911 August 2023
CULTICAn old school inspired shooter: guns, dynamite and a cult to fight throughSliding, ducking and dodging, released in two chaptersYes, free$9.9913 October 2022
The games

One by one, who each is for.

Each entry says who the game is for, what it is and how it differs from DOOM. The facts under each come from its Steam page on 7 November 2026; the rest 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 takes the idea DOOM Eternal made famous, that every resource comes from fighting up close, and gives each its own move: 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. You double jump, air dash and grapple through arenas built for aggression.

The war is a satire: 1965, year three of 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. It has no parry; the parry comes with the full game on 11 March 2027.

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.

ULTRAKILL

Play it if you want DOOM at its fastest, with style ranks.

Arsi “Hakita” Patala’s ULTRAKILL calls itself a fast paced, ultra violent retro FPS that mixes the style scoring of character action games with carnage inspired by the shooters of the 90s, and it heals you when you shower in your enemies’ blood. Wikipedia describes graphics that recall the early PlayStation and movement in the vein of Titanfall and DOOM Eternal. 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

DUSK

Play it if you want the 1990s look and feel, played straight.

David Szymanski’s DUSK sends you through cultists, possessed soldiers and darker things beneath the earth, in what its Steam page calls a retro FPS inspired by the 90s legends. Wikipedia credits it with the name itself: according to New Blood Interactive’s Dave Oshry, fans coined the term boomer shooter after DUSK came out. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and had no demo on Steam.

Developer
David Szymanski
Publisher
New Blood Interactive
Released
10 December 2018
On Steam
Windows, macOS and Linux
US list price
$19.99
Demo
None on Steam

Ion Fury

Play it if you miss Duke Nukem 3D and Blood and want their engine back.

Voidpoint and 3D Realms brought back the Build engine of Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood for Ion Fury, a cyberpunk shooter that its Steam page sums up as fast FPS combat across huge, secret packed levels. Wikipedia calls it the first original commercial game on that engine in twenty years. It had no demo on Steam.

Developer
Voidpoint, LLC
Publisher
3D Realms
Released
15 August 2019
On Steam
Windows and Linux
US list price
$24.99
Demo
None on Steam

Prodeus

Play it if you want a 1990s shooter drawn with today’s lighting.

Bounding Box Software’s Prodeus is, in its Steam page’s words, a first person shooter of old reimagined with modern rendering, with retro aesthetics and gameplay that invoke the limits of older hardware. Wikipedia notes it was crowdfunded on Kickstarter and spent time in Early Access before its full release. Steam lists Windows and macOS, and no demo.

Developer
Bounding Box Software Inc.
Publisher
Balor Games
Released
23 September 2022
On Steam
Windows and macOS
US list price
$24.99
Demo
None on Steam

HROT

Play it if you want DOOM’s pace in a grim, real place.

Spytihněv’s HROT is a single player retro FPS set, as its Steam page puts it, in a small socialist country neighbouring the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, after an unspecified disaster in 1986. The mood is dark on purpose, and it has a free demo on Steam.

Developer and publisher
Spytihněv
Released
16 May 2023
On Steam
Windows (demo on Windows)
US list price
$19.99
Demo
Yes, free

Turbo Overkill

Play it if you want DOOM with a chainsaw leg and a sense of humour.

Trigger Happy Interactive’s Turbo Overkill makes you Johnny Turbo, half man and half machine, cleaning up the cyberpunk city of Paradise with a chainsaw leg, more than 15 weapons and a hovercar. Its publisher, Apogee, calls it its most outrageous FPS since Duke Nukem 3D. It has a free demo on Steam.

Developer
Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher
Apogee Entertainment
Released
11 August 2023
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$19.99
Demo
Yes, free

CULTIC

Play it if you want an old school shooter against a cult, with dynamite.

Jasozz Games’ CULTIC starts with you crawling out of your own grave to fight your way through a twisted cult with guns and dynamite, sliding, ducking and dodging in what its Steam page calls an old school inspired shooter. Wikipedia says it came out in two chapters, published by 3D Realms. It has a free demo on Steam.

Developer
Jasozz Games
Publisher
3D Realms
Released
13 October 2022
On Steam
Windows
US list price
$9.99
Demo
Yes, free
Coming next

If it is the new ones you are after

Want the new ones? Our list of the boomer shooters coming next year is read on Steam month by month. If it is the close range loop of DOOM Eternal you are after, our guide to fast FPS games where melee keeps you alive compares DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages, ULTRAKILL and MULLET MADJACK, and our guide to FPS games for low end PCs quotes each game’s minimum specs from Steam.

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

Questions

Questions players ask

What are games like DOOM called?

Boomer shooters. Wikipedia uses the name for newer first person shooters, from the 2010s on, built in the style of 1990s games like Doom and Quake, and says fans coined it after DUSK came out.

Which games like DOOM have a free demo?

On 7 November 2026: Iron Curtain Call, ULTRAKILL, HROT, Turbo Overkill and CULTIC. DUSK, Ion Fury and Prodeus had none on Steam.

Which of these run on Mac or Linux?

Going by their Steam pages on 7 November 2026: DUSK on macOS and Linux, Prodeus and Iron Curtain Call on macOS, and Ion Fury on Linux. The other four are Windows only.

Is there a cartoon game like DOOM?

Iron Curtain Call: health from punches, ammo from the Can Opener and armor from a shoulder flamethrower, the way DOOM Eternal hands them out, in a 1930s rubber hose cartoon. Its demo is free 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.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these pages, read on 7 November 2026. Prices and dates change; the store page always has the final word.

  1. Iron Curtain Call, Steam store page
  2. ULTRAKILL, Steam store page
  3. DUSK, Steam store page
  4. Ion Fury, Steam store page
  5. Prodeus, Steam store page
  6. HROT, Steam store page
  7. Turbo Overkill, Steam store page
  8. CULTIC, Steam store page
  9. Doom (franchise), Wikipedia
  10. Shooter game: Boomer shooter, Wikipedia
  11. Ultrakill, Wikipedia
  12. Dusk (video game), Wikipedia
  13. Ion Fury, Wikipedia
  14. Prodeus, Wikipedia
  15. Cultic (video game), 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

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