When I Was Young mod for Shadow Warrior Classic

3DRealms' revitalisation in recent years continues with another new throwback shooter called CULTIC. Sticking in 2.5D with a bitcrushed aesthetic and dripping with atmosphere, it's looking to be another great showing. 3DR's time in the industry has yielded many other iconic names, however, so here's a look back at games they had a hand in across the golden years of the company!

(Brief note - all of these games are listed on the 3DRealms website and from research, I understand the actual "who and what" of some of these games is a little up in the air. Regardless, it's a good excuse to cover some solid mods for older titles and if anyone had interesting insight on the weirdness surrounding ownership of games like Max Payne in particular, I'd love to hear it in the comments down below!)

When I Was Young

By Yves

This story takes places some years before the game does; Lo Wang is a bad boy and he is working for local mafia. Two sections of the local chinese mafia battle to gain control of the city. One clan is led by Mr Takagy, the other one by Mr Fu Kung. You are member of Mr Takagy's clan, and got to do the dirty jobs for him... (you might also have to deal with the police)

Duke Nukem: Alien Armageddon

By DukeBoss

Alien Armageddon is a mod for Duke Nukem 3D which adds many new high quality enemies, dangerous NPCs, and a second playable character, all featured in epic new adventures. New gamemodes are present to test your skills - and that of your friends! Some of the community's best talent have come together to make this amazing free expansion to the Duke 3D universe.

Sikkmod

By Sikkpin

Sikkmod is a general enhancement mod for Prey designed to update the game to a more modern level visually, allow some customizations gameplay wise, as well as including fixes and better organization to stock files to be used as a base for future mods. Though the not-really-a-sequel of the same name from 2017 has stolen the spotlight in recent years, there exists still a sizeable fanbase for the original owner of the title and Sikkmod is one of the best ways to go back and experience a classic.

Payne Evolution

By The_Silver

This mod will evolve your Max Payne 2 experience to a whole new level, one step closer to its successor Max Payne 3. With new models, weapons, animations, graphic effects, sounds, particles, and more, this mod will improve good old Max Payne 2 to make it shine alongside its monumental older and younger cousins. Rife with quality-of-life improvements, flat-out extra content and graphical enhancements, it gives Max back his teeth like you've never seen before.

Max Payne Rechambered

By null-point

Max Payne Rechambered is a fan made modification for Max Payne by Remedy Entertainment which aims to rebalance much of the game's arsenal and mechanics. The game has been modified to be more accessible to new players in the form of the "Fugitive" mode, while continuing to provide a difficult challenge for seasoned players in the form of "Hard-Boiled" and "Dead On Arrival". Weapons have been modified to be more accurate and deadlier; the player should make every bullet count as some weapons have one-shot kill capabilities: but slow rate of fire or a low magazine ammo count.

2.5D+0.5 Realms

3DRealms has had an eclectic history, beginning as an off-shoot of Apogee Software, then Apogee renaming itself to 3DRealms before that name later got released and used by another company down the line. Under several names, 3DR's general development history has seen some of the all-time-greats land under its wing, and its been making a comeback in the last half a decade or so with throwback shooter success like Ion Fury. Now, another original IP contender is coming soon - CULTIC, a deliciously atmospheric and retro-as-they-come shooter.

A Defining Achievement

CULTIC is once more 2.5D, like Ion Fury, with 3D elements - similar to many of the older shooter games in 3DR's line-up. Ion Fury was even on a modified Build Engine, the same one that powers Duke Nukem 3D, although CULTIC is not following in the footsteps that closely. Nevertheless, it's got cultists, your classic array of retro shooter weaponry, and a distinctive art style that also manages to take advantage of modern technologies for lighting, puzzle-hunting, and style. CULTIC's first chapter ships on October 13th, just in time for the Halloween season.