The gameplay has aged like wine in this retro re-release, but the title character has aged like milk.
Playing a Duke Nukem game now is like meeting a long-lost, beloved uncle who you’d forgotten was horribly racist. It’s still fun and nostalgic, but that joy is sometimes diluted by the dated and offensive content.
Duke is supposed to be a smart-alec tough guy; Arnold Schwarzenegger meets Ash from the Evil Dead films (even robbing some catchphrases from the latter). But when he throws money at women and says “shake it, baby”, the main feeling he evokes is embarrassment. The sexism graduates to skin-crawling when you meet women who are imprisoned by aliens and you have the option to (quoting the instructions) “put them out of their misery”.
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition modernised the Duke Nukem 3D presentation a decade ago, and the Duke has never been better.
Bought Duke Nukem 3D when it first came out on PC and still play the 25th Anniversary Edition on my Switch frequently.
Duke Nukem has had a lot of litigation and legal issues, with the currently developing one being between Gearbox and noted porter and modder of Duke Nukem 3D Gobeille
Episode 126.5 of Heroes of Handheld, discussing the latest in handheld gaming.
