Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Retro Love Letter
Publisher: World of Games Publishing

Where every other first-person shooter on the 3DO uses quads for the entirety of wall sections, the developer of BioFury takes a different approach: cast rays, ala "Doom" on DOS, then draw narrow, easily-cullable vertical slices via the "Cel Engine". The result is a wonderfully smooth "Wolfenstein 3D"-like. A one-man show, the developer is also a talented artist, creating and digitizing some really cool enemy assets such as demented mental patients in chains, various weapons, and aggressive brown dogs. There are a variety of wall types available, and it's cool to see what overarching theme or color motif each new area will have.

In lieu of music, the game uses various atmospheric tracks to provide background sound, and their sound effect-driven ambiance really fits the "experimental medical facility gone wrong" concept perfectly. The title's various gun sound effects are par-the-course. The simultaneously futuristic-and-creepy door opening and closing effects are a real highlight. The "howl" that the player character lets out when killing one of the dog enemies is disturbingly like a real-life reaction to killing a violent animal might be.

The biggest compliment which can be paid to BioFury's developer is that he resisted the temptation to be an "asshole": most human beings would design "Wolf3d"-style levels to prove how "clever" they are, by putting cheapshot enemies in place-- but not this fellow. The stages are well-paced, and use time-worn keycard progression mechanics. Each weapon serves a purpose, with some hallways designed explicitly for the amazing "Unreal Tournament 'Redeemer'"-style missile launcher! There is a bit of an over-reliance on remote, timed door switches however.

Like a crazy combination of "Wolfenstein 3D" and "Resident Evil", BioFury is a one-man project from the year 2024. There isn't a lot of "homebrew" development on the 3DO as compared to other aged platforms, so not only is it fun to be playing a contemporary release at all, and not only in such a fun genre as the first-person shooter, but the game is actually good on top of it all! It may not be as complete as period competitors such as the "Macenstein 3D" port, "Escape from Monster Manor", "PO'ed", or "Killing Time", but as a release which focuses on getting the basics right, BioFury is well worth playing through-- perhaps several times.