RIP Arena Shooters. You will not be forgotten

Boomer shooters will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to my dad. He introduced me to DOOM, Quake, and Battlefield 1942 in 2002 (not an arena shooter, but still). To this day, every pc I ever get has these classics installed on them. Thanks, Dad, you’re a real one.

Arena shooters were so much fun because they were not really taken seriously. They were kind of like party games except you were shooting at people instead. Wish I got to experience LAN parties

Arena shooters definitely fell off relevancy, but the boomer shooter genre is definitely going strong. New Blood Interactive is proving that there's still a die-hard passion for it. ULTRAKILL is one of those games I'm convinced is gonna appeal to a large audience once it gets out of Early Access, assuming it isnt appealing to a lot of people already.

Unreal Tournament was the first arena shooter I ever played, it's also the game that got me in to PC gaming in general. So many fond memories.

Quake 3 literally got me into gaming as a little kid, so the Quake series and arena shooters always had a special place in my heart

I remember reading about arena shooter tournaments in the 90's where the winners won cash prizes. The idea that you could win money by playing your favorite game was mind-blowing to me as a kid

I really want you to talk about Indie Games in the future. Games like Bug Fables, Pizza Tower, Celeste, ULTRAKILL, Madness: Project Nexus, etc. It would be a breath of fresh air from the AAA game news you bring personally.

Imagine if you will, An M rated “Republic commando 2:Order 66” With a Starwars/Doom soundtrack, where you’re hunting down Jedi remnants, killing rebels, blowing doors open while your visor cleans the blood off your HUD. All with a metal Starwars soundtrack playing, while SEV makes remarks about how he always wondered how hard it would be to kill a Jedi. You are now in, the Twilight zone

This video is literally my childhood growing up playing video games, the amount of nostalgia I'm feeling right now is unbelievable

I wish he talked more about the new indie boomer shooter games. Games like Dusk, Ultrakill, Cultic have been some of my favourite from the past few years. The genre is not dead at all

Warhammer 40k Boltgun, Dusk, Project Warlock, Prodeus, Forgive me Father, Doom Eternal, Ultrakill, Postal Baron Damaged, Shadow Warrior 3. The genre is VERY much alive for single players experience, and arguably more so than it has been for the past 15 years.

I have been struggling with depression for awhile now because of this damn cancer but u always manage to make me feel better

Tribes also did something that was very true to that super high skill ceiling of traditional arena shooters that was also very different. Instead of bunny hopping at an angle like a drunken coke addict, it had something I can really only describe as "skiing". You had to use your jet pack, physics of your flying around, and then sliding around on hills to build up speed to borderline fly around the map even when not using the jet pack actively.

I only recently got into mouse & keyboard FPS gaming and I downloaded Quake Champions and I gotta say, arena FPS games are something special. The fast pace, the insane movement capabilities, the emphasis on really great mechanics, it's all exactly what I want out of an FPS game. I just wish more people played them.

I still remember the first time I played counter-strike, I was completely blown away. Still can't believe that was over 20 years ago and I still play 1.6 to this day. What a masterpiece and blessing to the first person shooter gaming community.

Dusk and Ultrakill have been pretty succesful lately and show there's still interest in the genre, all my young friends from the new generations are discovering how fun this playstyle is thanks to them ^^

I will say this right now, because Ultrakill became as popular and well received as it did. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more games inspired by Arena Shooters in the future.

I've watched the video a couple of times, and I get the feeling that you don't really understand what an arena shooter is. Half the games you mentioned and showed in the video are not arena shooters, they just had multiplayer mods that happened to be afps, the fact that Half-Life had DMC (which was a mod) doesn't mean that Half-Life is an arena shooter. No one remembers Half-Life because of the dmc mod. You also rushed Quake which is basically the most important game while talking about afps, and just briefly mention Unreal Tournament. I understand trying to contextualize how other sub-genres played a role in "killing" afps, but I just don't understand how in a 33 minutes video supposedly about afps, mentions and discussion points about actual afps can be counted on the fingers of a hand. I personally also don't believe that other shooters were the cause of death for afps, i think it's just because more people got into gaming and most of them weren't and aren't willing to "get good" at games that are purely skill based. The average player just want the quick dopamine hit that getting a victory royale in Fortnite or winning a match in CoD gives, or they want to feel good in "esports competitive" games like Valorant or Apex.

I'm glad you made the comparison-ish to fighting games because its kinda true for both; there's a big skill gap in both genres. I used to play against bots in UT3 and had a blast. Once I jumped in VS live opponents, it became so clear that I had some learning to do; even someone on the other team asked if it was my first time.

Quake 3 Arena is simply one of the best shooters ever made. The game is pure fun. That's it. No nonsense, just pure fun. It's painful that not many new gamers even know about how awesome it is.

I miss these Rise and Fall video formats. Glad to see it return.

Fails to mention the revival in the indie scene

Thank you for your videos Act Man, I appreciate what you do!!!

DOOM, Duke, Shadow Warrior, Quake, Perfect Dark Zero, Golden Eye, Halo 2, Half-Life, Serious Sam. All blew my mind. Good times.

Man, this gives me good trips down memory lane. My brother and I getting dropped off at my friends house before school, and spending the early morning playing Halo 2 slayer matches with him and his little sister, really has to be some of my fondest childhood memories. Thank you for revitalizing, even for just a brief moment, one of the greatest eras of gaming.

The amount of inaccuracies in this video must be a KZfaq record. Congratulations you won!

I absolutely loved Doom 2016's PvP multiplayer and it not being included in Eternal is pretty much the reason I started playing Halo again. I was completely done with FPS games before Doom 2016.

Cool to see you go In depth into this genre of shooters! Out of Curiosity, is ULTRAKILL on your radar at all? I think you might quite enjoy it.

I never was alive when Doom 1-2 released but I love them a lot having experienced them years later. Especially Doom 2016 and Eternal. RIP these amazing Arena Shooters.

The first game i ever played was Wolfenstein on PC while sitting on my mom’s lap in 1998. Watching her play Starwars, Wolfenstein, and Tomb Raider is the reason i’ve got such a deep love for classics like those games

I wish the Unreal Tournament franchise was still producing games. I had so much fun with the first game and 2004.

I still play UT99, Quake 3 and Serious SamTFE to this day, these games will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I'm surprised you didn't talk about Unreal Tournament 2004, I remember playing that when I was young, it was amazing, even some of its maps like Convoy that even has a TF2 port version are amazing. Great video!

Hey that was a lot of fun. Great vid man

Great video! A trip down the memory lane :)

Its a genre that I want back in the mainstream so bad, especially the multiplayer portions. I was born far too late to see the peak of such an awesome style of game. Movement in shooters is by far my favorite aspect, so I have these games to thank for it. They're probably better off gone from the mainstream because they would have been ruined entirely by now.

Unreal Tournament 99 was such an epic game! Fast paced arena shooting with an awesome sound track. It was my life until Halo came along..

Brought me back! Fun to watch!

Amazing video Act Man!!

My favorite moment in Doom 2016 was in multiplayer where my buddy dodged a rocket by hip thrusting via emote He thrusted at just the right time for it to swerve him It was magical

The era of arena shooters might be gone, but as the old saying says: "Classics never die"

Awesome vid Actman! More like it please

Felt like he talked more about games that aren’t arena shooters than arena shooters themselves. This video did not need to be 30+ minutes.

This is probably one of your best videos ever. You should do more of these history lesson types.

There are a lot of bizarrely overlapping factors to this issue that make it difficult to pin down exactly why arena shooters died out. For example, pointing out that arena shooters are heavy on the try-hard gameplay is a fair point, but then you have games like Counterstrike, League, and Starcraft that are arguably excruciating for new players to learn/compete at and yet were massively popular even after arena shooters fell out of vogue. Arena shooters seemingly sailed into a perfect storm at a crucial juncture of gaming history where they 1) focused on multiplayer with very little attention paid to in-game lore, 2) lost out to trendy elements like the "real" gunplay of squad shooters, 3) lacked widespread community content creation after the original Doom days, 4) didn't participate in burgeoning forms of media like machinima, 5) suffered from franchise fatigue and simple not being the "new thing" anymore, 6) didn't adopt progression systems of any real variety, 7) did not have the party atmosphere that many newer games fostered, etc.

Loved the video learned a lot

I think you should mention the transition from server browser and dedicated servers to matchmaking. I think it had huge impact not only on the genre but whole industry and community around it. Modability and custom servers are a rarity right now.

I really got into the multiplayer of doom 2016 when it came out. I found running a loadout of super shotgun and normal pump shotgun was absolutely broken because you could shoot one, swap to other, shoot it, swap back, repeat and it would absolutely destroy people.

Bless the algorithm, I have never heard of “The Act Man” but this video really hit home.

Very cool video! You should make one for RTS games and how are people looking to revive it.

New Blood is making all sorts of boomer shooter styled games, the genre may not be in the limelight but it exists and will always in some capacity. ❤

I miss Quake and Unreal Tournament 😭

I have never played shooters, but I have fond memories of watching my brother play Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein... Watching this really sends home how big the 90s were for video games. Thank you for all your hard work Mr. Man. I really enjoy your videos, even of games I will never play.

Great video, very insightful. You've certainly done your research given you weren't around for much of what you described.

playing the OG’s (quake, duke nukem 3D, doom, jedi knight) with my dad is one of my favorite childhood memories. these games always have a spot in my heart!

Dude, I genuinely loved the Doom 2016 multiplayer. It was a blast once you learned the maps a bit. Once you figured out which demon and weapons you were the most effective with, it was a ton of fun. I forgot there were emotes though haha. I was for sure one of the few disappointed people when Eternal tried to do its own thing with multiplayer instead of good old deathmatch. I feel like deathmatch should always be on every Doom game. I mean, John Romero coined the phrase. Dropping deathmatch just feels wrong. Fingers crossed for the future though 🤞

Used to play lan unreal tournament with my friend , introduced me to fast paced arena shooters. Then I started picking it back up it 2016 with doom and Titanfall 2 and holy crap it payed off even after all these years.

Try the Turok N64 controls, it's a substitute for the modern 2-stick FPS controls. Turok controls are where you move with the C buttons and look/turn/aim with the stick. Perfect Dark and GoldenEye offer a similar option you can choose in the controls if you look for it.

Prodeus is a gnarly little retro arena shooter. One of the best I’ve played.

That mention of Time splitters series is golden man!!! It's underrated and underappreited in the mid-life cycle of FPS history. Thank you Act Man you trully are a man of culture.

Being real, I literally just started playing Quake 1 MP today, and I realized that I was intimidated for nothing. I hopped into a server and got stomped, but just a few rounds in, I was actually starting to come out on top. It was more fun than being cussed out in Overwatch, I'll say that much.

Quake Champs is amazing. Still has more support than most popular fpses lol. And that’s with a solid 400 players on a great day. Been playing and hanging with the best.

Doom, Quake, Half-Life and Unreal Tournament WERE MY CHILDHOOD. They will never be forgotten

The nostalgia I feel for arena shooters is more second hand, as I spent my formative years watching my father play those games back in the 90s, being 6 years old watching him bust up head crabs is one of the best memory from those days. Watching him have fun with FPS games was how I got into gaming myself and so I owe a lot of my love to the legacy of old school arena shooters.

I really, really have a hard time putting into words how much I have come to enjoy your content, especially when you tackle the more meta-topics like genres or mechanics. I'm really glad that I found you! Thank you so much for what you do!

I had an idea for an arena shooter once, one of the modes i thought of was something that focused on NPC enemies (not player-like enemies, just, traditional npcs that can usually be out-maneuvered) And the more i think about it, the more i feel that could play an important part in bringing back the arena shooter genre A multiplayer mode focused on fighting groups of AI enemies, possibly still with an opposing player team Because people like playing singleplayer arena shooters, i can see why, the enemies can still be threatening, but almost anyone could manage to kill a single imp in doom I had the idea for this from playing Moba games, they often have creeps and actual players both on the same board and both on each team Infact i feel like some of the ideas around Moba games are kinda slept on because of how genius they are Imagine a deathmatch mode where you also have NPC cannon fodder allies and enemies that can count for like, what? A quarter of a player kill point? It would also add more tactical strategy, defend your guys? Or kill more of the enemies'? Or just go straight for them?

I'll always go back and play the first Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena. I will always cherish their gameplay for what they are.

Doom Eternal is the greatest gaming experience I had in a very, very long time, it brought me back to my childhood and I'm grateful to Id for sticking to their guns and giving us one of the greatest games ever.

I'm going to show this to my dad, I been reviving my old consoles (ps3 and gamecube) for us to relive the unreal tournament and turok days. And he asked me why did they stop making unreal tournament. You gave me a answer I can give him. Thank you.

Love the video man. Editing, storytelling, narration. Great job

Thank for the trip down memory lane, it's nice to indulge in some childhood nostalgia and happy memories early gaming brought me. Anyone who grew up in those times - you should know we lived in an era that can never be recaptured or restored, and can never be surpassed but only rivaled. We lived in the golden era of gaming - a cultural zeitgeist as gaming entered mainstream.

I still say it to this day, no matter how complex modern games have become in terms of their competitive aspect, none have ever trumped the spectacle of skill in arena shooters. The skill level in competitive unreal tournament matches was so unbelievably insane that you'd think all of them were using aimbot. You had to be skilled not only in aiming and shooting, but have perfect spatial awareness and reflexes. Watching someone pull split-second tricks to frag multiple people around the map while 90s jungle drum and bass is blasting in the background is just something id like to see again.

❤Unreal Tournament my beloved ❤ UT99 will always have a place in my heart, it's not only the best arena shooter ever conceived (imo) but it's also one of my favourite games in existence. From its maps, music, and weapons, you can tell there is much love poured into it. It's a shame that Fortnite's huge success massacred any idea of finishing UT's remake, however I do enjoy Fortnite now that zero construction is a thing, and since it brings so much joy into today's players, maybe those kids will be nostalgic about it in the future, talking about how most games in 2045 "just don't get it". You did an amazing retrospective; good job my man.

Civvie 11: "You wot m8?"

Unreal tournament was super cool because it wasn’t very difficult so you could play with friends who aren’t gamers, your s/o or even your parents. It was like the Mario kart of classic arena shooters.

Arena shooters will always be one of my favorite genres and I’m happy that there are still some servers available even though the trend dried up.

Loved the video! It felt informative the whole way through, damn and it's weird to see so much about an era of gaming I completely missed!

There is one more thing which killed these games. I used to be a modder for the unreal series, a dedicated one, I ran my own servers and it kept me attached to to playing these games online for quite some time. What eventually led to me dropping online DM and such was the rise of the MMORPG type, this is where my friends went and where I eventually followed. After all, why would I spent my own time and my own money on something no one is going to see? I could attract other players but it just wasn’t the same, they were my friends and they were gone. It felt it almost like I did when I was growing out of hanging around the streets and didn’t want to let it go, but what choice is there when there is so much better out there. One thing which did keep me occasionally coming back to the game UT2004 was a clever invention, a mod called UT2004 RPG by a player known only as Mystral. This allowed the Invasion game mode to continue to this day in some servers, however, neglect and lack of interest has seen a decline of players joining these in recent years. Basically that mod allowed progression in a world which could be modded to have a bit of strategy, as CS, HL2, Halo and the likes. However, it simply couldn’t keep up.

Saying a genre is dead because it does not appeal to the masses is one thing. However, there are many die hard communities keeping the AFPS alive. I can still get games nightly in various games and many Discords are dedicated to organizing game nights. So yes, dead in a sense that a developer may not take on a new AFPS, but the old school games we love are very much alive because of the gamers dedicated to keeping them alive. Xonotic and Quake are great examples.

Unreal Tournament 2004 is still one of my all time favorite arena shooters. Still play it to this day!!

=) great video. i miss them arena shooters, online battles were so fun and ppl would be more open to just play just for fun. no stats no competition ( or at least it felt more relaxed and open )

I have very fond and vivid memories of playing on xbox live for the first time I was 12 and was absolutely blown away to know I can play online with my friends and family from different states away it was glorious sadly the person who introduced me to xbox live back then is no longer with us and I miss him on a daily basis

Damn man, I came into the multiplayer area when it was a little to late for the Arena Shooters, but I've got to say that there's one game that, for me, is a dream come true: Unreal Tournament 3. It really had all of it: great and smooth gameplay, game modes, vehicles, a pretty ok story and the engine to make whatever you want with it. To bad we don't see such complete packages of games now-a-days.

My best gaming memories were with Halo. 16 person LAN parties every weekend for 2 years straight, playing 12 hours per day. RIP LAN parties. You will be missed

I’ve gotta say Daibeetus getting wrecked by that reverent at 4:41 had me rolling lol

Unreal Tournament really was amazing for its time. It had great music, awesome maps & modes, cool mutators, and fun weapons. To top it all off the bots were pretty badass and fun to play against if you had crappy dial-up and couldn't play against other people.

I love Act man for the scholastic thoroughness he puts into these videos

Sweet DnD Steezus, that Gauntlet: Dark Legacy clip at 4:45 brought back Vietnam flashbacks of my brothers and sisters fighting for the controllers to see who got next game 😆 Good fights, Good times

HE FELL OFF!!!!! THE ACT MAN.... F E L L O F F . . . .

Love you Act Man keep up the great content ❤

Just when I started going through your old content as need to scratch that itch you drop a banger

This is the first time I’ve ever heard about “Arena Shooters” in my life. But I did play all the OG DOOM games back in the day. Didn’t know it had its own genre 😂

Unreal Tournament 2004 absolutely needs a modern re-release with no dlc.

The halo 3/CoD4/Gears of War era will always be the golden age of gaming for me, the industry was just about making great games

I grew up with Doom and Unreal Tournament 99 and I still keep them on all my computers and actively play them. I love those games, to the point that I even homebrewed my Nintendo 3DS so I could play Quake and Quake 3 when I'm out of my house. Metroid Prime Hunters also counts~

God I miss the days of Quake 3 Arena 😢

Great video

I'll never forget the triumph that was Unreal Tournament, specially 99 and 04. Not only surpassing most games in weapons, maps and modifiers, but also pioneering enemy AI like no other game in the genre. It's truly a testament of what easy to learn hard to master actually means. Sadly, it was treated poorly and there's no Steam versions for the OG games. Things like that begs the question of whether or not piracy is a valid way to preserve old games.

Act Man, I love your content. Been watching you for years now and what I really appreciate is that your style of editing, and timing has grown and improved without you losing a single ounce of what made your channel so charming in the first place. Always look forward to Act Man content!