Duke Nukem Forever Review Round-up: Disappointing in Every Way

The long-awaited release of Duke Nukem Forever has met extremely poor reception from the gaming press and gamers alike, who have good reason to be disappointed. Eurogamer called the new game a "gruesomely mangled resurrection," while IGN called the game a "muddled, hypocritical exercise in irritation." This is one game that may have been better left unmade.

7.8

digitalchumps.com review
The story line in the single player campaign finds you after sending "those alien bastards" back to the (worm) hole they crawled out of the first time around, and getting worshiped for doing so. The mansion you live in reveals many testaments to your testosterone-powered heroics: with casinos, monster trucks, burger joints, and of course strip clubs that carry "the King's" name or likeness. While channel surfing after receiving a "Sleepy Old Bear," you come across news reports that the alien scum are back to seek revenge on the planet that defied them, and the man who sent them packing. Quickly, their plan becomes evident: they are stealing Earth's women (especially the hot ones). This sends you into action as Duke for the first time, in a long time, in an FPS experience filled with humor and action aplenty.
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7.7

videogameszone.de review
No Synopsis Available
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7.3

gamers.at review
No Synopsis Available
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7.3

vandal.net review
No Synopsis Available
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7.0

strategyinformer.com review
It may go down as one of biggest anticlimaxes in gaming, but don’t expect too much of it and you might enjoy it. I for one am going back to play it again, at least on PC. And besides, I’m sure Duke 5 will be the greatest game ever made.
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7.0

thunderboltgames.com review
Set twelve years since the last game in the series (Duke Nukem three-D, Duke Nukem Four-ever, get it?), Duke has it all. Women, a casino, endless awards and a world of fans. Finally, the video game of him saving the world has been completed and he finishes it, just in time for those alien maggots to return. They steal the babes, tear down L.A. and ruin Duke’s talk show interview. Someone’s gonna pay.
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7.0

everyeye.it review
No Synopsis Available
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7.0

eurogamer.it review
No Synopsis Available
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6.9

3djuegos.com review
No Synopsis Available
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6.8

gameinformer.com review
Duke starts with a bang (I’ll never forget my time with the toilets), but quickly ditches its immature antics and descends into a tailspin of questionable puzzle design, uninspired vehicle sections, and mundane level architecture. The three to four hours following the introductory sequence are a rough ride. The game’s unbearable load times (roughly 30 seconds to a minute every time you die or load a new area) seem so much longer during this stretch.
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6.5

brutalgamer.com review
Duke Nukem Forever is a genuinely difficult title to score with a numeric value. On one hand it’s severely flawed and technically incompetent, yet a good portion of the game is very enjoyable. In a genre that is populated by ultra serious, bald-headed space marines, Duke Nukem still holds an air of relevance. Not everyone will enjoy this, the lack of polish and clunky controls will be too much for some and the lack of innovation may be disappointing, but there is fun to be had here. The Duke may have been dethroned, but he’s not the disaster some of his subjects are making him out to be.
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6.0

thesun.co.uk review
Not game of the year, but something fun to play while you wait for the winter release of the big boys.
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6.0

gamesradar.com review
Duke Nukem Forever’s world-record development time has produced an ugly, buggy shooter that veers back and forth between enjoyably average and outright boring, with occasional surges of greatness along the way.
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5.5

ign.com review
Duke Nukem is an icon of mid-1990s video game culture – brash, vulgar and committed to the art of the one-liner, like a twelve-year old boy with internet access. His association with Duke Nukem Forever's extended development cycle has propelled him to legendary status, attaching to him an undeserved significance. Duke Nukem Forever isn't a revitalization of the early days of the first-person shooter genre or a middle-finger to the increasingly complex and sophisticated nature of videogame entertainment. It's a muddled, hypocritical exercise in irritation with solid shooting mechanics and decent encounter design. There's some dumb fun to be had in Duke Nukem Forever, but the game tries hard to ensure it's only fleeting.
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5.0

thesixthaxis.com review
Amazingly, despite being in development for fourteen years, Duke Nukem Forever feels unfinished. For every enjoyable section there are several that feel tacked-on and just plain lazy. Despite a few bright moments (it picks up towards the end) the game struggles to ever push its way above average. Hail to the King? Sorry but no, the King is dead.
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5.0

neowin.net review
So overall it isn’t really worth your money, at least not until it drastically drops in price. We found it generally unfunny, irritating in places, and sadly not all that much fun to play. Duke Nukem Forever can also be buggy on occasions and graphical performance on both the consoles and on PC is not what you would hope from a game that looks so dated. It has its moments, but they are few and far between. Hardcore Duke Nukem fans may find something to love here, but in the end, you can only live on rude jokes alone for a short time when there is very little in the terms of decent gameplay on show. Gaming history can only take you so far.
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4.0

guardian.co.uk review
A mark for nostalgia then – it's the Duke, after all – and one for the game. If this was 15 years in the making, it makes you wonder what they did for the other 14 years and 10 months
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4.0

wired.com review
Videogames represent infinite possibility, but too many of our best gamemakers get stuck making safe, samey products. If Duke’s indulgent strip-club scenes and nothing-is-forbidden-not-even-poop attitude inspire other games to unleash some creativity, then it will have been a good thing that 2K Games forged ahead with the project and actually brought it to fruition.<br /> The Duke Nukem franchise is now owned by Gearbox Software, the development house behind celebrated game Borderlands. I think that in some sense, Gearbox studio head Randy Pitchford is right: The world needs Duke. But Duke deserves better than this.
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3.0

eurogamer.net review
The appeal of Duke Nukem lives on. But your time and money would be better spent reliving his iconic past than bearing witness to this gruesomely mangled resurrection.
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2.0

destructoid.com review
Duke Nukem Forever is a festering irrelevance with nothing to offer the world. It's a game with an odious personality, one that could only endear itself to the sociopathic and mentally maladjusted. There may be life in Duke yet, but not his current incarnation. Not while his developers legitimately think he's cool and hilarious, rather than creepy and nauseating, and not while he's starring in games that can't even compete with budget titles, let alone the AAA experiences that Duke Nukem Forever arrogantly launches alongside.
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