There are many, many, many retro-themed first-person shooters, aka boomer shooters, on the market. Some might say there are too many. I’m inclined to agree with that, if only because there’s a lot of crap and slop out there pretending to be solid throwbacks to fast-paced FPS action. MeowGun: Hell Denizen, out now on Steam, isn’t one of those disappointing games.
MeowGun’s biggest strength is that, like some other great retro shooters including Wrath, it is built using an open-source version of a classic FPS engine. In this case, MeowGun uses FTEQW, which is an excellent open-source version of the original Quake engine. And as is usually the case with these boomer shooters built on the tech of the past, it helps make MeowGun feel fantastic.
Every gun in MeowGun is snappy, loud, and deadly. You move fast, but always feel in control. And blowing away demons with pistols, shotguns, bombs, and grenade launchers is a joy. It helps that MeowGun’s developers understand that people play boomer shooters to blow shit up and kill lots of enemies while sprinting through various levels that should never be too big. I also appreciate that MeowGun’s starting pistol is quite powerful and proves useful in fights for picking off enemies or saving ammo. This ain’t a peashooter you’ll never use after you get a new weapon.
MeowGun’s voice acting is at times distracting, especially as the main character–a half cat/half demon woman named MeowMeow–speaks almost entirely in movie quotes and pop culture references. And they start to repeat pretty quickly. Thankfully, I was often blowing up so much shit that I rarely could hear these lines. But if a talking protagonist is too much for you, MeowGun might be a grating experience. On the other hand, if you love cats, there are small and very adorable kittens to find and save. Yes, before you ask, you can pet the cats you save. Oh, and there’s a dedicated button to make your character meow. I’ll let you decide how that makes you feel.
To be clear: MeowGun: Hell Denizen isn’t some revolutionary first-person shooter that I’m going to come back to year after year to enjoy. But it is a damn good retro FPS that understands what people want out of these kinds of games: Lots of enemies to kill, fast music, satisfying guns, and short load times. And MeowGun delivers on all of that and costs less than $15. In 2026, I can’t ask for much more.
