Duke Nukem
The protagonist, a wisecracking action hero who fights the Rigelatin forces after being captured by them.
Documented for this version
Arrow LeftArrow Right | Move left or right |
|---|---|
Arrow Up | Climb ladders or move upward where supported |
Arrow Down | Crouch or move downward where supported |
Alt | Jump |
Ctrl | Fire Duke’s weapon |
P | Pause the game |
Controls can be customized through the DOS game’s setup or configuration program.
The exact default keyboard layout may vary between releases and configurations.
How it plays
Duke moves through side-scrolling stages from a two-dimensional viewpoint. The objective is to reach each exit while surviving enemies, traps, moving platforms, and environmental hazards.
Players run, jump, fire Duke’s weapon, collect bonuses, and search for secrets. Levels are arranged into episodes and become more difficult as new enemy patterns and hazards appear. The DOS game is a single-player campaign with no documented multiplayer mode.
Plan your run
Learn enemy patterns before rushing through unfamiliar rooms. Keep moving during combat, use platforms to control enemy spacing, and check side passages for bonuses and safer routes.
Conserve lives by treating traps and moving platforms as timing challenges rather than sprinting past them. Explore thoroughly when the level layout allows it, but do not sacrifice a life repeatedly for a difficult optional item.
Meet the cast
The protagonist, a wisecracking action hero who fights the Rigelatin forces after being captured by them.
The alien antagonists who abduct Duke and use him in their interplanetary entertainment scheme.
Before you begin
Use short jumps to adjust Duke’s position near hazards.
Look for alternate paths and hidden pickups before entering the exit.
Pause when you need to study a busy section of the screen.
Duke Nukem II is a side-scrolling action platformer developed and published by Apogee Software for DOS in 1993. It stars Duke Nukem, a wisecracking hero captured by the Rigelatins and forced into a televised alien spectacle. The game combines traditional platforming with run-and-gun combat, exploration, hazards, and collectible items across colorful science-fiction stages. Its shareware distribution helped it reach a large PC audience, while the registered version expanded the campaign with additional episodes. Reception generally praised its responsive controls, lively presentation, and entertaining action, although its design remained firmly rooted in the era’s demanding PC platformers. Duke Nukem II established several traits that would continue into the series’ later releases.
Catalog entry maintained by EmuGamers Editorial Team
Community discussion
What are players saying? 0