Play Order (Release = Chronological)Recommended
0 / 11 playedThe order the games came out, and the recommended play order. Continuity is loose, so release order is the way to go.
Apogee 2D era
- 1 Duke Nukem Side-scrolling shooter, start of the series.
- 2 Duke Nukem II
3D Realms era
- 3 Duke Nukem 3D The landmark FPS. Play the World Tour version at the end of this list.
- 4 Duke Nukem: Time to Kill PlayStation third-person shooter.
- 5 Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Nintendo 64 exclusive.
- 6 Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes Direct sequel to Time to Kill.
2000s spinoffs
- 7 Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Side-scrolling return to the series 2D roots.
- 8 Duke Nukem Advance Game Boy Advance exclusive.
Gearbox era
- 9 Duke Nukem: Critical Mass Nintendo DS spinoff, for completists only.
- 10 Duke Nukem Forever Released June 2011 after fourteen years in development.
- 11 Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour Remaster with a new episode, the best way to play 3D.
About Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem is the wise-cracking action hero who carried Apogee and 3D Realms from side-scrolling shooters to the landmark Duke Nukem 3D, then through a decade of spinoffs and the long wait for Duke Nukem Forever.
This play order follows every major release from 1991 through the 2016 World Tour remaster, which is also the best way to experience 3D today.
Good to know
No new Duke game has been announced since the World Tour remaster, so the series is marked completed. Mobile-only titles and straight ports are left out, since they retread the same games.
