Before Unreal Tournament, there was NERF

youtu.be/MzlX53Bdj6s

Nerf Arena Blast literally nerfed UT! They use the same engine and were developed alongside each other, but after you get past the "UT Total Conversion” feel, NAB reveals its own distinct identity. Let's look back at it 27 years later!

April 09, 2026 - 16:23 UTC

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YEAAAAAS!!!!!!!!
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I have a suspicion this game was created as an exploration of the "Christian alternative" video game market, during moral panic about violence in video games
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Hi, I'm the guy responsible for most of those mods as well as the current NAB community and various patches. I am working on a new version of the game that addresses some of your gripes. If you're up for it, I'd love to get in contact and talk history / workshop some of the changes with you.
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I tried to get a friend of mine in middle school into Unreal Tournament, but he showed me Nerf Arena Blast. I was shocked how it’s just the same damn game, haha.
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and back then, you had nerf, or nothing.
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Oh yasss! I have fond memories of this one, haha!
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HELL YEAH, NERF ARENA BLAST.
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If anyone does have a Nintendo 128, I also want to know.
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One of my old workplaces did Nerf tournaments after hours. Big, big store. Would always find darts everywhere for weeks afterwards. I had no idea there was another way to fulfill that fantasy
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I loved this game when it came out, really wanted to get a copy for my kids when they were growing up (figured Doom might have been a bit scary for them) but sadly I couldn't find another copy.
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There have been Nerf games since, but none of them have ever matched the pure foam dart energy of Nerf Arena Blast!
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Never owned the game because I never actually saw it in stores, but I spent a crazy number of hours one summer on the demo.
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Me trying to figure out if this could be 'funny fun' for LAN parties...
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honestly it's just fun, imo
there's more to points than just knocking out your opponents in regular matches which adds some depth, and some of the other more sports-like modes are pretty fun too
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don't think I've heard of this!! *LOVED* me some UT99 so this one I may have to look up. definitely going to check out the review!!
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How the hell is this new to me?!
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Formative game at 10 years old. Came for the Nerf guns, stayed for the online play and custom mapping community. Soon learned that a lot of stuff was being imported from another game called "Unreal Tournament".. Shoutout to Custer's NAB Homepage!
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