The top FPS games have been the driving force of the PC gaming industry for over two decades.
Doom took us to the depths of Hell, while Titanfall 2 sent us to the furthest reaches of space. Others have led us on a trip through zombie-infested Ravenholm in Half-Life 2, while others have welcomed futuristic cities.
Best FPS games
HALO INFINITE
Nothing compares to mowing down adversaries with your assault rifle, racing across the countryside in a Warthog, or slicing through enemies with your Energy Sword – and now Halo enthusiasts can do it all on their PC.
Halo Infinite flawlessly combines the mood and feel of the previous Halo games while still keeping things fresh with new features like the grappling hook and open-world combat.
Our Halo Infinite review lauds the single-player campaign’s delivery and emotional weight, and multiplayer is a blast—Halo’s concept of arena-shooter-type battles, long gunfights, and Halo Infinite weapon spawns provides a refreshing contrast to other FPS multiplayer modes out there.
CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD
Call of Duty: Vanguard revisits the Second World War, but instead of focusing on the famous battlefields of the European theatre, the single-player campaign takes players to the Pacific, North Africa, and the Eastern front.
The plot is based on an alternate chronology of WWII events, and while it is far from true, it is an enjoyable campaign to go through.
Vanguard’s Zombies is a frantic co-op narrative mode that picks up where the Dark Aether plot left off in the previous Call of Duty titles.
By surviving waves and converging at a base in Stalingrad, you and your friends may improve your gear, acquire new perks, and equip powerful abilities.
Vanguard’s multiplayer increases the weapon configuration, now providing up to 10 attachments on each weapon, for those who love fiddling and playing with attachments
QUAKE (2021)
The quake, which was first launched in 1996, is unquestionably one of the genre’s founding foundations.
In recent years, a slew of so-called “boomer shooters” have appeared, each attempting to recreate the nostalgic charm, convoluted levels, and high-speed shooting of Id Software’s iconic 3D titles.
But nothing beats the original, and if you missed out on Quake when it was initially published, Bethesda released a remastered version of the game during QuakeCon 2021, complete with gorgeous updated visuals and even additional episodes to go through.
The gothic, medieval, dark fantasy background of Quake has never looked better–but don’t worry, the gameplay hasn’t altered; it’s time to brush up on your strafe-jumping.
BLACK MESA
Black Mesa is a fan-made Half-Life 1 remake that runs on the Source engine. Black Mesa took 15 years to achieve version 1.0, but it was well worth the wait when it was released in 2020.
The remake is a reinvented version of the traditional single-player campaign, with no outmoded puzzles or battle scenes to offer a more concise experience.
The team also constructed their enlarged version of the Alien planet Xen, which was supposedly deleted from Half Life 1’s last segment.
Although there’s no doubting Half-Life 1 is a fantastic game, especially considering what it achieved for PC gaming, the gameplay isn’t ideal, but the modifications in Black Mesa fix that.
If you haven’t played the original Half-Life game and want to see what you’ve been missing out on, Black Mesa is the best method to do it.
DOOM ETERNAL
Doom Eternal takes the 2016 blockbuster hit’s gameplay loop and cranks it up to 11. The devs could have simply made a sequel that was similar to Doom 2016 but opted to push. Each key mechanic to new heights. Every facet of the game has been upgraded, from the number of weaponry available to the mobility choices that speed up the game.
With more power comes more powerful foes, each with its own set of strengths and vulnerabilities for you to exploit.
If you wanted to, you could play Doom 2016 with only one weapon, but Doom Eternal penalizes players who adhere to the same strategy.
You’ll never have enough resources until you kill foes with the many instruments at your disposal.
Doom Eternal morphs into a lightning-fast shooter that forces players to think imaginatively as they wipe out swarms of Hell’s deadliest creatures, borrowing aspects from the finest action games.
OVERWATCH
If you want to compare it to Team Fortress 2 or League of Legends, go ahead. Over watch shares enough similarities with both to share a part of their appeal, but it’s different enough that figuring out the best character combinations will take months.
Overwatch is a cooperative game, not a game about who killed you or how many headshots you took.
More important is how you used your varied mix of skills to save a key sniper on the capture point as Mercy, or to push the payload ahead with Reinhart’s shield, or somehow win around. While it was lacking in features at launch, Overwatch receives frequent upgrades and new Overwatch heroes are launched regularly. The Over watch League has also brought the game’s e-sports potential to light.
COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
For the first time, delving into the world of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is akin to jumping into a contemporary military meat grinder.
You’ll be up against gamers who have been roaming these maps for almost a decade. You’ll be killed by snipers who have tens of thousands of kills on their Scout.
Players that can memorize CS: GO console instructions in their sleep will punish you by forcing you to sit out the rest of the round while you regret your error.
Global Offensive is a contemporary game with current gameplay mechanics.
Like Team Fortress 2, it is now partially supported by the sale of cosmetics and weapon skins. It contains automated matching, which steers you away from the specialized servers that have made the series so popular.
There are also ranks, which serve as a visible mark of commitment for elitists, as well as awards for veterans.
HALF-LIFE 2
Half-Life 2 is praised as one of the finest PC games of all time, and it is so much more than an extension of its brilliant predecessor.
These honors are also well-deserved. Half-Life 2 is a massively ambitious game that benefits from being produced by a much more confident Valve.
Everything is greater this time around than it was in 1998: the locations, the opponents, the plot – it’s a blockbuster, but a smart one.
There are competent AI partners; actual people that exist to do more than die humorously; and mechanics that make the environment appear real.
Valve’s surroundings are once again amazing. They are still made with the same care and attention to detail as Half-Life’s, despite being larger and more open.
They’re also distinctive, from Ravenholm’s haunting alleyways to the terrifying Citadel, which looms above City 17 like a steel and glass tyrant.
Although some of the luster has faded with age, it remains a visually stunning and intriguing first-person shooter.
Some of these FPS games are old, while others are very new, but they’re all fantastic. The following FPS games will satisfy your itching trigger finger no matter what kind of virtual gunplay you’re looking for.
So clench your fists, prepare to make all the headshots, and remember that weapons will cure all of your issues in the following shoot beauties. These are the finest first-person shooter games on PC. We trust your aim is correct…
