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First-person shooter (FPS) games provide players with a lot of immersion, and those with great stories enhance this quality. While these titles are known to last for a few hours, they deliver a cohesive experience worth remembering.
However, some FPS games have been neglected over the years due to reasons like their releases clashing with other titles, bugs or glitches that drive players away, and so on. When reflected upon in hindsight, these games are highly underrated and are worth delving into
Disclaimer: This listicle is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
Shadow Warrior 3, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and 8 other underrated FPS games that deserve some attention
1) Darkness 2
Darkness 2 was released in 2012. It was developed by Digital Extremes and backed by 2K Games.
The protagonist is Jackie, who possesses demonic abilities and is part of a mob. The game allows players to not only use guns but also demon tentacles to defeat enemies. It features dual-wielding guns and demonic abilities like Ground Pound, Demon Blades, Demonic Lift, and many others, making for a fun playthrough.
Darkness 2 has a bleak narrative that involves Jackie fighting for his life to prevent cults from diminishing his demonic powers. He also attempts to rescue his love interest’s soul from hell.
2) Shadow Warrior 3
Shadow Warrior 3 gives players control over Lo Wang, who is determined to defeat a dragon. Players can slay enemies using swords, guns, rocket launchers, and more.
The fast-paced action is reminiscent of the Doom reboot. Players can glide across the many battle arenas in the game levels to exploit enemy weakness and survive multiple waves of foes.
Shadow Warrior 3 has an upbeat tone, with the protagonist always cracking jokes at every juncture.
3) Homefront: The Revolution
Homefront: The Revolution transports players to a dystopian America invaded by the North Koreans.
Players must ally with an underground resistance group to regain control of Philadelphia by taking down outposts, dismantling North Korean hub areas, and other activities.
The main highlight of this FPS is the ability to modify guns on the fly. Players can transform a pistol into a submachine gun, an assault rifle into a shotgun, and so on.
4) Prey
Prey is one of the best FPS games with survival horror elements. It takes place aboard a ship called Talos I. Players step into the shoes of Morgan Yu and can play as either a male or a female.
Soon after the tutorial mission, things go haywire due to a mysterious outbreak on the ship. Players will learn that an alien species called Typhon is responsible for the invasion. They can leverage the abilities of these species or stick with the protagonists’ human instincts to fend off the alien creatures.
5) F.E.A.R. 3
F.E.A.R. 3 is one of the most underrated horror FPS games since it delivers the right amount of scares and a robust gunplay experience. Despite having a vast arsenal of weapons like assault rifles, shotguns, and dual-wielding SMGs, players can never feel safe from Alma, who haunts the protagonist Point Man.
F.E.A.R. 3 has a dark lore that involves experimentation on Alma, the psychological impact of which molded her into a dangerous entity. Her origins are veiled in mystery and add to the game’s charm.
6) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which has many first-person shooter mechanics, continues the story of Adam Jensen, an adept field agent decked out with cybernetic enhancements.
The world of Deus Ex is in chaos owing to a rift between augmented humans and the normal populace, leading to a rise in terrorist activities and civil unrest. Players must leverage Adam Jensen’s abilities to sneakily defeat enemies or go in guns blazing and make the streets of Prague safer for its citizens.
The game gives tremendous freedom to approach combat scenarios and offers multiple abilities like invisibility cloaking, remote hacking, and more.
7) Rage 2
Rage 2 is a unique amalgamation of titles like Far Cry, Mad Max, and Doom (2016). The game takes place in the fictional world of Vineland, and players must avenge the loss of their mentor, who is also the protagonist’s aunt Prowley. Fans of fast-paced combat and post-apocalyptic settings will love this underrated gem.
Players can drive across the title's open world, engage in car combat, liberate outposts, and acquire more abilities by investigating ARK facilities. The game pits players against a variety of enemies that can be defeated using weapons like Hyper Cannon, Sidewinder Pistol, Grav-Dart Launcher, and more.
8) Titanfall 2
Titanfall 2 is one of the most iconic FPS games out there. It features seamless gameplay transitions between gigantic titans and on-foot gunplay sections. While the multiplayer aspects of the game are often discussed in the mainstream, the amazing single-player campaign is usually left out.
The story revolves around protagonist Jack Cooper, who tags along with a titan named BT to fight formidable officers of an evil corporation named IMC.
Players will get a chance to control this mammoth robot and wreak havoc with its chaingun. Despite its short campaign, there are some memorable levels that warrant the game's inclusion in this list.
9) Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 features the large open world of Georgia near the Russian border, where players must prevent the onset of a new Cold War. The game broadly offers three ways to play: Sniper, Ghost, and Warrior. Players can opt for any approach in combat scenarios.
Fans of stealth can use takedowns, players who prefer long-range engagements can resort to Sniper Rifles, and those who wish to head into combat guns blazing can go for the Warrior approach.
While the story is not the game’s strong suit, it compensates for this shortcoming in the gameplay department.
10) Metro 2033
The Metro Series as a whole is significantly more popular these days. However, the majority of players might not have played the first iteration of this saga: Metro 2033. This post-apocalyptic game features a world ravaged by mutated beasts, and the environment on the surface is inhospitable.
Humans now reside in the underground tunnels of Moscow’s metro network. Fans of survival horror games and those who don't mind the slow-paced exploration sections will admire the storytelling in Metro 2033.
Some games genuinely fly under the radar owing to a high influx of releases in a small time frame, while others get obscured by popular AAA titles. When looking for alternatives to live-service titles in 2023, players should definitely try out the aforementioned underrated FPS games.
