Summary
- ArcRunner offers stylish cyberpunk action with fast, frantic gameplay & a variety of weapons in a high-tech world.
- Remnant: From The Ashes provides a post-apocalyptic thrill ride with challenging combat & procedurally-generated levels.
- Children Of The Sun combines bullet-time action with complex puzzle gameplay for a thrilling and cerebral experience.
While it is not quite as common as the classic first-person shooter genre, the third-person shooter offers gamers a thrillingly different sensory approach to gun-fighting. Instead of the up-close and personal nature of immersive first-person thrills, third-person allows players to take in the virtual environment around them more, and enjoy a wider-ranging action experience in the process.
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Among the many action games over the years to fall under the 3PS banner, a variety of underrated indie gems are just waiting to be discovered, offering fresh takes on the genre and its gameplay tropes. From inventive sci-fi thrillers to simpler less-is-more, all-action games, the indie world is rife with fast-paced gaming experiences that are a perfect fit for gamers seeking out a fun, rewarding 3PS experience. These games often encompass a variety of gameplay styles, providing more eclectic fun in the process while still succeeding at delivering the gun-toting, bullet-whizzing goods players are looking for.
5 ArcRunner
Bullet-Heavy Cyberpunk Action
- Initial Release Date: April 3, 2023
- Developer: Trickjump Games
- Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
- Metascore: 75
This cyberpunk-esque roguelike shooter has garnered praise for its stylish action. The game sees players step into a high-tech world full of sinister AI threats.
Players are tasked with moving through a vast and colorful setting known simply as The Arc. The core mission is to take down an AI system that has gone rogue, leading to plenty of villainous machines for players to shoot their way through. With a litany of curious weapons to discover, and fast, frantic action to take part in, ArcRunner is a great piece of third-person shooter fun for fans of the cyberpunk genre.
4 Remnant: From The Ashes
An Imaginative Post-Apocalyptic Thrill Ride
Remnant: From the Ashes
- Released
- August 20, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Gunfire Games
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
This underrated Soulslike RPG upped the violent ante by bringing firearms into the subgenre's traditional tough-as-nails gameplay. Players take control of a lonesome drifter in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The destruction of the world has come about courtesy of The Root, a menace from another dimension. Needless to say, it falls to the player character to investigate and ultimately take down The Root, with a perilous journey that initially starts as a rescue mission. With an intriguing narrative, a variety of bizarre, horrible creatures to take on, procedurally-generated levels, and fast-paced, high-difficulty action, Remnant: From the Ashes provides a unique and memorable gaming experience.
3 Remnant 2
An All-Guns-Blazing Sequel
Remnant 2
- Released
- July 25, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Gunfire Games
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Soulslike, Third-Person Shooter
Much like its predecessor, Remnant 2 provides a hybrid action format, blending Soulslike combat with third-person shooter mechanics. Once again, players are tasked with taking up the fight against The Root's invasion. However, much has changed about this sequel's approach to exploration, level-design (and procedural generation), and boss fights.
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This time, the war with The Root takes a different form. Players must assassinate three key leaders, each from alternate dimensions, with each boss featuring unique mechanics based on their arena. Should players manage to get past all three bosses, a dangerous journey into the Root Earth provides a more clear-cut conclusion to the conflict than what occurred in the original game. The sequel offers supremely satisfying exploration, with fantastic puzzles, excellent level design, and jaw-dropping graphics for the size of the studio making it. With slicker action that never lets up, Remnant 2 exceeds its predecessor in nearly every way, and sets a new bar for game's that use procedurally-generated levels.
2 Children Of The Sun
A Subtle, Nuanced Shoot 'Em Up Puzzler
Children of the Sun
Burning with anger, THE GIRL wages a one-woman war against THE CULT, taking them down cultist by cultist, bullet by bullet, until she reaches her true target: THE LEADER. Along the way she will unravel the dark truth about this mysterious order and the atrocities committed by them in the name of their master.
In this tactical third-person puzzle-shooter you assume control of one bullet, guiding it through increasingly complex and challenging levels to kill cultists, trigger traps, and reshape the environment. Every shot counts and ruthless precision is rewarded. Taking down THE CULT is deeply satisfying; doing it with style even more so.
PLAN YOUR APPROACH: Tactical sniping, puzzle solving, and light stealth collide in Children of the Sun to create a third-person shooter like no other. You only have a single bullet to complete each level, but you can re-aim on impact, curve around obstacles, accelerate to break through armor, and more to really make that one crucial shot count.
Indie favorites Devolver Digital delivered the shoot ‘em up goods with this thrilling, tactically-focused action game. Assuming the role of The Girl, players must take on the titular Children of the Sun, a sinister cult.
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Along with its signature bullet-time action, Children of the Sun hits players hard with gore, as the gunfire leads to bloody mayhem. While it serves as a thrilling third-person shooter, the game reaches additional highs through its emphasis on complex puzzle gameplay, as players can guide their bullets from one target to the next, using bullet time to plan out their next move along the way. Along with the thought-provoking puzzles is a subtly-delivered plot that demands the undivided attention of its players to make sense of. Overall, it’s both a thrilling and cerebral game for third-person action lovers to enjoy.
1 Risk Of Rain 2
A Colorful Dungeon Crawler
Risk of Rain 2
- Released
- September 11, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Hopoo Games
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Roguelike
This rapid-fire sequel to the acclaimed 2013 original throws players into an alien world chock-full of danger. Blending dungeon-crawling elements with its third-person shooter action, the game is brimming with alien monsters to take down.
In order to progress and advance their character’s abilities, players must keep an eye out for treasure chests to loot. If not, the steadily-increasing difficulty of the action on offer can prove to be too much to overcome, ensuring a tense, occasionally infuriating gaming experience. With fun co-operative gameplay options to explore, Risk of Rain 2 is a frenetic shooter experience that is a perfect fit for a gaming night with friends.
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