The central concept of an FPS is having a large number of foes blasting/charging at you as you fight back in first-person. The games are confrontational, then, and often very difficult. While some are solo experiences, many revolve around a multiplayer component, and seasoned fellow players are the most challenging foes we'll face in a game. A newcomer to an FPS venturing online, then, will find themselves being demolished in a trice if they encounter experts in a lobby.
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When this happens, or when a singleplayer FPS proves too difficult, you have two choices. You can cut your losses and quit, or you can commit to practising and becoming infinitely familiar with the mechanics until you become the threat you once feared. While some FPS titles have very lengthy stories, these ones have harsh difficulty curves and will demand that you get good to compete, or even simply to survive.
6 Doom: The Dark Ages
Mixing The Old And The New
At its heart, Doom is one of the simplest and purest concepts in gaming. You know exactly what you're getting into with a Doom game: Hordes of horrors stand in Doomguy's way, and he sets out to tear them apart. With some backtracking and keycard wrangling to break up the relentless action, of course. Those who went into Doom: The Dark Ages expecting another Doom Eternal were, in lots of ways, very wrong.
From the moment the Slayer is deployed in the region of the demon-ravaged village of Khalim, your weapon is immediately out and battle is joined. The most significant thing, though, is the shield he's now carrying. Previously, defense in the Doom series has focused on evasion only, but now you have a tool to block attacks, parry, and Shield Charge, among other neat tricks as the campaign goes on. Without a moment to think, you're thrown into the deep end, and the number and variety of enemies ramps up continually all the way to the end. Practise is vital, as this is the most fundamentally different series entry in years, and don't be afraid to lower the difficulty to a comfortable level as you adapt.
5 Overwatch 2
So Many Heroes, So Little Time
The interesting thing about fighting games, hero shooters, and other titles with traditionally huge rosters is that most players only engage with a small percentage of them at most. There's a good reason for that, of course: Learning match-ups, perfecting strategies, and mastering the arsenal of every single character, for high-level players, would be a time-sink of impossible proportions. Overwatch 2 has a much bigger selection of playable characters than the first title, and so it's natural that newcomers (and not-so-newcomers) will spend considerable time trying to adapt to the heroes they're playing against, how their abilities and ultimates work, and what to do to counter them. There's also the small matter of fulfilling your own role and providing what your team needs.
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When everyone's at a similar skill level and matches are close, that's the sort of gameplay that keeps players hooked for hundreds of hours. Being flattened repeatedly and having dire stats to show for it, on the other hand, is absolutely deflating. There's a big difficulty curve to learning a game like Overwatch 2, but if the genre clicks with you and you stick with it, you'll find yourself improving and having more and more fun.
4 Superhot: Mind Control Delete
An Innovative FPS That Will Take Some Getting Used To
Superhot was one of the most unique things to happen to the FPS genre in some time. Its time-manipulating gameplay, in which your enemies won't move unless you do, immediately caught the attention of genre fans. The question, however, was whether the team could expand upon it and not simply re-run it in the follow-up, Superhot: Mind Control Delete.
This 2020 title added a more involved level structure and more opportunities to customize your character in the form of, as befits the digital theme, hacks. Between stages, for instance, the player can 'hack their mind' with ricochet.hack, which bounces shots that missed back towards enemies, or strtkatana.hack, which provides immediate access to a katana at the start of a stage. Combined with the more influential Cores, the player can create an effective build, alleviating some of the repetition that could set in with the first title. Just like the original, too, the gameplay has a way of disorientating even FPS veterans, meaning that beating those tricky levels requires patient practise and engagement with its quirks.
3 Escape From Tarkov
You Can Escape Tarkov Now, But Few Ever Will
Part of the appeal of the industry is that there's something for every taste and mood. If you're looking to play something with simple, minimalistic mechanics, you'll be well catered to across a range of genres. If you'd prefer an in-depth, realistic and difficult experience, the unbelievably punishing Escape From Tarkov is one title that will suit you perfectly.
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For newcomers, there are few more dangerous environments in video games than being dropped on an enormous map and scavenging for supplies among a group of others. This is no Fortnite, though: There are the additional concerns of managing any injuries you may suffer too, on top of finding those essential resources. The game's raids are brutal and almost incomprensible before learning the ropes, with no handy HUD displaying your remaining ammo, map, or other details fans are used to relying on in the genre. It's a very hostile environment, as was the developer's intent, naturally, and you'll need to get extremely good to be able to hold your own.
2 Cruelty Squad
A Wonderfully Bizarre, Frantic Adventure
The genre has had its share of repetitive environments, and copycat releases emulating the likes of Call of Duty. What we haven't seen so often is a title willing to defy convention, to confidently deliver its message, and to allow the player to simply experiment with what they can do and what they can't. That's Cruelty Squad's biggest strength.
The player takes the role of an assassin from the Cruelty Squad, who attempts to seek out his new targets in a world he is becoming increasingly disillusioned with. So is everybody else, judging by their distinctly dystopian dialogue. The bleakness of the game's world is reflected in some rather horrifying imagery, not to mention the chaotic designs of the stages. Players will need to exploit every movement strategy possible to progress, with countless opportunities to glitch your way around. There's nothing else quite like Cruelty Squad, but it's best enjoyed by those who remember the classic FPS title exploits like rocket jumping and feverishly practiced them.
1 Apex Legends
To Be A Legend, You'll Need To Commit The Time
Apex Legends, though it takes the battle royale route, is a title very much in the vein of Overwatch 2. There are almost 30 playable characters in Respawn's shooter, between Recon, Skirmisher, Assault, Controller, and Support classes. Fans all have those characters they just seem to click with and those they don't, so they may stick with them, as noted. Here, though, team play is perhaps even more critical, and maneuverability is emphasized in the level design and characters' movesets. More freedom in map traversal is a considerable plus too, and one thing that has established Apex Legends as a title that took the battle royale trend in its own direction.
It does, however, mean that there's an extra layer of strategy to think about, and not learning to utilize it leaves a player at a huge disadvantage. As with everything else, be patient and stick with it and you'll be pinging around the battlefield with confidence. That's what getting good is all about, and this is a great co-op title to get into if you're looking for one.
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