Great Linear Shooters With Lengthy Campaigns

Ever since games like Half-Life revolutionized the shooter genre, many companies have delved into the world of making immersive stories in which the player must gun down many enemies while experiencing a lengthy and fun campaign.

For those wanting to enjoy a good game for quite a bit of time, let's take a look at some of the best shooters with lengthy campaigns, ranging from famous titles to obscure gems.

Updated July 7, 2023, by Mark Sammut: The First Descendant has just been released, and the free-to-play third-person shooter will likely keep a lot of people busy for a long time. Still, if someone is craving a different type of lengthy shooter game, they should check the below games. Galleries have been added for most of the entries, and a unique third-person shooter with an unconventional campaign has been introduced.

19 Wolfenstein: The New Order

11+ Hours

B.J. Blazkowicz against thousands of evil Nazis: same old stuff, right? Well, in this reboot of the series, the story jumps ahead many years and shows an alternate history where the Nazi regime won World War 2 and took over the world.

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With gameplay that distinguishes itself perfectly from the new Doom games, id Software and Bethesda hit it out of the park with this game and its sequel by giving a scenario in which the player will have no qualms with eradicating the enemies. Amazing visuals combined with a rich story lead to The New Order being the reboot that the series needed, particularly after the lukewarm 2009 outing.

18 Resistance: Fall Of Man

11+ Hours

Insomniac's Resistance trilogy peaked with its first entry, perhaps explaining the franchise's short lifespan. The PS3's best launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man matches tight first-person shooter mechanics with an ambitious storyline that guides players across a devasted United Kingdom.

Along with solid multiplayer, Resistance: Fall of Man's single-player campaign is fantastic. Packed with memorable set pieces and enemies that are at least somewhat competent, Insomniac put together a great shooter that makes every second of its story count. Even in 2021, this game is well worth playing.

17 BioShock

12+ Hours

The best place to start this series is with the original entry. While Columbia is breathtaking at times in BioShock: Infinite, there is just something both horrifying and enchanting when experiencing the underwater city of Rapture for the first time. Everything looks beautiful, but the player knows that something is not right in the city.

Mixing superpowers and gunplay together, BioShock is an amazing start to the series that keeps players engaged from beginning to end. The mystery, the look of the world, and the gameplay mix so well to create an unforgettable experience.

16 Shadow Warrior (2013)

12+ Hours

Despite its sequel adding some RPG elements and extra side content, 2013's Shadow Warrior has comfortably the more substantial main campaign. A reboot of the 1997 classic shooter, Flying Wild Hog's release combines an acquired sense of humor with satisfying melee combat and a respectable arsenal of weapons to create a fun throwback to old-school shooters.

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An argument can certainly be made that Shadow Warrior overstays its welcome. However, sometimes nothing hits the spot like slashing demons in half with a katana or reducing them to mush while dual-wielding submachine guns.

15 Half-Life 2

13+ Hours

Valve's genre-defining first-person shooter set a benchmark in gaming that few have been able to surpass. 2004's Half-Life 2 moved away from the original's confined setting, as Gordon Freeman went on a cross-country expedition filled with plot reveals, inspired weaponry, and wonky vehicles.

Half-Life 2's road trip-esque structure and persistent desire to evolve keeps the game constantly feeling fresh, even if the gameplay cannot be seen as anything more than decent in this day and age. Half-Life 2 is considered a classic for a reason.

14 The Operative: No One Lives Forever

13+ Hours

A love letter to spy shows and movies from the 1960s, The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a classic that deserves to stand alongside the likes of Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters. Along with its highly regarded sequel and the Blood games, No One Lives Forever helped put Monolith Productions on the map.

These spy shooters have aged quite well since they combine solid gunplay with fun gadgets, memorable soundtracks, and engaging storylines packed with unforgettable characters, particularly the charming lead, Cate Archer.

13 Metroid Prime 1–3

13–17 Hours

Arguably the greatest side-scrolling shooter franchise of all time is also responsible for one of the best FPS trilogies ever. Metroid Prime is actually the shortest of the three titles, but since the games build upon each other, the original 2002 release deserves to be highlighted alongside Echoes and Corruption. It is also available on the Nintendo Switch, making it accessible to newcomers to the series. That said, they are all fantastic.

Despite the change in perspective, Metroid Prime still has all the hallmarks of a classic Metroidvania: power-ups that open new areas, puzzles, and tight controls. The game nails its gunplay too, both in the GameCube iteration and the Switch remaster.

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11 Doom Eternal

14+ Hours

Doom has very few "mediocre" games, and most of the franchise's entries are designed with replayability in mind. Therefore, the average time of a single playthrough is not necessarily representative of the full package since most of the fun comes from trying the missions on higher difficulties. That said, when viewed in isolation, Doom Eternal has a particularly long campaign by the license's standards.

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Building on 2016's brilliant Doom, Eternal does not settle for just more of the same. Id Software took a few risks by expanding the Doom Slayer's movement arsenal, a decision that was somewhat polarizing. Doom Eternal is punishingly difficult, and the player will need to constantly be on point if they want any hope of surviving. This intensity makes the 15-hour campaign fly by while also ensuring that each moment matters.

10 Painkiller: Hell Wars

14+ Hours

Combining 2004's Painkiller with its Battle Out of Hell expansion, Hell Wars follows Daniel Garner through a blood-soaked war against Lucifer's forces. Featuring more than 20 stages spread over five chapters, Painkiller: Hell Wars is a chaotic first-person shooter that harbors back to classic '90s games like Doom and Blood.

At its heart, Hell Wars is a very straightforward shooter, one that appreciates carnage with every fiber of its being. The stages are diverse enough to keep things from growing stale, while the gunplay is gratifying.