The FPS genre has morphed considerably over the decades, but one thing has remained consistent: A great first-person shooter needs satisfying gunplay. What counts as "satisfying" varies from era to era and even person to person, but it generally involves tight controls, sharp movement, intense sound effects, and guns that just feel impactful. The best games make their shotguns sound downright supernatural, while their assault rifles are all about relentless but controlled mayhem.
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The FPS genre has been on a very healthy run in recent years, with most representatives knocking their core gameplay out of the park. However, there are just a couple of games that feel just a little bit more special. If you are looking for a gratifying experience, these shooters will hit the mark.
10 Neon White
A Unique, Fast-Paced Title That Twists FPS Conventions
- Developer(s)
- Angel Matrix
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Puzzle
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Far from being a straight shooter, Neon White is a truly unique title that emphasizes speed and quick thinking. In the game, players blast through a variety of short levels in which they're tasked with defeating every enemy and reaching the end as fast as they can.
What makes Neon White so satisfying is its expressive movement and responsive weapons (represented by simple cards), which also double as special traversal abilities when they're discarded. Many of these abilities are also satisfying to use thanks to responsive controls and lightning-fast animations.
9 Post Void
A Frenetic Action Roguelike With Expressive Movement
Fast-paced, frenetic, and borderline psychedelic, Post Void is an action roguelike with a kinetic personality. In the game, players barrel through labyrinthine levels while battling against various enemies and their constantly draining health.
The ephemeral nature of the player's health also helps to encourage speed and maintain the game's pace. Players can also refill their health by killing enemies, discouraging them from simply running past every adversary. This elegant design is elevated by the game's expressive movement controls and satisfying headshots. As a result, blasting through the many close-quarters environments of Post Void is a frequently gratifying experience.
8 Maximum Action
A Responsive Action Sandbox With An Emphasis On Style
Though it features little in the way of challenge, Maximum Action excels with its action-sandbox gameplay, emphasizing style over mechanical depth. This is no surprise, given that Maximum Action takes heavy inspiration from the action cinema of the 80s and 90s.
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The diverse arsenal of weaponry available includes a variety of firearms that are brought to life through snappy animations and punchy sound effects, resulting in satisfying gunplay. The fast pace, lack of stakes, and complete focus on action keep Maximum Action a tight and rewarding experience despite a lack of narrative and progression.
7 ULTRAKILL
Weighty Gunplay Is Elevated By Skill-Based Scoring
ULTRAKILL is a fast-paced and intuitive first-person shooter with a focus on creative weaponry and pixelated gore. What's unique and ultimately satisfying about ULTRAKILL is its distinctive blend of old-school shooters and character action games, a combo that really makes players feel powerful.
In ULTRAKILL, players are rewarded for their skill with a classic score-based grading system, drawing satisfaction from the most basic of actions. This is only furthered by fluid animations, snappy gunplay, and hit feedback that elicits buckets of pixelated blood.
6 Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
Weighty Movement And Punchy Hit Feedback
- Developer(s)
- Auroch Digital
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Set in the rich, grim-dark world of Warhammer 40,000 and taking inspiration from both modern and retro boomer shooters, Boltgun is an excessively violent romp that puts players in the heavy shoes of an Ultramarine. This title makes every effort to make players feel like a Space Marine, emphasizing the weight of the suit with a heavy gait and stomping footsteps.
The movement alone is satisfying, but it's complemented by the addition of a classic Warhammer 40,000 chainsword and the ability to charge enemies. The chunky sound effects and impactful animations ensure that player feedback is both obvious and satisfying.
5 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Or Siege X)
Slick, Smooth Gunplay With Weighty Animations
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Released
- December 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Amazon Luna, Stadia, PC
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
This competitive shooter features a heavy focus on tactics and teamwork, but gunplay remains a core part of its gameplay loop. The variety of weapons and attachments keeps Rainbow Six Siege (or Rainbow Six Siege X, as it is known nowadays) a strategic experience, but each firearm is satisfying to use in its own way thanks to punchy sound effects and weighty animations.
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Hit response and player feedback are also fast and smooth, allowing this title to feel tremendously responsive. As with many competitive shooters, Rainbow Six Siege has its fair share of problems, but the satisfying gunplay makes up for most of it.
4 CULTIC
Crunchy Retro Sound Design And Buckets Of Pixelated Gore
Taking equal inspiration from old-school shooters such as Blood and survival-horror games such as Resident Evil 4, CULTIC is a unique blend of satisfying gunplay, creative weaponry, and dense atmosphere. The horror elements are light, but certainly present, giving CULTIC a distinctive flavor.
Excessive, pixelated gore and crunchy, retro-styled sound effects ensure that the moment-to-moment gameplay of CULTIC is weighty, bolstered by an arsenal of punchy weapons. All this results in truly heavy, impactful gameplay that's tremendously satisfying.
3 Mullet MadJack
10 Seconds To Clear Each Level... You Better Not Miss
Oh, yes, here is a game that just absolutely nails everything. Mullet MadJack is built around a fantastic concept that demands split-second decisions, fierce actions, and stylish kills. Putting aside the lore and story, which are fairly in-depth, the game is always on a 10-second timer, which you expand by killing enemies, drinking soda, and being just all-around awesome. Split into relatively short levels, players are forever sprinting forward as they massacre enemies and upgrade their guns so they become even more proficient slaughterers. If the timer runs out, that run is over, and Jack needs to go again.
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Mullet MadJack is a roguelite that is relatively forgiving in terms of progression, as it uses a checkpoint system that triggers every couple of levels. Consequently, most players will progress through the campaign in relatively quick order, rather than just repeating the same levels for eternity. The gameplay is as smooth as anything else in the genre, and it is elevated by a comic-esque art style that really complements the frantic action and cyberpunk setting.
2 DOOM (2016)
Exaggerated Gunplay And Expressive Combat Arenas
Reviving fast-paced combat and arena-shooter gameplay with its relentless attitude and unabashed focus on action, 2016's DOOM is a tremendously unhinged FPS. The exaggerated animations and the weight applied to each of them give each action an impactful response, resulting in thoroughly satisfying gunplay.
The hectic combat arenas that make up most of DOOM are the perfect playgrounds for its arsenal of punchy firearms, further elevated by expressive movement and violent glory kills. These arenas are broken up by short passages of lower intensity, giving players a welcome palette cleanse between bloodbaths.
1 Trepang2
A Relentless FPS With Excellent Gunplay And All The Gore You Could Ever Want
- Developer(s)
- Trepang Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Trepang2 is exhausting, and I mean that in the best possible way. This FPS game drops you in lengthy missions that rarely ever stop throwing enemies at you, all of whom put up a fight but also explode gloriously into a shower of blood and guts when overwhelmed by bullets. Each gun feels and sounds incredible, and you can dual-wield most of them to really maximize the carnage, and you will want to. You have access to bullet time and invisibility, both of which are finite and need to be used tactically to survive some of the more challenging onslaughts.
Whenever I finish a session, I feel like I have run a marathon, as Trepang2 demands that you are always 100% focused, aggressive, and smart. While you do take on a couple of bullet sponge bosses, the game wisely prioritizes battles against human mercenaries, so players are always pushing forward as they clear one arena and section after another. Really great stuff.
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