Few genres are as popular or prolific in the modern gaming scene as the first-person shooter. Since the early days, the genre served as one of the best ways to push the limits of graphical power and expert design. Games likeDoomdefined the genre, and following games likeQuakepushed those limits. They also served as a great home for competitive multiplayer, allowing a whole party of people to duke it out on LAN.
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In recent years, the FPS remains a mainstay. The rising popularity of virtual reality and the battle royale genre have given developers a whole new set of tools to expand the genre. Things may change, but the shoot will always stay the same. This list will use Metacritic’s ratings to evaluate the best FPS of 2019, along with the bottom of the barrel everyone forgot.
10Best: Hunt: Showdown (81)
Crytek, the brains behindCrysis,decided to step into the realm of first-person survival games withHunt: Showdown. It boasts a unique setting in 1895 Louisiana, having players act as bounty hunters in a rugged environment. It has ingredients from some of the biggest FPS titles of the past decade, along with its own spices.
However, at its core,Huntis absolutely using battle royale thrills. Ten players compete to hunt monsters and each other to be the greatest hunter on the day. With a pool of unique weapons, Hunters have a lot of options on how to play a round. And,as expected for Crytek, the game doesn’t look too shabby either.Hunt: Showdownis a multiplayer game people may have missed, and it might be worth taking a look.
9Worst: Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot (50)
Bethesda Softworks, so caught up in a series of incredible blunders, have managed to basically erase this one from the public consciousness.Wolfenstein:Cyberpilotis aVR-game, where the player hacks and pilots Nazi war machine. It’s essentially a VR cockpit game, one of several. And critics praised the game around for its production value and solid gameplay, being a great VR experience.
Unfortunately,Cyberpilotis also more of a tech demo than an actual video game. The game clocks in at two hours as best for its runtime at a price tag of $20. While its partner game,Youngblood,was received fairly well,Cyberpilotsuffered from not being enough glorious Nazi-punching action. Bethesda should know that punching Nazis is absolutely a great pastime, and hopefully their next VR title will give the people what they want.
8Best: Pistol Whip (82)
Pistol Whipis a VR action-rhythm FPS from an indie studio, Cloudhead Games. It’s very similar in style to games likeSUPERHOTorBeat Saber. Now, it’s not quiteSUPERHOT, the most innovative first-person shooter we’ve played in years, butPistol Whipisn’t trying to be aSUPERHOTclone. Instead, it lets the soundtrack take center stage and sends the player into gun-kata nirvana.
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The user reviews and critics often compare this game to the action ofJohn Wick, where the player will move effortless from dodging to shooting to slashing, staying in rhythm with the music. For those out there with a VR headset, consider trying outPistol Whipto add some pulse-pounding action to a dreary afternoon.
7Worst: Modern Combat: Blackout (50)
Remember flip-phone games? They were simple, budget titles typically built in Java and had a certain stink to them. There were a few gems, but mostly they were slow, crusty versions of better games. One of those old phone game developers was known as Gameloft, and they’re apparently still making games.
Modern Combat: Blackout, aside from winning an award for generic FPS-title previously held byWarfighter, is nothing impressive. TheSwitchversion is quite literally a mobile port, and while competing against some of the best-of-the-best,Modern Combatcan’t compete. It has crusty graphics and repetitive gameplay, along with a short runtime. It’s hardly worth the $20 pricetag onNintendo Switch, although odds are it’ll eventually be on sale for under a dollar.
6Best: Metro Exodus (82)
The latest installment of theMetroseries,Exodusdelivers everything that worked in previous games. There’s a reason a lot of publications considered it for game of the year at some point. The atmosphere in the game is thick, the gameplay airtight, and the narrative impeccable. There’s a lot of love and care into the design of the world, and it makes the experience wonderful.
However, on PC the game received ire from capital-G Gamers early on for itsEpic Games Storeexclusivity. Fortunately, the game is now available on everyone’s preferred platform, even the seven people who really like Google Stadia.Metro Exoduswas one of the biggest games of 2019 for a reason, and it’s highly recommended.
5Worst: Terminator: Resistance (47)
Many people may have forgotten aTerminatormovie released the year before. Something more shocking: there was aTerminatorgame released in 2019.Terminator: Resistanceis a modernmovie tie-in game, something that is usually relegated to the mobile market. There was a certain kind of cheese to old shovelware titles, and seeing it back is weirdly refreshing.
Unfortunately, for people interested in some good rather than something gouda,Terminator: Resistancemisses the mark. It’s a game for fans of the franchise, assuming they still exist, and no one else. Most critics claimed the game was more boring and lackluster than anything, citing poor graphics and ironically awful AI. It’s an improvement fromRambo: The Video Game, at least, so maybe next time Reef Entertainment will create something kind of good.
4Best: Borderlands 3 (82)
There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Gearbox. However, when it comes toBorderlands, they always put their best foot forward. While it may not be as good asBorderlands 2, the latest installment does deliver the same great action and satisfying gameplay loop.
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Personally, it’s hard to recommendBorderlands 3because, as a game reliant on dialogue and a focus on narrative, a lot of the dialogue is just terrible. Perhaps it’s just age, butBorderlands 3is nowhere near as solid in its combination of humor and emotional story beats. There are a handful of great moments, but it’s a subpar story carried by excellent gameplay and a talented voice cast. As one of the biggest AAA-titles of 2019, it’s solid.
And back on the shovelware train, it’s appropriate that the latest Nintendo console has become a landfill for these titles.Into The Dead 2is an on-rails shooter, something not seen much outside of the arcade. In a way, a game this simple is admirable, and it can be solidly fun according to critics.
However, it’s crime on release was a disgusting price for a mobile port. The geniuses at Gearbox Publishing decided this bootleg arcade title should cost $35. For $35, it’s possible to get a dozen (or more) other mobile ports of around the same quality. No matter how fun the gameplay is, a mobile port of this quality should never be more than $15. And, unfortunately, the game isn’t even that fun.
2Best: Apex Legends (89)
Once, this title was called “TheFortniteKiller.” Typically, that’s a death sentence, butApex Legendsmanaged to avoid the curse. Relying entirely on team-based gameplayApexmixes up the battle royale formula with class-based abilities and unique characters. It takes some inspiration fromOverwatchin that way, but Respawn has put a lot of work into making the game stand out.
It’sfree-to-play, so there’s absolutely no reason not to give it a shot. Some people will take to it, and others will continue to stick with the competitive game of their choice. It’s arguable ifApexwas the best FPS of 2019, but at least on Metacritic, it took the top spot.
1Worst: DayZ (31)
Oh,DayZ, a game that will both never die and never live. The once popularArma 3mod received a ton of buzz and can be credited with igniting a genre of survival shooters. However, when it was moved to a standalone title, the crust in the game never really went away. Saying it had a troubled development is an understatement.
However, it did eventually release onconsolesin 2019. However, it has all the same problems the PC version has: awful bugs, terrible performance, and crushing existential sadness. For a game in development for half a decade,DayZhas long missed to boat to capitalize on the genre it created. The best thing to its credit is that it released, which is a low bar.
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