First-person shooters have evolved over the past few decades, from fairly simple gun-based arenas to full-on blockbuster experiences, and one of the biggest decades in the genre's history was the iconic 2010s. The world was introduced to many amazing franchises along with several sequels, and now it's hard to believe that all of these games were released in such a short period of time.
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However, there is only a small selection that can be considered a true 10/10 that has virtually no problems and so many high points that have allowed the games to remain culturally relevant all these years. From single-player masterclasses to multiplayer battlegrounds, these games represented the pinnacle of FPS design and raised the bar for future developers to focus on today.
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Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
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1
BioShock Infinite
Ambition that really lands
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Large sets
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An engaging yet complex story
BioShock Infinite took the franchise in a completely different direction, replacing the murky waters with a cloudy city full of hope and wonder. This shift could have very easily flopped, but the game is very felt BioShockswhile still managing to feel completely fresh with a new set of characters and a whole new world for players to explore.
Columbus is simply gorgeous and the visuals hold up surprisingly well even today, yet it's the actual design and aesthetics of the environment that ensure players are fully immersed in the world around them from start to finish. To top it all off, the story is equally extravagant, has some of the industry's biggest twists and turns, and shows that a complex narrative can still feel deeply personal and tragic even when things get pretty out there.
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Portal 2
Changing the puzzle world
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Unique cooperative puzzle rooms
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Well paced development
Portal 2 represents the pinnacle of puzzle gameplay and presents players with dozens of different puzzling rooms, each one presenting a new challenge for them to overcome. Adding a second player adds so much depth to the game as each robot must coordinate their placement on the portal to get through the stage in one piece.
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Underscoring the experience is a meta-narrative that explores themes of control and purpose while keeping things light and comedic. It was a must-play back then, and it remains one of the best puzzle games ever made, and the perfect place to test even the strongest of friendships to their limit.
3
Far Cry 3
Creating an FPS template
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Popularized modern open world FPS
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Exceptional writing and character development
Creating a template that would define the genre for years to come, Far Cry 3 it combined open-ended encounters with more structured narrative beats to deliver an experience that was incredibly immersive in every single place. Player choice became a major factor as there were many more opportunities to get close to camps and take out enemies thanks to the expanded toolkit and wide variety of satisfying firearms at their disposal.
It also feels a lot more like a large playground than a bounding box, and there are so many moments where players can actively avoid the obvious path and instead choose to approach combat from a strange or even devious angle that perhaps even the developers missed. The formula would go through many improvements over the next decade, but that much is safe to say Far Cry 3 is still one of the best examples of how to translate the intensity of an FPS game into a world of story-driven chaos.
4
FATE
Bring back the classics
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The iconic FPS series revitalized
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Encouraged aggression above all else
FATE reintroduced high-speed, aggressive combat to the FPS world at a time when the genre had slowed considerably. His playstyle revolves around constantly pushing forward, tying up health and ammo into kills, forcing players to always stay in the fight rather than letting them play defensively.
The level design complements this philosophy and emphasizes mobility and spatial awareness by placing enemies in logical locations and allowing players to follow specific paths to clear areas at a much faster pace. With a single release, one of the most popular franchises in the FPS genre suddenly returned to the map, paving the way for several sequels and a wave of new boomer shooters that simply wouldn't exist without it.
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Battlefield 3
Raising the bar on warfare
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Film footage in every match
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Set a new benchmark for large-scale warfare
It brings a level of scale that the FPS genre has otherwise lacked, Battlefield 3 it focuses on moments of urgency and pure chaos as opposed to more scripted mid-match events. The maps are a highlight, each designed to encourage player interaction, from rooftop shootouts to complete structure collapses.
From a technical standpoint, the audio and visuals have done a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of better immersion and making sure players really feel like they're in the middle of a large-scale conflict. All of these aspects are reflected in both the multiplayer and single player campaigns, with the latter showcasing a level of cinematography that players have never experienced before.
6
Titanfall 2
Movement is the key
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An incredible single player campaign
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Smooth and satisfying multiplayer combat
The motion shooter to end all motion shooters. Titanfall 2 it has a level of polish and satisfaction that very few other games have come close to since. Part of what makes the game so good is how well it integrates the mechanics into each fight, because players actually want to wall run and jump around the map, and when they do, it feels great while giving them a significant competitive advantage over their enemy.
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Unlike many other big budget FPS games at the time, the campaign is actually pretty darn good, introducing players to new obstacles and systems to use before moving on to the next mission. Attention may have waned in recent years, but the game is undeniably one of the most impressive FPSs ever made, leaving people hungry for a sequel that may never arrive.
7
DUSK
Retro meets modern
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Fluid mechanics with an old school visual style
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Speed, movement and precision
DUSK channels the classic boomer shooter design while enhancing them for a modern audience that has long craved a faster, more brutal FPS. The combat relies heavily on movement and precision, and the simpler retro visuals make the game much more straightforward than other titles that are riddled with unnecessary complexity.
With the levels, things are kept fairly linear, yet there are always alternate paths and approaches, even in the tightest and most compact spaces. At its core, it captures the essence of the early FPS space and serves as a perfect example of a retro revival done right.
8
Hello Reach
Old franchises can still compete
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Sandbox combat combined with emotional storytelling
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Extends the formula into new territory
Halo: Achieve took the fan-favorite series to new heights, with a greater emphasis on tone and scope. Its campaign infuses the larger battles with a very personal story, creating a greater sense of weight that is made all the more difficult by the explosive nature of the combat in each mission.
On the multiplayer side, everything from loadouts to abilities has been expanded, but despite all the additions, the balance is still in check. As far as FPS packs go, it's among the best, closing a chapter on one of the industry's most storied stories and opening the door for what follows.
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