First-person shooters have evolved quite a bit since the rudimentary days of classic Doom, where the player couldn't even aim up or down. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to have players display great feats of mobility that wouldn't be out of place in a fully-fledged platformer.
This has led to a number of FPS games having platforming sections, where the player is presented with appropriate obstacles to test their agility and skills. We've also had a number of games from other genres presented in a first-person perspective, further blurring the lines between what constitutes a platformer and what makes an FPS. Out of all the ones we've played over the years, here are some we consider the very best.
8 Halo Infinite
After suffering a delay of more than a year, Halo Infinite was finally released at the tail end of 2021 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The game was immediately lauded for feeling like the classic Halo fans fell in love with back on the original Xbox.
Master Chief did come with one or two tricks up his sleeve this time around, though. This includes the grappleshot, a tool that allows him to zip around the expansive open-world map, and deal with the occasional platforming challenge with relative ease.
7 Quake 3: Arena
Back in the heyday of arena shooters, there were only a handful of games vying for dominance. Quake 3: Arena was one of those games, a multiplayer-only FPS by id Software.
Its fast-paced gameplay was one of the first to introduce the use of jump pads, which could effectively launch players from one end of the map to the other. This lent the game a kind of verticality that was previously unheard of in the FPS genre.
6 Mirror's Edge
Released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2008, Mirror's Edge is an action-adventure game developed by DICE. It is played from a first-person perspective, with players controlling a woman named Faith Connors as she parkours her way through a futuristic city.
While technically not a first-person shooter (since the player is unable to wield guns), the game still plays like one. The added mobility of its heroine lends it a frenetic feel that wouldn't seem out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.
5 Dying Light
Another game with a heavy focus on parkour and fast-paced traversal is Dying Light, a first-person survival horror game developed by Techland. It was released in 2015 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with versions for other consoles and platforms coming after.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic city that has been largely overrun by zombies. Players must make their way across the city via rooftops to avoid them, especially at nighttime when they become more aggressive and harder to deal with.
4 Titanfall 2
Set in the same universe as Apex Legends, Titanfall 2 is another first-person shooter where players can wall-run or platform their way through and over obstacles. It was developed by Respawn Entertainment and released in 2014 on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Players also get to control giant mechs called Titans, which function as powerful tanks that can deal a lot of damage. There are a total of six mech classes with unique attributes featured in the base game: Ronin, Legion, Ion, Tone, Scorch, and Northstar.
3 Doom Eternal
After receiving the reboot treatment in 2016, the Doom Slayer returned once again in Doom Eternal, the latest entry in the iconic first-person shooter series. Released in 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the game notably throws some platforming into its gameplay mix.
Unlike the 2016 reboot, the Doom Slayer can perform new moves, like the ability to air dash, making it possible to jump across large chasms. This serves to provide breaks from the otherwise endless barrage of demons players are tasked with slaying.
2 Half-Life
Not many first-person shooters are as revered as Half-Life. Released on PC in 1998, the game wowed players with the introduction of several gameplay innovations previously unseen in the FPS genre. Many of these are considered staples today, like the fact that the entire game is presented in first person and unbroken by load screens, and with interactive cutscenes that take place in real-time.
The game includes more than a few platforming sections, as players often find themselves having to leap across gaps to reach certain areas. Most notably, there are sections of the game set in the Borderworld known as Xen, where Gordon must make his way across an alien landscape using various jump pads and the advantage of reduced gravity.
1 Metroid Prime
Many were skeptical when Metroid Prime was first unveiled at E3 2001. The Metroid series had been on a lengthy hiatus since Super Metroid on the SNES, and all prior entries had been 2D side-scrolling adventure games with a focus on exploration.
However, here we had the series not only making the transition to 3D, but also with a first-person perspective to boot. The rest is history, and the game is still lauded for how well it incorporated the traversal and platforming elements from the 2D games.
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