When gamers think of the first-person shooter genre, the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises often are the first to come to mind, and it's for good reason. Both Call of Duty and Battlefield have dominated the FPS landscape for nearly two decades, releasing games that range from historical shooter to futuristic battlefields and mastering the formula for an engaging multiplayer suite that keeps fans coming back for more competition.
There are a lot of other FPS games that have thrived alongside the wildly successful Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises, though, creating a fun and competitive shooter experience that engages fans for years. These great games and franchises all share the characteristics of compelling worlds, excellent shooter mechanics, and an ability to create an overall experience different enough from Battlefield or Call of Duty that they stand out as great FPS entries.
DOOM Eternal
Fans looking for a perfectly balanced shooter with beautiful worlds and fast-paced gameplay will love iD Software's DOOM Eternal, a single-player game that is the definition of chaos and adaptation all in one. The follow-up to DOOM 2016 is a glorious romp through a violent hellscape, filled with the same weapons fans have come to enjoy and a new progression system that builds on the 2016 experience, all set to a heavy metal soundtrack in the background.
Probably the best things about Doom Eternal are that every weapon feels great, and that combat is encouraging players to change and adapt their play style as they progress through the game, making the experience incredibly challenging. Different enemies require different approaches, not just different types of weapons, and running in with the guns blazing won't always result in success. In terms of mechanics, DOOM Eternal is on par with the best Call of Duty games, Destiny, and Halo in terms of smoothness and responsiveness, making it an elite FPS experience.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
It's one of the more intense competitive shooter communities players can find, as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has become the stuff of PC gaming legend with dedicated players, a steep learning curve, and an ultra-competitive element that has embraced the E-Sports landscape. Released in 2012 and still thriving today, CS: GO requires players to learn the maps and weapons to be effective, and is extremely unforgiving for players who don't.
Despite that, CS: GO remains incredibly fun, and the fact that it has thrived for over a decade indicates the strength of the development team and the post-launch support. Global Offensive, which began as a Half-Life mod, is known for incredible attention to detail, particularly with weapons in CS: GO, as each weapon available has slight differences in performance and handling that require players to try them all to learn. It's one of the least forgiving games for players who aren't FPS naturals, but dedicated fans of shooters who want a hardcore competitive experience will enjoy CS: GO.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
It might seem like cheating to include a collection as an alternative to Call of Duty or Battlefield, but Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available on Game Pass for Xbox fans and can be downloaded as one title to provide the FPS greatness that is Halo 1-4, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach. It's also available on PC now, giving players who don't own an Xbox console another opportunity to jump into one of the best shooters ever and take on the Covenant, Flood, or Forerunners in a battle to save humanity.
The Halo games have something for everyone, as single-player fans will enjoy the campaigns of Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach in particular, with the others having significant high points as well. Fans of multiplayer will likely love the Halo: MCC multiplayer suite, as it includes the legendary multiplayer offerings of Halo 3, along with the more modern multiplayer suite in Halo: Reach and Halo 4, so there is something to appeal to the taste of any kind of FPS player. On top of the balanced multiplayer and great campaigns that explore many different environments, Halo weapons are a joy to use, with almost every type of weapon imaginable available to pick up and use at some point in the game, from a standard assault rifle to the gravity hammer.
Destiny 2
After leaving the Halo franchise behind following the release of Halo: Reach, Bungie left Master Chief behind and set out to create the Destiny universe and proved that they are one of the very best developers when it comes to creating FPS experiences. Combining aspects of the MMO experience with a first-person shooter combat system, Bungie created a vast universe with excellent combat in 2014's Destiny that they built upon when Destiny 2 was released in 2017.
Destiny 2 features standard multiplayer offerings for fans looking for something familiar and a campaign that can be done solo or with a friend in co-op to earn more gear and level up. After that, it becomes the quest for the Destiny 2 end game, where players do strikes, challenges, and raids to get the best gear and level up to the highest level available at that moment. Unlike many other games, there is no "end" to Destiny 2, as there is almost always a better weapon or stronger gear to go get and a higher level to achieve to keep players coming back until the next expansion.
Titanfall 2
It's one of the more underrated games of the previous generation, but Titanfall 2 proves once again that Respawn really knows how to deliver a smooth, fun, and unique FPS experience. Comprised of mostly former Infinity Ward developers who had made the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, Respawn broke away and created Titanfall in 2014. It was an innovative shooter with amazing combat, but it was a bit lacking in modes - something that Respawn corrected in a big way when they released Titanfall 2 in 2016.
Titanfall 2 introduced a single-player campaign to the series for the first time, and it was widely considered one of the best FPS campaigns in years, including its really strong tutorial level at the beginning. Its multiplayer, which features the obvious allure of getting to call in massive mechs to wreck the opposition with, expanded on an already strong multiplayer from the original Titanfall by adding new modes and tools for players to use, including having a grappling hook long before Halo did.