Old school FPS classics are a great source of fun and nostalgia. FPS titans like DOOM, Quake, Duke Nukem, and many more are timeless masterpieces and have been key inspirations behind the resurgence of retro-inspired FPS games.

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Let's take a look through Metacritic to see some of the best new Retro FPS games. Firstly, there are many freshly inspired games, but not all have received ratings yet. Secondly, we will not be mentioning any re-releases of older titles on this list.

Updated on May 18, 2022, by Jack Pursey: The FPS genre has had a change in identity over the last few years. The genre has predominantly leaned ever further into the multiplayer market, with loot shooters, hero shooters, and free-to-play microtransaction-heavy titles all starting to dominate.

Thankfully for those who prefer the shooters of old, there are plenty of excellent retro-inspired FPS games that offer a modern take on classic gameplay. For those searching for shooters with an old-school vibe, we've updated this list to include key information such as each game's beat feature and main story completion time.

15 Hellbound (62)

Hellbound Box Art
  • Release Date: 4 August 2020
  • Available Platforms: PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 2 Hours
  • Best Feature: The comically over-the-top firepower at the player's disposal

Hellbound is one of the most straightforward games on this list, which can be fun or off-putting for those who want something more. Firstly, Hellbound does not innovate much as a retro shooter. However, it does maintain a lot of the core arena-style elements that fans love.

The game is light on content; with only seven levels, six weapons, and one boss fight, it does not last long. However, there is a free-to-play survival mode that is fun to run and gun around maps mindlessly. For all this, it only clocks around a current rating of 62.

14 Heavy Bullets (72)

Heavy Bullets gameplay
  • Release Date: 18 September 2014
  • Available Platforms: PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 6 Hours
  • Best Feature: The limited but reusable ammo concept, which is innovative and differentiates the game from other retro-inspired shooters

Heavy Bullets is a retro FPS dungeon crawler roguelike with randomly generated levels with an overall rating of 72. One of the main mechanics of the game is the ability to reuse bullets. Players will most likely have to clear stages with just six shots, reloading them after picking them up after firing.

Mixing the difficult elements of randomness that roguelikes bring with a limit on your bullets creates an interesting new challenge. This game offers a fresh experience with eight stages to go through in this neon dungeon and tons of replay value.

13 Post Void (74)

Post Void Gameplay
  • Release Date: 6 August 2020
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
  • Main Story Completion Time: 1.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The visual design, which is captivatingly unique

For players looking for a new experience similar to an arcade shooter that plays like DOOM 2 on acid, then Post Void is worth a shot. Sitting at a rating of 74 and with a price of under five dollars, there isn't much reason not to give it a try.

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Gameplay boils down to killing for health, obtaining a high score, and repeating. It's a bit shallow, but it's undeniably entertaining. On top of a unique art style, this game is mesmerizing to look at and play, and it's almost akin to a first-person Hotline Miami.

12 Immortal Redneck (74)

Immortal Redneck floating skull monster down dark dunegon corridor
  • Release Date: 25 April 2017
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 18 Hours
  • Best Feature: The excellent weapon variety

Absurdity is the name of the game in Immortal Redneck. This roguelike Doom-clone isn't exactly what one would call complex, but that's not essentially a bad thing. As the title would suggest, this game has the players take up arms as the titular redneck to combat an army of the undead as they try to reach the top of three pyramids.

The concept is simple, and the gameplay is addicting, but there will definitely be some grinding throughout the experience. That being said, one can't fault the title for having an original premise. Certainly worth more than a 74.

11 Ziggurat (75)

Ziggurat Gameplay
  • Release Date: 23 October 2014
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Wii U
  • Main Story Completion Time: 3.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The game's unique weaponry that consists of spells instead of guns

Ziggurat is another roguelike title but takes the Hexen approach to its design, style, and gameplay - forgoing standard shooter weapons in favor of a more dark-fantasy-inspired take on its combat. As a well-armed wizard, players move through rooms full of enemies to blast and spells to cast.

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It's nice to see the FPS genre dip from hardcore guns to something a bit rarely used in the medium. After all, a well-aimed magic wand can be just as deadly as a BFG in a pinch. A passible game with a 75 rating, but one that fans of the genre shouldn't miss.

10 Shadow Warrior 2 (78)

Shadow Warrior 2
  • Release Date: 13 October 2016
  • Available Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 7.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The genuinely funny dialog and charismatic protagonist

With the reboot of the popular 90s franchise, the second installment rates at a 78. Combining a bigger arsenal, upgrades, and enemies from the first entry, Shadow Warrior brings some new things to the table.

Enemies can now be infused with elemental powers, though this can be countered Pokémon-style with countering elemental weapons. It may seem a bit clunky, but it does quite a bit to liven up the gameplay.

9 Project Warlock (78)

Porject Warlock Box Art
  • Release Date: 18 October 2018
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 7 Hours
  • Best Feature: The wide variety of weapons and gameplay mechanics

For players who are DOOM, Hexen, or Wolfenstein lovers, this game is certainly worth considering. A unique blending of modern and classic styles, Project Warlock is full of bullets, magic, and monsters that will get players' hearts racing.

In addition, players will find themselves getting lost fighting their way through 60 carnage-packed. This pixel gorefest sits at a rating of 78 and will keep you coming back for more and more.

8 Void Bastards (78)

esrb rating leak nintendo switch 2020
  • Release Date: 28 May 2019
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 8.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The art style that makes players feel like they're inside a comic book

They don't all have to pull from the likes of DOOM, Duke Nukem, or Quake to be considered throwbacks. In fact, Void Bastards feels like something out of the minds of Bioshock or System Shock with a sprinkling of Douglas Adams. Probably because it is.

Add a touch of dark humor and comic-book-styled visuals, and players have a retro-styled original on their hands. Exploring decrepit spaceships while taking out ranting and raving enemies definitely has its quirky charms.

7 Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (79)

Switch Call Of Juarez Gunslinger Shootout
  • Release Date: 21 May 2013
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
  • Main Story Completion Time: 5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The wide west theme, which is brilliantly executed through stellar visual and sound design

While many will be quick to compare this game to the likes of Red Dead: Redemption, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger has more in common with the arcade shooters of old than with the popular Rockstar classic. Forget about emotional storytelling and morally grey protagonists, just lock and load and go after some desperados.

Gunslinger is exactly what the title implies. Players take the role of a bounty hunter straight out of a Clint Eastwood movie and explore this tall tale of the wild west. With tons of gunplay, dastardly villains, and a score of 79, what more does one need to give this game some attention?

6 Ion Fury (79)

Ion Fury Box Art
  • Release Date: 28 February 2018
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 10 Hours
  • Best Feature: It makes excellent use of a classic engine

A love letter to the new wave of retro FPS games developed by 3D Realms and made on the same engine that brought players Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood; Ion Fury plays similarly to the rest of the classic build engine games with a similar difficulty, but with immense detail.

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Ion Fury hits every mark on what a classic FPS stands for and brings more modern tricks to the table. Sitting at a rating of 79, this is a must-play game for old school fans and new ones alike.

5 Amid Evil (85)

Amid Evil Box Art
  • Release Date: 12 March 2018
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 8 Hours
  • Best Feature: The fantastic non-linear level design

Taking inspiration from Heretic and going above and beyond in a beautiful fashion, Amid Evil is brought to us from New Blood, a primary influence in igniting the wave of new retro games. With seven worlds to save, seven weapons to use, and seven evils to vanquish, Amid Evil marvelously brings unique blades and magic.

With a changing aesthetic and roster of enemies that changes every world, Amid Evil brings brutal gameplay through stunning non-linear levels. Master your magical weapons, Champion, for you must adapt to your enemies quickly to survive. Amid Evil stands at a high rating of 85.

4 Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (86)

Wolfenstein 2 The New Colossus Box Art
  • Release Date: 27 October 2017
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 10.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The engrossing narrative

Similar to Shadow Warrior, another reboot of a classic series, Wolfenstein 2 lands at a cool 86 on Metacritic. With a compelling story that mixes comedy and tragedy, it's a far cry from the narrative void of id Software's first outing with the genre.

With different gameplay styles to choose from, an arsenal of devastating guns to mix in, and different ways to approach fights in every level, Wolfenstein maintains its legacy well. In addition, it's well worth playing the first installment, Wolfenstein: The New Order, before diving into this one.

3 DOOM (87)

Doom Cover Art Slayer Strangling Demon
  • Release Date: 13 May 2016
  • Available Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 11.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: It does an incredible job of modernizing a classic series while staying true to its roots

Bethesda's remake of the iconic shooter was like a breath of fresh air. In an industry immensely populated by repetitive, cookie-cutter, cover-and-shoot FPS games, it was a joy to see an old favorite come back to the forefront again. As the granddaddy of all FPS titles, it was only a matter of time before DOOM got remade.

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Grisly and gory with familiar run-and-gun action, DOOM feels like the original title, but with some much-needed upgrades on an old formula. 87 is the bare minimum many would give this fun and fearsome FPS, but that's why they got the sequel.

2 DOOM Eternal (88)

DOOM Eternal Box Art
  • Release Date: 20 March 2020
  • Available Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 14 Hours
  • Best Feature: The enemy variety that comes with strengths and weaknesses, forcing players to think strategically

It comes as no surprise that the award-winning, trendsetting, demon-slaying DOOM Eternal climbs high on this list at 88 percent. Brewing modern elements of speed and power and offering up an outrageous arsenal of weapons, DOOM Eternal brings it all and more to the table.

The Doom series has taken a back seat to story in past entries, but DOOM Eternal brings an epic story to the secondary focus. Of course, the primary focus is gunplay. It is up to you, the slayer, to master your guns and speed and remind them that the only thing they fear is you.

1 DUSK (88)

DUSK Box Art
  • Release Date: 10 January 2018
  • Available Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
  • Main Story Completion Time: 7.5 Hours
  • Best Feature: The stellar level design

A fast-paced retro horror shooter in which bloodshed and gore must be embraced and mastered to survive, Dusk is a masterpiece of old school FPS given to us again by developers New Blood and inspired by DOOM, Quake, Blood, and so much more.

Battling possessed militants, cultists, and darker foes, run and gun through this grimdark world with speed and style. Battle horrors with weaponry that stay true to the old school formula with a few new twists and a couple of backflips. Dusk is a necessity to play for anyone and sits at a rating of 88 percent.

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