There are certain genres whose inclination towards straightforward, no-holds-barred action is much more pronounced, and we can all agree that FPS are among them.
However, as with everything in the video game industry, some exceptions break the mold, going beyond their predecessors’ regular characteristics to establish themselves as something new.
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Innovation isn’t always synonymous with quality, which explains why there are unique games that, nevertheless, don’t stand out, though there’s a particular selection that manages to strike a balance between being refined and fresh.
It’s an exclusive group, so much so that you could probably count them on your fingers—the same fingers I’ve used to list all the members of this list of ten FPS games designed for players who love getting lost.
10
Resident Evil Village
Embracing Open Spaces
Unlike what the series has accustomed us to, Resident Evil Village followed in the footsteps of its predecessor with a pronounced shift in how areas are explored.
More than a single, giant structure to meticulously explore, it’s an entire town where you wander through streets connecting the different main levels, including Metroidvania-style backtracking that deviates from the franchise’s norm.
It also feels more like an action game than a horror experience per se, with highly refined shooting mechanics where you don’t feel trapped by monsters, but rather that they’re trapped with you.
Given this, I understand Resident Evil Village might not appeal to everyone. Still, if you enjoy well-executed shooting mechanics combined with the IP’s signature puzzle-focused experience, I’m sure you won’t mind wandering around shooting everything in sight while you’re evaluating how to proceed.
9
ULTRAKILL
Secrets upon Secrets
Watching ULTRAKILL on this list might evoke a strange feeling because, at first glance, it appears to be a completely linear FPS where all you do is shoot every pixel that dares to move.
Nevertheless, its adrenaline-fueled and straightforward nature doesn’t detract from the depth of its secrets, as discovering the game’s true content requires more than just defeating the enemies in front of you.
Solving puzzles, finding secret areas, using objects in the environment, achieving certain notes in missions… You do it all by shooting, though figuring out where to perform each of these actions is confusing enough to force you to stop running.
As a result, the first time I played ULTRAKILL, I missed a large part of the campaign, as I was just progressing through the objectives without any real thought. When I finally sat down and approached it as a labyrinth rather than a corridor, I realized how lost I’d been the whole time.
8
Metro Exodus
The End of the Apocalypse
Considering the entire Metro saga aims to create a profound sense of immersion by minimizing elements that might break the post-apocalyptic experience, Metro Exodus‘ semi-open world was destined to be an adventure in all its splendor.
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Within the subterranean world, there weren’t many options for movement, but once on the surface, Artyom has far more choices to navigate and progress than you might expect.
Thus, what was originally a corridor shooter transforms into an odyssey where you feel like an explorer who must resolve the numerous conflicts that arise along the way, which don’t always involve using bullets.
With a minimalist interface, countless points of interest, and an inescapable sense that you can’t leave any stone unturned to ensure everything goes smoothly, Metro Exodus is a game designed to make you lose track of your real life and your spatial awareness, which is awesome.
7
Deathloop
Unraveling the Cycle
Every game developed by Arkane Studios has its share of confusion because they always refuse to simply make a first-person shooter, as they always strive to go further.
Deathloop is a clear example of this, where, more than just shooting enemies (and using powers to facilitate action, movement, and stealth), your main goal is to decipher the time loop in which the character is trapped.
You must explore every department, go to each area, take notes, connect the villains to the mechanics, and ultimately piece together the entire investigation to execute one last attempt where all your time-traveling forays bring to light what you’ve learned.
As a result, you’ll often encounter dead ends or seemingly insurmountable obstacles, because Deathloop is about repeating everything with slight variations to gradually change the course of your playthroughs, which makes it as intricate as it is wonderful.
6
Far Cry 4
A Country to Liberate
Before the company overexploited the formula, Ubisoft gifted us with numerous installments featuring prodigious open worlds, with Far Cry 4 being among the most captivating for hours on end.
Using the exoskeleton from Far Cry 3, exploring Kyrat is synonymous with letting go of everything, encouraging you to focus on the forest rather than individual trees so you can enjoy the entire panorama without missing a thing.
You can go from capturing an enemy camp to hunting an animal and even experience an interdimensional journey thanks to some psychedelics, because what the game does best is connect fascinating activities so you’re never at a loss for something to do.
The main campaign understands this too, so there’s no obstacle preventing you from following the path you want. Therefore, getting lost in Far Cry 4 means that, although you know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going to end up.
5
BioShock
Becoming One with Rapture
Having to bump into walls and repeatedly open the same doors doesn’t sound like a promising experience, but BioShock‘s glorious Rapture always manages to make it pure magic.
The way the atmosphere and level design blend seamlessly to make you feel like you’re inside a forgotten, underwater dystopia is breathtaking, even when you don’t know how to proceed.
Coming from Ken Levine, a connoisseur of immersive sims, it’s easy to understand the influence that games like System Shock and Thief have on BioShock, making getting lost a constant in order for the player to become familiar with the environment and, even more importantly, with how it works.
This interaction occurs both on a gameplay and narrative level, always leaving room for hypothesis and execution. The result is a superb loop that always has you like a child discovering how the world works, even when there are guys in diving suits with a giant drill chasing you.
4
Half-Life 2
A Campaign for the Sagacious
You know a game is timeless when, even after 20 years, it still surprises you with its intelligent design and creative ideas. This is why I fell head over heels for Half-Life 2, despite arriving late to the party.
Coming from an era where diegetic and authentic experiences were more important than ease of play, Valve’s magnum opus is a masterclass in creating an immersive universe that makes you feel part of it without underestimating your abilities.
The game teaches you everything you need to master to reach the credits without explicitly clarifying it, refusing to be explicit to increase the level of satisfaction to unexpected heights when you finally find the solution to a problem.
More than a shootout or a puzzle, Half-Life 2 thrives on natural sequences whose resolutions are so spontaneous that it doesn’t feel like a video game, but rather a digital adventure whose limits are set by the player themselves.
However, the biggest consequence of this approach is that you’ll often bang your head against the wall because you didn’t see a board that could be broken or the object you could manipulate with the Gravity Gun to access a new area, though the sacrifice is completely worth it.
3
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
More Paths than you can Count
It’s no coincidence immersive sims dominate a list of games that feel lost, because few genres leverage iteration and experimentation as central to their philosophy, just as Deus Ex: Human Revolution‘s presence in this article is no coincidence.
Far from being confined to first-person shooters, Adam Jensen is a multifaceted protagonist capable of approaching each situation with a multitude of possibilities, ranging from stealth to hacking and eloquence.
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Each mission can be tackled according to the characteristics the player has assigned to their character, opening up a vast array of possibilities where each path is as complex and captivating as the next.
Inevitably, this wide range of tools is proportional to the wide range of challenges you’ll face, and the game’s semi-open spaces encourage you to get lost in order to see everything instead of just focusing on the main points.
As with any game of this genre, you’ll end up in irreverent situations that you probably didn’t want to get into, but that’s why you have your ever-faithful weapons to get you out of unexpected trouble.
2
Borderlands 2
Pandora at Your Mercy
The last decade was packed with mind-blowing open worlds that truly took the genre to a new level, including Borderlands 2, whose fusion with looter shooters simply shattered addictiveness records.
This title is the closest thing to sugar I’ve had the chance to experience in the interactive entertainment industry, because everything is so engaging on so many levels that it’s quite difficult not to feel compelled to enjoy all the content.
Whether it’s the opportunity to talk to its disturbed NPCs, complete its bizarre side missions, find the legendary loot that gives you such a dopamine rush, or simply shoot until you run out of ammo (which never happens), Pandora is designed so that short play sessions are impossible.
And you can use the indicators and maps Borderlands 2 provides as much as you like, but you’ll almost certainly end up in a cave in the corner of the world shooting bipedal beasts while some frustrated forty-something yells at you via satellite, which is fantastic.
1
Prey
A Labyrinth of Experiments
Becoming one with such a perfectly designed environment that it makes you want to move there is a strange feeling, but it’s one I can say I felt intensely when I first moved to the Talos I in Prey.
This space station is gigantic but remarkable in its density, with countless systems and playable interactions that force you to think outside the box every second, instead of just when faced with sporadic problems.
The entire place is a puzzle in itself, where the beasts that roam its dilapidated corridors are the ultimate incentive to use your intelligence. You have plenty of tools to deal with them, but not so many resources, so you have to be clever.
As such, is it critical to have a good aim to hit them in the head? Of course, but it’s even more important to know how to navigate its rooms to find the solution to each objective, which usually involves visiting numerous locations and reading countless documents.
Therefore, keeping track of the sequence of information and events is essential to avoid getting lost, which is bound to happen anyway. Prey is an inventive game that seeks to encourage your creativity, but what happens in between is wandering in the dark void while reveling in one of the best settings ever conceived.
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