i love shooters and i want you to love shooters too. here's a smattering of retro/modern FPSes that i like and is going for a sick price. no theming really:
Borderlands Quadrilogy
Price: $9.36
yes it's the randy-bo-bandy meme games but there's still very few out there that cross ARPG-Diablo loot systems and solid shooting combat as well as this. highly addictive gameplay loop and memorable artstyle and, for less than a tenner, it's the entire series and all the DLC. if you've ever been slightly interested in checking it out, this is a great chance. start with 2 if you're new and with friends preferably.
DUSK
Price: $5.99
DUSK was the boomer-shooter throwback that kinda kicked off the current genre revival and for good reason, it rules. a carefully crafted reference to 90s FPSes like Blood and Quake but not bogged down in homage, DUSK captures lightning in a bottle by taking their best lessons and spiking them with a playful identity all its own. loads of great levels, setpieces, basically the best introduction to retro shooters by virtue of time. the easiest recommendation here.
Chernobylite
Price $10.30
have you ever wanted to enjoy S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but wished it had a tighter, less intimidating approach to world design? Chernobylite is the underappreciated gem for you. it's the exact same idea of surviving radioactive wastelands full of monsters, humans and all but crucially, ties it into a base-building management sim. go on missions, get stuff, come back and customize your horrible little shelter. this game got sorely overlooked at release and it's a shame, it's a great take on its obvious inspiration.
Dishonored
Price: $2.21
Dishonored is a stealth game where you play as the Predator. Arkane Studios' magnum opus of immersive sim elements, cerebral level design and engaging worldbuilding still kicks all sorts of arse years later and mixes in delightfully fun combat to boot. it's the aforementioned DUSK approach to stone-cold classics like Thief and Deus Ex, lifting the best ideas but instead fitting them into a streamlined, immediately playable form. definitely the place to start for the genre.
The Entire DOOM Franchise
Price: $32.48
it's Doom. the revolutionary id software series
okay to be more specific, it's every single official Doom release to date: 1, 2, Final, Masters, 3, BFG Edition of 3, 2016 and Eternal. with the exception of Masters, every single game here is a masterclass FPS experience that should all be played at least once. i feel kinda silly trying to recommend Doom but if you've somehow never touched one before, good lord, this is the best time. don't worry about sourceports for classic if you're new, the bundled ones are fine for now.
(side note: Doom Eternal is an absolutely brilliant game but is also more than half the bundle price. if you want to, it is a bit cheaper to cut it out. you're still getting a great chunk.)
Quake I & II
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2310/Quake/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2320/Quake_II/
Price: $7.54 (combined)
it's Quake. the other id software revolutionary series.
not alot to say really, quake is the technological step-up from its predecessor and provides even more elegant 90s FPS design. it's a slower style of play, more atmospheric and focused on longer individual fights than blitzes but is no less fun in both the original and its sequel. it also helps that Nightdive remastered both games and their expansions and threw in two new ones! impossible to go wrong here.
(side note: there's a bundle including Quake 3 & 4 but since 3 is a multiplayer arena shooter and 4 isntverygood, i left them off. it's a few bucks more if you're curious though.)
Wolfenstein: The New Order/Old Blood
Price: $7.37
it's Wolfenstein. the other other id software revolutionary series.
i jest, this is actually the 2014 reboot by MachineGames and its standalone expansion but is, imo, the best game in the series. it pairs the arcadelike pacing of the classic games with an alt-history WW2 setting full of nazi murder and fantastic gunplay to conduct it with. there's also a solid attempt at writing that colours the game well and threatens to make the lead, B.J., memorable for once. there's more cutscenes and story as a result but i think it gives this Wolfenstein all the more identity for it and besides, Old Blood removes most of that anyway if you just want the nazi killing. don't we all?
The F.E.A.R. Trilogy
Price: $3.89
FEAR is a john woo bullet-time horror shooter series that makes every fight feel like an action film. unbelievable particle effects for the time, great enemy squad AI and visceral gunplay make the first game (seen as the best one) a no-brainer bit of addictive, violent fun. the only slow motion mechanic to rival Max Payne. it's worth playing for the shotgun alone, that's the level of weapon-feel we're talking about.
don't worry about the horror tag if you're a jumpy sort, FEAR's about as scary as a Goosebumps book.
steam unfortunately forces you to purchase all three but im of the minority opinion that the sequels are still very fun and at their core, nail the original's feel. you can trust me, im a dog.
HROT
Price: $10.25
HROT is magical. take DUSK's formula of nicking all the best ideas from classic shooters but amplify the developer playfulness to create a retro FPS that toys with you. it's a very brown, bizarro-soviet russia take on quake (or chasm the rift if you're cool) that constantly trips your genre expectations with non-sequiturs and absurd touches, as if the level design's contorting to play pranks. an excellent, fast boomer-shooter for veterans but also plain compelling for anybody.
System Shock Remake
Price: $17.80
yeah a little more up there in individual price but SS1R really is worth it. the original's a bedrock immersive sim foundation for... idk most games and the Remake updates it perfectly, meaning you don't have to operate factory machinery to play the thing. System Shock is a survival horror/action shooter cyberpunk hybrid that codified all the imsim staples like audiologs and player-driven exploration but sets it in a giant, horrifying space station against one of the greatest villains in PC gaming. still unsurpassed in its field, only matched by its own sequel. an essential play. be warned though, the remake retains all the difficulty of the original. it's hard.
The Metro Trilogy
Price: $2.14
TWO DOLLARS FOR ALL OF METRO.
anyway, the Metro games are survival-horror excellence. once again similar to the STALKER series but smaller, tightly focused and dripping in atmosphere. you're in post-apocalypse russia again and for the first two, running around in claustrophobic tunnels with bare resources, scavenging supplies and fighting all sorts of enemies along the way. few other shooters match the sheer immersion of Metro, the world and environments are very well-realized. you'd be insane not to get them for less than a coffee.
(side note: Exodus is quite different and implements semi-open maps instead. ive not fully beaten it yet but it's just as good from what i played.)
that's the potshot glance at steam list for now, i might add some later. have fun shooting!
