There are too many good games. If someone spends every waking minute of their life playing video games, they can experience about 15% of the worthwhile projects released over the decades, and that's an optimistic number. Simply put, everyone misses out on a couple of masterpieces that fly under their radar or get buried in their endless backlog. Don't let these brilliant FPS games be among them.
Especially on PC, there are so many first-person shooters out there that only a couple of titles a year manage to stick their heads out of the crowd to announce their presence. Aside from a couple of classics, older mid-level titles are quickly forgotten, replaced by the latest craze that will eventually suffer the same fate. As someone with a soft spot for AA releases, I love revisiting forgotten gems from the late 2000s, and FPS games from that era have aged better than most other genres. Do you love a good shooter? Play these games.
I want to cover a selection of reasons why a game can be overlooked these days. Mainly they fall into three categories:
No one lives forever game
The Curse Of Publisher Hell
Let's get the most famous delisted FPS games out of the way immediately. Honestly, it really feels criminal The Operative: No one lives forever and its sequels, No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in HARM's Wayhave now been delisted longer than when they were available for purchase. Stuck in ownership limbo, this franchise is supposedly owned by multiple publishers, none of whom seem to be able to prove their case.
Major FPS game franchises that are officially finished
There was a time when FPS reigned supreme and these franchises were at the top of the world, but today they are all but dead and buried.
Consequently, two of the biggest FPS titles of the 2000s are basically wiped out except for a few physical PS2 copies (the sequel never even got a console release). Even worse, this legal nonsense essentially retired Cate Archer, a character who seemed poised to stand alongside Lara Croft and Samus as one of gaming's best female protagonists. Although somewhat dated by today's standards, both games haven't lost an ounce of charm, and are still 100% worth playing.
Black
Absurdly impressive for a PS2 and Xbox FPS game
Black
- Released
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February 28, 2006
You needed to be there. When viewed through a 2026 lens, Black cannot be fully appreciated because its strongest selling points – incredible graphics and destructible environments – are not as impressive as they were in 2006. Even then, Criterion's game flew under the radar, a consequence of being exclusive to hardware on the verge of becoming obsolete. It also offered no multiplayer and a single player campaign that lasted maybe 6 hours.
But make no mistake about it, Black was and still is absolutely impressive when played on the intended hardware (or otherwise… not that I know anything about it). Frankly, the Xbox and especially the PS2 shouldn't be able to run this kind of video game blockbuster, especially one that lets players destroy the entire environment long before Battlefield adopted that concept. Non-stop action from start to finish, Black may not last long, but it makes every second feel like a solid game.
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Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
A World War II masterpiece
In the last decade, we've had one Brothers in Arms game: A pinball spin-off. It's just depressing.
A couple of decent mobile titles aside, 2008 Hell's Highway is the last real entry in the series, and may continue to be so for a long time to come as we haven't heard anything about a real new game in the last 5 years. The three main games – The road to Hill 30, Earned in bloodand Hell's Highway – combine to create a legendary WW2 trilogy that can stand alongside Medal of Honor when it is at its best.
You should play all three games, though Hell's Highway is the most fun of 2026, and its sim style sets it apart from most modern shooters. Instead of Rambo, players step into the role of a squad leader who relies on authentic military tactics to survive; a run-and-gun strategy will only get you killed. Touching on themes of PTSD and survivor's guilt, it hits hard on the story and features some of the best character writing of its time.
All Brothers in Arms main games are readily available on Steam, making them easy to pick up and play.
Peculiarity
The FPS miracle
When a publisher removes a game, a reversal almost never happens. Well, apparently miracles are real, as well Peculiarity went to hell and came back again. Although it received a positive reception, Peculiarity never quite became a cult classic on the same level as Bulletstorm or Syndicatedespite being better than both. Seriously, Peculiarity only has 3000 English reviews on Steam. It came out in 2010.
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If another open-world game sounds like an exhausting proposition, these linear FPS campaigns are short, sweet, and immensely satisfying.
Coming out at a time when FPS mechanics were already codified, the game controls incredibly well and still feels great to play. More importantly, its main gimmick, time manipulation, continues to set it apart from the crowd, especially when it comes to triple-A shooters. With the help of the TMD device, you can make a Soviet soldier age for decades or freeze bullets in mid-air. Just a great concept executed well.
Resistance 3
The Forgotten PS3 Blockbuster
As an IP, Resistance is not necessarily slept on, but The fall of man seems to capture most of the retrospective love. Rightfully so, as Insomniac put together one of the best shooters of the PS3 generation. The sequel offered more of the same but slightly worse, and it launched in a much more competitive scene. At the time of Resistance 3it was clear that the franchise would not replicate or replace Halo anytime soon, a prospect that proved true when Sony hit the brakes after 2012.
Unlike its predecessor, Resistance 3 tried to evolve the series from a military epic into a boring road trip shooter, and moved it away from Halos drawing. Sometimes it feels like a first person The last of usas you travel through post-apocalyptic America on a desperate last-gasp mission to change the fate of mankind. While not entirely horror, the atmospheric levels are downright awful at times, and the game relies a lot more on great set pieces.
PS Plus Premium has Resistance 3if you don't mind streaming.
aliens vs. Predator (2010)
Three for the price of one
“Overlooked” might be a bit of a stretch, but in 2010 Aliens vs. Predator is overshadowed by the 1999 release, one of the best licensed games of all time. With Rebellion Developments handling both projects, the 2010 title feels very much like an updated version of its ancestor, even going so far as to include three campaigns that let you play as either a Marine, Predator or Xenomorph. Although not quite as groundbreaking as its spiritual predecessor, Aliens vs. Predator is phenomenal and basically offers a three-in-one epic that sometimes comes together quite seamlessly.
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The naval campaign is a pure horror shooter.
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The Predator campaign leans towards stealth.
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The Alien campaign focuses much more on fast movement.
The game captures the cinematic tone of both franchise games flawlessly. It doesn't shy away from the jaw-dropping, chest-bursting, spine-tingling violence that the movies are known for. Although the controls can be a bit finicky at times, Aliens vs. Predator manages to make you feel like its iconic monster.
Aliens vs. Predator is still easy to buy on Steam.
Legendary
Look, I just like it
Here it is: The “bad” game. Legendary has 47 on Metacritic and 56% on Steam. All evidence points to an underwhelming shooter that should be abandoned in 2008. A few months ago I went through a phase where I only played crappy games from the late 2000s, with Legendary be one of them. I went in fully prepared to drop the game if I couldn't find any joy. Instead, I played it non-stop for about 6 hours and finished it in a single day.
Legendary is the definition of “silly fun,” and it's basically a B-movie schlock fest with the presentation of a triple-A shooter. After Pandora's Box opens, the world is overrun by mythological monsters, including a skyscraper-sized entity that makes the opening segment chaotic AND epic. Aside from perhaps including a little too many werewolves, the roster of monsters is more than varied and creative enough to keep the campaign fresh throughout. While not amazing, the gunplay feels good, and shouldn't be hard to pick up and play these days.
We just don't get real games like that Legendary longer; you know, the mid-budget single player swinging for the fences. Is it really a masterpiece? Probably not, but it almost lives up to its name.
If you're like me and have been hoarding bundles for about 15 years, you may already own a copy Legendary. If not, it's available on Steam and sometimes sells for less than $1.
Best FPS games from every year in the 2000s and their spiritual successors in 2026
The 2000s is considered by many to be the pinnacle of FPS, with these classic games representing the best of every year of the decade.
