With the advent of Escape From Tarkov and more high-octane FPS titles in the first-person scene, players can see the genre evolve away from hardcore shooting at hordes of enemies to more precise gunplay. Instead of just finding and switching weapons willy-nilly, many FPS titles today give players the option to find the weapons they want and modify them instead. Taking a cue from real-life weapons, armaments in first-person shooters often have the option to be customized with a variety of attachments - from traditional scopes and sights, to more specific modifications like rails, stocks, and suppressors.
While such modifications already exist to some degree, even in games with "some" shooter elements, there are FPS titles that take this to the next level. There are, in fact, certain titles that give unprecedented freedom to customize guns to a player's wishes. Beyond changing vague statistics, some games offer gun customization that directly affects the player's performance, while even letting gamers create weapons from scratch.
Operator
No-Limits Gunsmithing, Full Effect In-Game
For a game in early access, Operator by Vector Interactive earned quite a decent following due to its premise: a "real" first-person experience. Everything about a character is rendered in first-person, which means every action and movement is seen by both the player and others around them. This extends to adjustable stances, leans, and crouches for precise angling, as well as a character's vision directly represented as the player's view. Explaining such a premise is important because the depth of Operator's gun customization directly affects how the gun plays in the game.
In Operator, players can strip their gun from barrel to stock and customize it however they want. Instead of having a base "gun" and building around it, players can build almost any type of gun with any type of attachment. This vastly affects gameplay, because inexperienced players can "feel" the increased (or decreased) weight of their guns affecting their sway, or how their sights (or the lack thereof) can affect their aiming. Other attachments that introduce new mechanics need to be keybound in order to work, which means any extra functionality (lasers, illuminators, among others) needs some degree of manual control.
Ground Branch
Rail-Based Freedom With Gameplay Consequences
Despite being in early access, Ground Branch is immensely appreciated by the tactical FPS fandom for its commitment to realism. Its "true" first-person approach means the character is rendered the same in first-person (for players) and for enemies, with the camera positioned along the character's eye line and affected completely by in-game stamina and encumbrance, as well as the depth of the gun's build. Building upon its premise as a "rebirth" of tactical games like Rainbow Six that became a hit in the 90s and early 2000s, a player's build directly affects their competency in combat.
Compared to other games, Ground Branch is heavily dependent on a rail-based customization system. This means attachments are not only placed wherever they fit onto the gun's rail, but they can also be adjusted depending on the player's preference. Such an adjustment directly affects eye relief and field of view, which can make sights helpful or next to useless. Not only that, but heavier kits are directly tied to in-game arm stamina and encumbrance concepts, which can make certain setups much harder to handle.
Delta Force: Hawk Ops
Calibration And Statistics Make Customization More Intentional
Delta Force is a free-to-play FPS experience with different game modes similar to Call of Duty and Battlefield, offering a 64-player teamfight, a remake of Black Hawk Down, and even a dedicated extraction shooter mode called Operations. And while Operations only has the typical Stamina bar to keep track, the intense firefights in the game mode are still heavily reliant on how well players manage to customize their kits to fit their playstyle.
Despite offering a gunsmith UI that's par for the course with dedicated attachment areas, Delta Force offers an in-depth Details section and separate Calibration metrics to make builds more intentional for players. Beyond standard-fare statistics per attachment, weapons also display their immediate positive and negative effects. Not only that, there are separate Calibration options (like Weight and Length) per attachment that can drastically affect the gun's performance. Lastly, the Details page provides in-depth changes to drop-off and recoil stats, letting players know exactly what to expect while customizing their weapon.
Arena Breakout
Compatibility Is A Very Specific Requirement
What makes Arena Breakout: Infinite quite a surprising entry in the extraction shooter genre is having an original mobile release before being released on the PC. Compared to mainstays like Escape From Tarkov, gameplay in Arena Breakout is kept in rather smaller, more urban environments. This emphasis on tighter spaces equates to faster and more intense firefights, making kits tailored for CQB more desirable - and some could argue more realistic.
Unlike other gunsmiths from other titles, Arena Breakout loadouts are heavily dependent on compatibility. Removing a component from a gun could mean losing the others, as it might be a prerequisite to attach another component. This adds another layer of complexity to weapon modifications, as players do have the potential to create "crazy" builds, but they are also dependent on how "realistic" a combination can become. When translated to gameplay, this also means players need to be careful about how to mix and match weapons they find in the game world, as not all of them have attachments they find desirable.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
