The FPS is a genre that, typically, avoids getting bogged down in lengthy narratives. Plot development often happens on the fly, through conversations over coms or with allies and enemies that are in the thick of the action with you. Dramatic cutscenes are also common, emphasizing that this is an action-focused genre that focuses on high-octane fun. This is also why a lot of shooters forego the exhausting open-world concept for something more linear.
What fans want, then, is a quick, exciting start, where even the early-game guns are enjoyable to use and the action is fun right from the off. If that's what you're looking for, each of these titles should suit you well.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Brand New Tools Of Destruction, And Not A Second To Lose
Unsurprisingly, the latest title in the rebooted Doom series starts with a bang. Well, more of a volley of tremendous blasts from a BFG. The game opens with the Hellish hordes assaulting a village in search of the Heart of Argent, leading King Novik to unleash the Maykr's ultimate weapon: The Slayer himself. He is literally blasted from a ship above the planet to its surface, weapon and shield in hand, and rises like an MCU superhero to bring the fight to the assembled demons. What timing for the title card to appear.
We're directly into the action, with nothing more than a few moments' worth of tense cutscene to provide context and a sense of the stakes. Tutorial pop-ups do appear as you approach your first objective, but simply to introduce new systems such as blocking and Shield Bashing. Within seconds, players are reassured that this defensive leaning won't exactly make the action slow, but perhaps even more brutal and visceral than ever before. The Slayer's moveset has changed somewhat, and will continue to do so throughout the game as unique new equipment and abilities appear, but the Slayer's speed and power and the game's lightning-fast pace remains. The focus on sheild bashing and parrying might make the action more technical, but it keeps it exciting and fun throughout.
Borderlands 2
If You Get The Game's Humor, It's A Hilarious Opening
The Borderlands series has always been defined by its over-the-top cartoonish violence (a perfect fit for its cel-shaded visuals) and its silly sense of humor. They've never been games to take themselves remotely seriously, and this is plain from the moment Marcus begins his story on starting a new game in Borderlands 2. Acknowledging that the original game's Vault proved to be "a container of tentacles and disappointment," he notes that Hyperion's discovery of Eridium and a new Vault caused a surge of brave new Vault Hunters to Pandora, and Hyperion leader Handsome Jack sets up an explosive trap for the original quartet of protagonists. The player character lies in the snow after the explosion, where they're discovered by Claptrap.
The opening has surely hooked players before they even take control of their characters, and now that they have, the game's innate Borderlands qualities ramp up further. The player must protect the little quip-dispensing machine from assaults from bandits and the local wildlife across this freezing glacier, tackle a miniboss in Knuckle Dragger (who has the potential to drop a legendary weapon, if farming for them is part of the appeal for you), learn to wield elemental effects on weapons, and 'enjoy' Handsome Jack's silly jokes and threats over comms, all in the opening area. The game does an excellent job of setting the tone and ramping up the challenge of missions and side-quests, with a substantial adventure ahead if you like what you see.
Anger Foot
Retrieve Your Preemo Sneakers From The Violence Gang
Sometimes, the most engrossing stories have simple catalysts. In Anger Foot, a shooter acclaimed for its wild, colorful, relentless action, there wasn't really a need for a deep narrative. All that was necessary was a flimsy reason for the protagonist to set off on their crusade of devastation. Which was exactly what we got. They found an ad for Preemo Sneakers, went to the seller's location to buy a pair, and found that the Violence Gang had got their first and taken them. Off we go, then, to right this terrible wrong and claim those sneakers.
Even without them, though, we find that the protagonist's feet are very potent already, launching those reptilian foes into walls in dramatic fashion with a single kick. This is very important, because at the end of the first level, the gang makes off with all four pairs from your beloved sneaker vault and a campaign of vengeance and footwear-retrieval ensues. The pace is intense from the earliest stages, and the weapon scavenging mechanic ensures that every bullet counts. This stylish shooter makes an impression, and a real statement, immediately.
TimeSplitters 2
A Time-Traveling Classic That Begins With A Legendary Homage
As fans of classic FPS titles will surely remember well, N64 icon GoldenEye 007 opens with a stage that sees our hero infiltrate a Dam in Soviet Russia and performing a dramatic bungee jump from it, as per the movie. Free Radical Design was created by multiple former Rare developers, so years later, the former's TimeSplitters 2 would also open with a dam level full of subterfuge, this one set in Siberia in 1990. The destruction of an illicit facility is the key objective in both cases, and from the gunfire sound effects to the enemies in their guardtowers, it's all delightfully nostalgic.
As with Borderlands 2, this is a shooter that isn't afraid to embrace its sense of humor. It also spins an interesting narrative that traverses past, present, and future, as Sergeant Cortez travels through time to acquire time crystals to foil the plans of a malevolent race known as the TimeSplitters. It's a tale that takes you to ten wildly different stages, with disparate objectives, weapons, and cast of supporting characters each time. Solid gunplay backed by impactful weapons, with variety keeping things fresh, makes this one a winner throughout. All the different challenges and matches in arcade mode are fun from the first to the last as well.
Deathloop
Break The Loop
Deathloop opens with protagonist Colt Vahn being struck down by a sword, wielded by a mysterious assailant. The death of the main character about twenty seconds after beginning a new game is a bold move, to say the least, but certainly a shock that captures the player's attention. As per the central concept of the game, though, Colt is immediately back, 'respawning' on a beach on Blackreef Island. He has no knowledge of how he got there, what his purpose there might be, or even who he is, but has a vague familiarity with the small base-like area he awakens in.
In the first few moments, there are cartoon-like words in the air (messages such as who are you?) that Colt seems to physically see, a gun he picks up that he recognizes without knowing why, and an enigmatic voice identifying itself as Rambling Frank. The latter seems to know quite a lot about the situation, but it's only with time that the player settles into what's happening. Colt must assassinate a series of eight Visionaries across Blackreef, within a single day. If he fails, the whole day repeats. As with a good roguelike, it's only with repeated failures that a player will settle on a good route to take and strategy to employ to take down each of these foes. Of course, exploring the island is vital too. It's a high-pressure mix between finding better equipment and powering up while ensuring you have enough time to complete your main tasks, and the combat is varied and open-ended. As a result, Deathloop has a lot of fun to offer players who want to blast away and those who want to take a more thoughtful, stealthy approach.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
