Summary
- RPG elements are now prominent in most games, making the genre much bigger and more diverse.
- Shooter genre has seen an increase in RPG elements, with titles like Deus Ex and Cyberpunk 2077.
- RPG shooters like Immortals of Aveum are pushing boundaries by replacing guns with magic spells for unique gameplay.
RPG fans who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s knew the genre to be fairly formulaic. There were turn-based RPGs, tactical RPGs, dungeon-crawlers, and some action RPGs. Now, almost every game has RPG elements in it, and RPGs as a whole are a much more popular genre.
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These games make players feel all-powerful as they blast their way through waves of enemies.
The shooter genre has also featured a wide range of RPGs over the years, which began to gain popularity around the first HD era, including the PS3 and Xbox 360. Now it’s hard to think of a time when there weren’t RPG shooters out there. So, let’s rank the best FPS RPGs based on their overall quality and determine whether they hold up or not.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Play It Your Way
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Released
- August 23, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is more of an immersive sim stealth game, but the RPG elements run deep. Players can tackle most situations any way they want in this series reboot, along with its sequel, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Players can upgrade the protagonist, Adam Jensen, with various cybernetics that make his aiming better or his hacking skills more proficient. The gunplay does feel good if players wish to engage the game as a shooter, but it’s undoubtedly more fun when played as a stealth game.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
D&D Meets Borderlands
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
- Released
- March 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Crude, Humor, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a Borderlands spinoff based on a DLC released for the second game. That DLC was so popular that it warranted a fully fledged game, one that still focused on collecting guns, but in a faux-fantasy world.
Adding magic and melee weapons to the classic Borderlands gameplay, along with an overworld map, helped refresh the series while still maintaining its bizarre sense of humor. So far, it has the best gameplay in the series, but it also suffers from some of the same issues as other entries, like excessive loot and bullet-sponge enemies.
Immortals Of Aveum
Gun-Based Magic
Immortals of Aveum
- Released
- August 22, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Immortals of Aveum went harder on the fantasy elements than Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and asked a serious question: What if magic spells replaced guns? It sounds ludicrous, but it worked better than anyone could have imagined, and the "gunplay" is single-handedly the best reason to check this game out.
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From machine guns to rocket launchers, there is a spell-like equivalent players can loot and upgrade in the game. There are ways to melee enemies and counter their attacks with shields, too, making for a more interactive shooter than most.
Fallout 4
Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem
Fallout 4
- Released
- November 10, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Fallout 4 may not be the fan favorite best game in the Fallout series, but it definitely has the best gunplay. It was a massive improvement over Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, offering players a wider variety of more interesting guns.
Players could tweak and build their own weaponry at work stations, plus it was easier to customize their robotic power armor to truly wreak havoc on the mutant population of the surface world. It doesn’t get much better than blasting an enemy with a laser weapon and then watching them turn to dust.
Cyberpunk 2077
Immerse Yourself In The Future
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Cyberpunk 2077 shares a similar "choose-your-own-adventure" mentality with Deus Ex: Human Revolution, complemented by cyberpunk aesthetics. However, the guns and future tech are more fun to play around with in Cyberpunk 2077.
Going loud in Night City or the surrounding desert is very cool. It would be interesting to see a spinoff team from CD Projekt Red make a linear first-person shooter experience on the level of Call of Duty. That’s how solid the gunplay is already, which shouldn’t deter players from wanting to experience the game as a more slow-paced RPG as well, as character and narrative progression are also extremely well-made.
The Outer Worlds
Science Is Power
The Outer Worlds
- Released
- October 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Obsidian Entertainment learned from their time with Fallout: New Vegas and took their innovative approach to storytelling into space in a corporate-run universe. It’s a bleak world, but thankfully, it's the humor that helps sell the atmosphere of The Outer Worlds.
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There is a lot of future tech weaponry to check out, like laser rifles and pistols, but the Science Weapons are the breakout stars. There's a pistol that can shrink enemies and one that can net enemies together in a large mass of “gloop.” Thankfully, it looks like Obsidian Entertainment is doubling down on the Science Weapons in The Outer Wilds 2.
Borderlands 2
Classes, Guns, And One Heck Of An Evil Villain
Borderlands 2
- Released
- September 18, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Borderlands 2 is the most challenging game to beat in the series, as it offers everything a sequel should. It started with four classes, but DLCs added more than any other entry thus far.
The weapons are zanier, the world is more open and varied, and a centralized villain, Handsome Jack, helped move the story forward. He is so beloved that he even starred in a prequel. Thanks to modern ports, Borderlands 2 is readily available today on nearly every platformdating back to its release in 2012.
Destiny 2
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
Destiny 2
- Released
- August 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For TEEN for Blood, Language, and Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Destiny 2 is the only big challenger to Borderlands 2 in the FPS RPG sphere, as they both exist on separate playing fields. Borderlands 2 has survived through ports, while Destiny 2 has sustained itself through updates and expansions as a living game.
There have been dips since it launched in 2017, but one could argue Destiny 2 is stronger than ever thanks to the recent moves made by Bungie. It’s incredible to look back at what Destiny 2 was in 2017 and compare that to what it became. At the center of it all remains a masterclass first-person shooter with solid RPG mechanics and excellent co-op features.
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